I’ve shared about using POEMS as my main broker previously. This has not changed going into 2022, which means I have been using POEMS for 15 years and counting.
Singapore’s stock broking landscape has become extremely competitive in recent years as we see an influx of foreign discount brokers vying for market share. That being said, it is a good thing for investors as commission fees have gone down while user experience has improved. I’m definitely not complaining.
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However, I observed that a handful of brokers have not made any significant changes to their services and rates despite the competition. I am not sure why. I would say POEMS is the most “on-the-ball” local trading platform as they have matched the lowest commission rates and improved the user experience with a completely new app, POEMS Mobile 3.
Let’s do a walkthrough of it.
UI for today’s investors
It has always been a tussle between cramping details into a small mobile screen and having a clean minimalist look where you take one action at a time. The trend today favours the latter. I would even go further and say that younger investors who are digital natives would expect such design as a norm.
POEMS’ user interface (UI) was redesigned from scratch. Below is the watchlist screenshot which you will see upon login. For orientation, the main menu bar is at the bottom of the screen while the sub-menu bar is at the top. The stocks are (of course) clickable to reveal more details about them.
A good UI is a given standard requirement for apps today. A bad UI on the other hand would lose users very quickly. I would say POEMS managed to get on the right side of this with the new UI.
Next, I want to talk about the unique features on the POEMS Mobile 3 App.
Extensive and customisable news coverage
Investors, especially those who pick individual stocks, always want to keep abreast of the latest developments on the stocks that they care about. POEMS Mobile 3 App offers many categories of news and organizes them well.
It even allows you to choose the type of news that concerns you. For example, I would be more interested in IPO, M & A, Earnings, Dividend, and Corporate Action news and I can choose to only see such information on my news feed.
Not only that. You can filter your feed to receive news from countries that you focus your investments in. If you are investing in only the US and Singapore markets, you don’t need to be bogged down by events in Australia. These options provide you with a lot of flexibility to customise your information flow.
Below is a screenshot of the Dividend News that is relevant to yield-focused investors. The benefit of this is that you might even discover new dividend stocks via the news feed.
You might have observed there is Chinese news in the mix but you are given the choice to change the language to English solely if you wish to.
As you can see, the news feature is highly customisable and this becomes handy for investors to stay updated about the markets.
Native TradingView charts and analyst ratings
TradingView offers the best stock charts in the world in my opinion. POEMS recognised this too and have incorporated the charts in the App. This means that those of you who love TradingView charts would be able to use your favourite indicators or chart your drawings right in POEMS Mobile 3 itself without toggling between Apps.
Investors who use fundamental analysis aren’t left out. Popular financial metrics and 3 years of financial statements are available in the POEMS Mobile 3 App. There’s also a section for Analyst Estimates, the aggregation of research calls from industry analysts. POEMS have also published the recommendations of their in-house analysts on the app for your easy reference.
Wide market access, various instruments and CPF investing
There are three more features which I would like to highlight to users. They are not entirely new for the App and have been available in the previous versions, but they are useful features that not all brokers offer.
First, POEMS offer a wide range of markets. This is not for everyone but if you invest in Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand, POEMS has got you covered. Few brokers offer these markets and you might happen to be from one of these countries and would like to invest in stocks from your home country.
Second, POEMS offers stocks, ETFs, Unit Trusts, CFD and even Regular Savings Plan on the same app. With the wide variety of choices, you will be able to find something you like. Most importantly, you don’t need to have various accounts or Apps for your different investments. You can invest and monitor them all via one App.
Last but not least, POEMS enables you to invest your CPF and SRS funds if you have connected your accounts. This is another feature that only selected trading platforms offer, and POEMS is one of them.
Expect more goodies to come!
I saw some placeholders on the App and this means that more features are set to be rolled out in the future. My guess is an education module where you can learn more about investing and a community module to enable communication among investors.
POEMS exhibited the ‘kaizen’ spirit, seeking continuous improvement to stay relevant and competitive in an ever-changing environment. This is commendable.
That being said, POEMS isn’t retiring the previous versions. They continue to support them because there are users who have grown accustomed to the previous versions.
POEMS Mobile 3 App is available for download in both Google Play store and Apple App store. For those who already have an account with POEMS, you can login straightaway and enjoy the new user experience! All these new features are COMPLETELY FREE so why not make the best use of them?
For those who are not POEMS customers yet, I would recommend the low-cost POEMS Cash Plus account. It is completely free to open an account so why not try it for yourself!
