Live Recap 4: Hunting for Alpha — Amova's Small & Mid-Cap Playbook and New Fund Suite

1. Live Review Introduction

Live Review>>

Tiger Brokers livestream hosted by Vyann, featuring Kenny Loh, Wealth Advisory Director, S-REIT specialist and SGX Academy trainer, and Edward Pye, Intermediary Distribution Director at Amova Asset Management. Together, they marked Singapore's Straits Times Index crossing the 5,000-point milestone, unpacking what's driving the rally, how far it could still run, and how to actually build it into a portfolio.

Disclaimer: This session has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. All views expressed are those of the speakers and not of Tiger Brokers or its affiliates. Today's session is strictly for education and discussion purposes and does not constitute financial advice.

Want to see more of the livestream recap? Check it out here>>

• Live Recap 1: Singapore's Quiet Rally — Inside the Road to the 5,000 STI Milestone

• Live Recap 2: The Sleep-Well Portfolio — Kenny Loh's Framework for Allocating to Singapore

2. Why Small and Mid Caps Offer the Better Hunting Ground

Edward Pye argued the opportunity set below the large caps is structurally more attractive: Singapore has over 500 listed companies, and a much larger share of small and mid-caps trade below book value than large caps do, with more of them sitting in net cash positions — a sign of financial flexibility for dividends, buybacks or reinvestment. Combined with thinner research coverage, that creates more mispricing for active, bottom-up stock-picking to exploit — the core thesis behind the EQDP's push to broaden participation beyond the large-cap names.

3. Amova's Four-Fund Singapore Suite

Edward Pye walked through Amova's complete Singapore equity offering. The two flagship funds: the Amova Singapore Dividend Equity Fund (~S$3.2 billion AUM, the largest single Singapore equity fund in the space), a diversified, benchmark-agnostic fund targeting a 5% per annum monthly dividend through roughly 70% "dividend anchor" large caps and a mix of smaller dividend-growth names; and the Amova Singapore Equity Fund, Singapore's oldest unit trust (formerly Shenton Thrift), a high-conviction, 25–40 stock bottom-up portfolio benchmarked against the STI, and CPF-investable. Launched on 30 March 2026 on the back of Amova's EQDP mandate: the Amova Singapore Small Mid Cap Fund, the only retail small-mid-cap fund of its kind in Singapore (market cap below S$10 billion); and the Amova Singapore Dividend & Growth Equity Fund, an all-cap fund allowing up to 50% small-mid-cap exposure. Both new funds target quarterly dividends of roughly 3–6%.

4. ETF vs Active Fund vs Direct Stock-Picking

Asked why not simply buy an STI ETF, Edward Pye and Kenny Loh both noted ETFs are cost-efficient for tracking the benchmark but offer little small-mid-cap exposure, since ETF construction is rules-based (liquidity, market cap, PE) rather than driven by qualitative judgment, management access, or governance red flags — areas where an active manager's direct engagement with company management can add real value, particularly in a segment as thinly covered as Singapore small-mid-caps.

5. Audience Q&A Highlights

• Where's the next wave of growth beyond banks and REITs? Edward Pye pointed to services and platform businesses linked to Singapore's role as a regional hub, industrial and infrastructure enablers tied to energy transition, the "second and third order" layer of digitalisation (IT services, cybersecurity, payments), and healthcare/wellness names positioned to serve a regional middle class.

• Is Singapore still a defensive market? Edward Pye called it "a narrative that's evolving rather than disappearing" — Singapore's governance, cash-flow orientation and capital discipline still provide ballast, but its companies are more globally exposed than a decade ago, making it better framed today as a defensive core with selective growth optionality from the "new Singapore" sectors.

• Risk management reminder from Kenny Loh: even when investing via funds, diversify across fund managers and asset classes rather than concentrating with a single manager.

Closing Takeaway

Amova's view is that Singapore's next leg of alpha sits in the under-researched small-mid-cap layer, supported by the EQDP and a broadening "new Singapore" opportunity set — with a fund suite now built to span dividend, growth, and small-cap mandates across that spectrum.

6. Risk Reminder

High-volatility equity exposure carries substantial trading risks. This content is for general education purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please conduct independent research or consult a financial adviser before making investment decisions.

7. Post-Event Resources

Viewers can follow Edward Pye on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/edward-pye-679a2a66) or visit the Amova Asset Management website (sg.amova-am.com). Everyone can follow Tiger Brokers Singapore for more expert sessions, and watch the full recap video on the Tiger Trade app.