STI ETFs side by side: ES3 and G3B fees, payouts and how closely they track

An STI ETF is a fund listed on SGX that holds the 30 shares in the Straits Times Index, Singapore’s main share index, so one unit gives you a small slice of all 30. Two funds track it: ES3 from State Street and G3B from Amova. You buy and sell their units through a broker, like a share, in lots of one unit.

NAV, size and payouts read from State Street’s ES3 page and Amova’s holdings file at 7:40 am, 15 Nov 2026 SGT (NAV dates: ES3 13 Nov, G3B 11 Nov). “Of NAV” divides the last 12 months’ payouts by today’s net asset value a unit; your yield depends on the price you paid. Expense ratios are each fund’s latest audited full year: ES3 year to 30 June 2026, G3B year to 30 June 2025.

Next payouts, not yet declared. ES3: most likely in February 2027, as every ex-date since 2018 has been in February or August; the last five February ex-dates fell 10–13 Feb, paid 24–27 Feb, and the last day to buy is the market day before. G3B: if Amova keeps to the timing its payout summary calls usual, ex-date Mon 4 Jan 2027, paid 15 Jan, so own it by the close on Thu 31 Dec. Payouts

ES3 and G3B, row by row

Both track the Straits Times Index and hold the same 30 shares, and both trade in lots of one unit. “Lower” marks the lower figure in a row; we don’t name either fund the better buy. On S$10,000 the gap in expense ratios is the difference in the second row: set it against your broker’s fee for one trade (your own amount). “Behind the index” is the index’s return minus the fund’s, both as the fund’s own factsheet prints them.

What each costs on your amount

The two funds hold the same 30 shares, so what separates them for most people is cost, when the payouts come, and how far each falls short of the index it copies. Put in what you’d invest and, if you know it, your broker’s fee for each trade.

Your amount in ES3, G3B or GAB

Start from a common plan

S$100 a monthfor 10 yearsS$500 a monthfor 10 yearsS$10,000 onceheld 10 yearsS$50,000 onceheld 20 years

Amount

S$

How

Every month Once

For

years

Your broker’s fee

Minimum fee a trade

S$

Or a share of each trade

%

Whichever is higher is used for each trade. We don’t list brokers’ fees: your broker’s price list or contract note has yours.

S$100 a month, over 10 years: the expense ratio takes S$169.33 in ES3 and S$145.13 in G3B, so ES3 costs S$24.19 more. Add your broker’s fee for each trade to see what it adds.

Your amount in each fund

What	ES3	G3B	GAB
Units you’d holdWhole units at today’s NAV	2,255	2,198	2,368
You put in	S$12,000.00	S$12,000.00	S$12,000.00
Expense ratio over 10 yearsTaken from the fund’s value, not billed	S$169.33	S$145.13	S$145.14
Broker’s fees120 trades	S$0.00	S$0.00	S$0.00
All costs, as a share of what you put in	1.41%	1.21%	1.21%
Payouts a year at the last 12 months’ rateOn the units you hold at the end	S$401.39	S$417.40	Reinvested

Assumes today’s NAV and expense ratios stay the same, so it shows costs, not returns. On SGX you pay the market price, which can sit a little above or below NAV, plus the clearing and trading fees on your contract note. Payouts are the last 12 months’ again, not a forecast. GAB holds the same shares as G3B and reinvests instead of paying out.

Payouts: the latest, and how much they move

ES3 pays in February and August, G3B in January and July. Neither announces an amount ahead of time; each payout passes on the dividends the fund received from its 30 companies in the half-year, less its costs.

ES3’s dates and amounts are State Street’s, from its fund page; G3B’s are Amova’s, from its payout summary. The last day to buy is ours: the market day before the ex-date, as Singapore trades settle two market days after they’re made. GAB pays nothing out: its share of the same income stays in the fund.

How much a payout moves

Of ES3’s 26 payouts since 2014, 15 came within 10% of the one before. The biggest rise was 26%, to 5.3¢ in Feb 2017; the biggest fall 32%, to 4¢ in Feb 2021. A fund’s payout follows the dividends its 30 companies paid in the half-year, so a year when banks pay specials, or cut, shows up in the fund’s payouts too.

Why we don’t forecast the next payout

We tried. For each ES3 payout since 2014, we took the dividends DBS, OCBC, UOB and Singtel paid while ES3 held them (from our own pages on each, at ES3's units' share of each company on 13 Nov 2026), and grew the same half-year's payout a year earlier by the change in that income. We tried six timing windows and two ways of counting. The best version missed by a median 9.6%; simply repeating the last payout missed by a median 7.9%. Those four companies are 64% of the fund, so this looked promising, but it didn’t beat the simplest guess, so we show no forecast. State Street’s factsheet says ES3’s payouts are at the manager’s discretion.

