Why financial jargon still confuses young Singaporeans

Singapore’s younger adults are stepping into the world of investing with growing confidence. Many begin in university; others enter via digital platforms not long after their first paycheck. But while the barriers to access have lowered, a quieter, more stubborn barrier remains: understanding.

A new report from forex broker BrokerChooser underscores this tension. Basic financial terms continue to confuse a significant portion of the population. The most misunderstood? “Equity”—with over 2,100 monthly searches in Singapore alone, and 247,000 globally. The number isn’t just high; it signals a core disconnect in financial comprehension, even among those actively engaged in the markets.

Equity, at face value, seems simple. But context turns that simplicity into ambiguity. In property, it’s your ownership stake after deducting debts. In stocks, it refers to company shares—partial ownership, with potential voting rights and dividends. The definitions aren’t wrong, but they operate in different arenas, and the overlap creates friction for the uninitiated.

As BrokerChooser’s Head Analyst Adam Nasli puts it, equity is “the value you truly own.” His example—owning a $300,000 home with a $200,000 mortgage—leaves you $100,000 in equity. The same principle applies to companies: assets minus liabilities equals shareholders’ equity. Yet for many new investors, that equivalence isn’t obvious. It’s one thing to recite the formula. It’s another to grasp what it implies for your portfolio—or your mortgage.

Next on the list of confusing terms is the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), with 1,800 monthly searches in Singapore. Despite being lauded as low-cost, tax-efficient tools for diversification, ETFs are often mischaracterized—or simply misunderstood. Mr Nasli likens them to “ready-made portfolios” available on the open market. But without basic fluency in asset classes or index tracking, many first-time investors struggle to connect the dots.

GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, ranks third. Its presence in media is frequent, yet its meaning rarely gets unpacked in citizen-facing terms. For many, it’s a proxy for whether “the economy is doing well.” But few can explain how it’s calculated—or why it matters to their personal finances.

The high search volumes point to something deeper than curiosity. They suggest systemic gaps in foundational knowledge. And they come with a cost.

Beyond terminology, the report sheds light on broader behavioral blind spots. A striking 55% of Singaporeans identify as financially illiterate. Even more concerning: 52% don’t track their monthly expenses. That lack of awareness translates to real money—between S$1,997 and S$5,410 lost per household each year, according to the study.

This isn’t just about not knowing the difference between a stock and a bond. It’s about entering capital markets without a map. In a society that strongly encourages home ownership and CPF-linked investments, that lack of fluency isn’t just inconvenient—it’s consequential.

BrokerChooser’s findings echo broader patterns across high-ownership societies. Regions where retail investing is common often overestimate financial literacy. In contrast, countries like Sweden and Finland—where financial education is embedded in the school system—see lower confusion rates on terms like “yield” or “annuity.”

Singapore, despite its math-heavy curriculum and high-performing students, may need to reconsider when and how applied finance concepts are taught. Formal instruction on compound interest or debt servicing rarely enters the classroom until it’s too late—usually after a financial mistake has already occurred.

At first glance, terms like “equity” or “ETF” might appear semantic—technical, but non-urgent. But in Singapore’s policy landscape, they underpin everything from CPF Life to retirement drawdowns to mortgage structures. Misunderstanding them doesn’t just lead to awkward cocktail conversations. It leads to poor choices and missed safeguards.

Closing that gap isn’t just a matter of increasing access to financial tools. It’s about making those tools intelligible. As Adam Nasli notes, “Being equipped means more than access. It means protection from misleading offers and long-term misalignment.”

Young investors are entering the system with optimism. What’s missing is the roadmap. It's time the system handed them one that actually makes sense.