Investment advice in this situation (overseas-->SG)

\[TLDR: as an SG citizen & resident earning in both SGD and GBP, is there any practical advantage to maintaining separate UK and SG investment accounts, or should I consolidate everything into a single portfolio through a broker/SG bank account?\] Hello everyone, I'll try to explain with as much context as possible so that this post doesn't get removed/banned. I just wanted to seek some further opinions by explaining my situation. It seems like I am the only one in my friend circle facing this scenario, so I thought to ask out here in the wild. **1. Some context:** * SG citizen, moved back here from UK, started full-time in SG * Have an ongoing side-hustle in UK * Some savings from over the years (sitting in interest-earning bank account) in UK **2. The numbers:** * SG: $7k gross monthly --> into SG bank account * UK: \~GBP 800 - GBP 1.5k monthly \[SGD 1.3k - SGD 2.5k\] --> into UK bank account * UK savings from over the years: \~GBP 10k \[\~SGD 17k\] sitting in UK bank account **3. Expenses:** Trying to take things into my own hands and pivot towards a more frugal lifestyle. A generous upper-limit estimate would be $1k for monthly expenses; absolute worst-case $1.5k. No upcoming significant purchases. I have only recently started working life, so I'm giving myself a bit of leeway in case I have my lifestyle expenses down wrong, but I am eventually bringing this number down while I can. I am perfectly fine with living within (or below) my means given my current stage in life. **4. My predicament (essentially boils down to GBP vs SGD):** Now of course I don't want to keep my money sitting still in my bank and would like to invest it. My main consideration was using the entirety of my side-hustle income, which I am earning in GBP, while using my SG earnings for daily expenses, savings, and most likely additional investments. However, I'm unsure how best to approach this given that I earn and hold money in two currencies. For context, I can transfer GBP from my UK account to a multi-currency account in Singapore without necessarily converting it into SGD first, i.e. GBP in UK account --> GBP in SG account. What I have no clue about is what's the best way to thereafter handle the 2 currencies. So I wanted to seek opinions from the community on how to best approach this. **5. Questions for the community** **A. Where should I hold and invest my GBP?** 1. What are the pros and cons of keeping my GBP in a UK bank/brokerage account versus transferring it to Singapore? 2. Despite me living in Singapore, does the location of the brokerage account have any implications for capital gains tax (or any other tax obligations)? 3. Any other UK<>SG considerations I should be aware of? **B. Currency considerations** 1. If I transfer my GBP to Singapore without converting it, would it make more sense to invest directly using GBP, or convert it to SGD/USD first? 2. I understand that some ETFs, particularly Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs, have GBP and USD trading lines. If the underlying assets are identical, is there any meaningful difference between purchasing them in GBP versus USD? 3. Is there any reason to maintain a portion of my portfolio in GBP, given that I expect to live and spend primarily in SGD for the foreseeable future? **C. Currency conversion and brokerage fees** 1. For those who invest using foreign-currency income, how do you minimise FX conversion costs? 2. Would it generally be more cost-effective to convert GBP to SGD/USD through a bank, a service like Wise/Revolut, or directly through a broker such as IBKR? 3. Does anyone have any experience with any hidden fees, transfer charges, or practical considerations when regularly moving money between UK and SG accounts? Lastly are there any other important considerations I might be overlooking as someone who has recently relocated from UK to SG? **6. Final thoughts** I was considering signing with an FA handle all of this, but after a conversation with a friend and scrolling through lots of opinions on this sub I am rethinking and exploring all options. I am keeping an open mind and am happy to hear any and all considerations. And of course thank you for taking the time to read this far!