Payouts a unit

ES3, by year paidG3B, by financial year

Tap or hover on a column to read it.

0¢5¢10¢15¢20¢

2002200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026

Every ES3 payout since 2002 (48)

Every ES3 payout: ex-date, amount, change, record date, pay date

Ex-date	A unit	Change	Record date	Paid
13 Aug 2026	S$0.093	+9%	14 Aug 2026	27 Aug 2026
11 Feb 2026	S$0.085	−4%	12 Feb 2026	27 Feb 2026
12 Aug 2025	S$0.089	−2%	13 Aug 2025	26 Aug 2025
12 Feb 2025	S$0.091	+6%	13 Feb 2025	26 Feb 2025
13 Aug 2024	S$0.086	+18%	14 Aug 2024	27 Aug 2024
13 Feb 2024	S$0.073	+0%	14 Feb 2024	27 Feb 2024
11 Aug 2023	S$0.073	+22%	14 Aug 2023	25 Aug 2023
10 Feb 2023	S$0.06	−2%	13 Feb 2023	24 Feb 2023
11 Aug 2022	S$0.061	+20%	12 Aug 2022	25 Aug 2022
11 Feb 2022	S$0.051	+19%	14 Feb 2022	25 Feb 2022
11 Aug 2021	S$0.043	+7%	12 Aug 2021	25 Aug 2021
9 Feb 2021	S$0.04	−32%	10 Feb 2021	24 Feb 2021
11 Aug 2020	S$0.059	+5%	12 Aug 2020	25 Aug 2020
10 Feb 2020	S$0.056	−12%	11 Feb 2020	24 Feb 2020
5 Aug 2019	S$0.064	+14%	6 Aug 2019	21 Aug 2019
4 Feb 2019	S$0.056	−7%	7 Feb 2019	21 Feb 2019
2 Aug 2018	S$0.06	+13%	6 Aug 2018	21 Aug 2018
1 Feb 2018	S$0.053	+10%	5 Feb 2018	20 Feb 2018
28 Jul 2017	S$0.048	−9%	1 Aug 2017	16 Aug 2017
2 Feb 2017	S$0.053	+26%	6 Feb 2017	20 Feb 2017
29 Jul 2016	S$0.042	−18%	2 Aug 2016	17 Aug 2016
29 Jan 2016	S$0.051	+4%	2 Feb 2016	18 Feb 2016
31 Jul 2015	S$0.049	+2%	4 Aug 2015	20 Aug 2015
30 Jan 2015	S$0.048	+7%	3 Feb 2015	17 Feb 2015
7 Aug 2014	S$0.045	+5%	11 Aug 2014	19 Aug 2014
4 Feb 2014	S$0.043	−4%	6 Feb 2014	20 Feb 2014
15 Aug 2013	S$0.045	+12%	19 Aug 2013	28 Aug 2013
1 Feb 2013	S$0.04	+0%	5 Feb 2013	19 Feb 2013
31 Jul 2012	S$0.04	−27%	2 Aug 2012	14 Aug 2012
1 Feb 2012	S$0.055	+22%	3 Feb 2012	14 Feb 2012
27 Jul 2011	S$0.045	+29%	29 Jul 2011	10 Aug 2011
27 Jan 2011	S$0.035	+17%	31 Jan 2011	11 Feb 2011
28 Jul 2010	S$0.03	+0%	30 Jul 2010	11 Aug 2010
20 Jan 2010	S$0.03	−25%	22 Jan 2010	2 Feb 2010
28 Jul 2009	S$0.04	−20%	30 Jul 2009	11 Aug 2009
22 Jan 2009	S$0.05	−17%	28 Jan 2009	6 Feb 2009
22 Jul 2008	S$0.06	+0%	24 Jul 2008	4 Aug 2008
24 Jan 2008	S$0.06	–	28 Jan 2008	6 Feb 2008
20 Jul 2007Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.05	–	27 Jul 2007	2 Aug 2007
18 Jan 2007Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.05	–	22 Jan 2007	1 Feb 2007
20 Jul 2006Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.05	–	24 Jul 2006	2 Aug 2006
17 Jan 2006Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.04	–	19 Jan 2006	2 Feb 2006
29 Jul 2005Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.03825	–	2 Aug 2005	23 Aug 2005
21 Dec 2004State Street’s table prints the pay date as 5 Jan 2004, before the ex-date; we show it as printed	S$0.03625	–	23 Dec 2004	5 Jan 2004
29 Jun 2004Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.037179	–	1 Jul 2004	12 Jul 2004
18 Nov 2003Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.033333	–	20 Nov 2003	3 Dec 2003
20 Jun 2003Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.033333	–	24 Jun 2003	7 Jul 2003
9 Oct 2002Adjusted for the 2008 split	S$0.025	–	11 Oct 2002	23 Oct 2002

From State Street’s ES3 page, read twice a day. State Street’s own note says the fund normally pays “semi-annually (Jan and Jul each year)”; its table shows every ex-date since 2018 in February or August.

G3B’s payouts

G3B by financial year since 2010

G3B payouts by financial year to June

Year to June	A unit	Payouts	Source
FY2026	18.99¢	9.32¢ + 9.67¢	Amova’s payout summary
FY2025	17.95¢	8.78¢ + 9.17¢	Annual report for the year to June 2025, note 6
FY2024	15.74¢	7.68¢ + 8.06¢	Annual report for the year to June 2025, note 6 (comparatives)
FY2023	–	Not found	–
FY2022	–	Not found	–
FY2021	–	Not found	–
FY2020	12.68¢	6.06¢ + 6.62¢	Annual report for the year to June 2020, note on distributions
FY2019	11.99¢	5.97¢ + 6.02¢	Annual report for the year to June 2020, note on distributions
FY2018	10.98¢	5.96¢ + 5.02¢	Annual report for the year to June 2020, note on distributions (comparatives)
FY2017	–	Not found	–
FY2016	7.96¢	4.52¢ + 3.44¢	Annual report, note on distributions (years to June 2016 and 2015)
FY2015	9.77¢	4.95¢ + 4.82¢	Annual report, note on distributions (years to June 2015 and 2014)
FY2014	9.15¢	4.5¢ + 4.65¢	Annual report, note on distributions (years to June 2015 and 2014)
FY2013	7¢	3.5¢ + 3.5¢	Annual report for the year to June 2013, note on distributions
FY2012	6.5¢	3.5¢ + 3¢	Annual report for the year to June 2013, note on distributions
FY2011	6¢	3¢ + 3¢	Annual report, note on distributions (years to June 2011 and 2010)
FY2010	5¢	3¢ + 2¢	Annual report, note on distributions (years to June 2011 and 2010)

Amova’s payout summary lists only G3B’s last two payouts, so we keep each one as it appears, and took 2025’s from an archived copy. Earlier years are totals from the fund’s annual reports, in cents a unit, linked to the Internet Archive’s copies of the Nikko AM reports. Amova's site keeps only its latest annual report, and the Internet Archive has no copy of the Nikko AM reports for the years to June 2017 and June 2021 to 2023.

How closely each tracks the index

An index fund’s return falls a little short of its index’s every year: it pays fees, holds a little cash, and receives dividends after the index counts them. The tables give each fund’s return and the index’s, as each fund prints them, at three dates.

From State Street’s and Amova’s factsheets for the same month end, after each fund’s fees. The two factsheets give the same figures for the index.

ES3 G3B

Tap or hover on a column to read it.

0.00.51.01.5

1 year3 years5 years

From ES3’s and G3B’s annual reports for the year to 30 June 2026. The two issuers’ figures for the index itself agree to within 0.01 of a point.

State Street’s page has a later month: to 31 Oct 2026, ES3 returned 25.56% over a year against the index’s 26.47%, 0.91 points behind. Amova publishes its figures once a month in its factsheet, so G3B’s for the same month will follow.

What changed at ES3 on 22 June 2026

State Street’s factsheet carries this note: “Prior to 22 June 2026, the Fund aimed to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the Index on a price return basis. As a result, the Fund’s dividend reinvestment approach may not have corresponded to the description of Index performance calculated on a total return basis. Effective 22 June 2026, the Fund aims to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the Index on a total return basis. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of the future performance.” In plain words, until June 2026 ES3 set out to match the index’s price, and from 22 June it sets out to match the index with dividends counted. Its 1-year gap above covers months under the old aim. We read the note; State Street doesn’t say how much of the gap it explains, so neither do we.

Tracking error: two measures that don’t compare

ES3’s factsheet gives a rolling 1-year tracking error of 0.1631%; G3B’s gives a 3-year annualised tracking error of 0.12%. Tracking error measures how much a fund’s return wobbles around the index’s from one period to the next, not how far behind it ends up, and these are over different periods, so the two numbers can’t be set side by side. The gap behind the index, in the tables above, is the like-for-like figure.

What the expense ratio covers, and how it has changed

The expense ratio is what running the fund cost in a year as a share of its average value: the manager’s fee, the trustee’s, custody, audit and the like. It comes out of the fund’s value day by day, so you never see a bill. It leaves out what you pay to trade: your broker’s commission, SGX’s clearing and trading fees, and the gap between the price you pay and NAV.

G3B: Amova’s page says G3B’s expense ratio has been capped at 0.25% a year since 1 Dec 2023, with anything above it “borne by the Manager and not the Fund”, and cut the management fee from 0.20% to 0.09% a year from 1 Oct 2025. Its fund page still showed the audited 0.24% for the year to June 2025 when we read it on 14 Nov 2026. ES3: State Street's annual report says the fund's management, trustee and other fees together are “currently not expected to exceed 0.30%” of its net asset value a year.

What’s inside

Both hold the index’s 30 shares in close to the index’s weights. DBS, OCBC and UOB alone are 57.2% of ES3. Our pages on DBS, OCBC, UOB and Singtel dividends cover the four biggest.

From State Street’s daily holdings file (30 shares) and Amova’s (30). Weights differ a little by day and by how each counts cash. ES3 also held 1,180 STI futures contracts (STI INDEX FUT ETS Nov26) on the same day.

Buying with CPF or SRS, tax, and the class that reinvests

CPF. Both can be bought with your CPF Ordinary Account under the CPF Investment Scheme. State Street’s prospectus says “The Fund is included for investment under the CPFIS-Ordinary Account”; Amova’s factsheet says “The Fund is included under the CPF Investment Scheme (“CPFIS”) – Ordinary Account”. Each gives its CPFIS risk class: “Higher Risk - Narrowly-Focused” for ES3, “Higher Risk - Narrowly Focused - Country – Singapore” for G3B. To use CPF money you need a CPF Investment Account with one of the three agent banks, DBS, OCBC or UOB, linked to the broker you buy through.

SRS. Amova’s product highlights sheet lists SRS money among the ways to buy G3B on SGX (“Minimum 1 unit via SGX-ST (Cash, SRS or CPFIS-OA)”). State Street’s prospectus and product highlights sheet for ES3, which we read on 14 Nov 2026, don’t mention SRS; your SRS bank can tell you whether it holds ES3.

Tax. Not for individuals. ES3’s prospectus (paragraph 46.9(a)): “Any distribution received by an individual (whether resident in Singapore or not), is exempt from Singapore income tax.” G3B’s prospectus says the same: “Individuals (whether resident in Singapore or not) are exempt from Singapore income tax on distributions made by the trustee of any collective investment scheme constituted as a unit trust authorised under Section 286 of the Securities and Futures Act”.

GAB, the class that reinvests. Amova added it in September 2025. In Amova’s words: “Unlike the existing distribution share class which pays out dividends semi-annually in cash, this accumulation share class automatically reinvests dividend payouts back into the fund”. It is the same fund with the same shares; only what happens to the payouts differs. The two NAVs a unit don’t compare: GAB started in 2025 at its own price.

Where payouts come from. Amova’s factsheet warns that G3B’s “Distributions may be paid out of capital which will result in capital erosion and reduction in the Fund’s NAV”. Its payout summary shows each 2026 payout came wholly from income.

Lots and market makers. Both trade on SGX in lots of one unit. Designated market makers are firms each issuer appoints to quote prices to buy and sell during trading hours. ES3 has 2 and G3B 4, as the issuers list them.

More on this topic

Questions

Changes to this page

No corrections yet. The first one will be listed here, with the date and what changed.

1. 14 Nov 2026

   New: STI ETFs side by side. ES3 (State Street) and G3B (Amova) row by row from each issuer’s own files, read twice a day: expense ratios, what each costs on your amount with your broker’s fee, every ES3 payout since 2002 and G3B’s since 2010, when the next payouts usually come, and how far each fund has trailed the index at three dates. We tried forecasting the next payout and show why we dropped it. See the page

How we know this

Everything here is from State Street and Amova. Twice a day, at about 7:40 am and 5:40 pm, we read State Street’s ES3 page (NAV, fund size, month-end returns and its table of every payout since 2002), its daily holdings file and its monthly factsheet, and Amova’s G3B holdings file, payout summary, factsheet and fee notes. Annual reports, prospectuses and product highlights sheets we read by hand on 14 November 2026: the expense ratios, the June 2026 returns, G3B’s payouts by financial year from 2010 (from the Internet Archive’s copies of the Nikko AM reports), and the CPF, SRS and tax wording. We worked out the last day to buy, the last 12 months’ totals, the gaps behind the index and the calculator’s figures ourselves. We tried a forecast of the next payout and dropped it when it did worse than repeating the last one. We don’t use SGX’s data, show market prices or show index levels. Nothing here is advice to buy or sell; we don’t rate either fund, and neither State Street nor Amova pays us. More on the Investing hub.