StashAway Malaysia Review 2026: Is It Worth Your Investment?
In a year where Malaysians are increasingly looking beyond fixed deposits and EPF for their savings, robo-advisors like StashAway have become a popular middle ground — more hands-off than stock-picking, but potentially better returns than leaving money in a savings account.
But is StashAway still worth it in 2026? The short answer is yes — but it depends on what you’re using it for. Here’s our honest take.
What Is StashAway?
StashAway is a digital investment platform (robo-advisor) that automatically builds and manages a diversified portfolio of ETFs on your behalf. You pick a risk level, deposit money, and StashAway handles everything — asset allocation, rebalancing, and adjusting your portfolio based on economic conditions. No need to manually buy or sell funds.
StashAway is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia and has been operating in Malaysia since 2018. It’s backed by significant venture funding and has expanded across Southeast Asia and the Middle East — so it’s not a startup risk in the way some newer fintech platforms might be.
StashAway Products Available in Malaysia
1. General Investing
This is the core product — a portfolio of globally diversified ETFs calibrated to your chosen risk level (from conservative to aggressive). StashAway uses a proprietary system called ERAA (Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation) to adjust your portfolio based on macroeconomic conditions.
In 2025, the General Investing portfolios delivered strong returns:
| Risk Level | Approx. 2025 Return (USD) |
|---|---|
| Conservative (low risk) | ~8.7% |
| Moderate | ~12–15% |
| Aggressive (high risk) | ~23.4% |
| Average across portfolios | ~17.5% |
Important caveat: these are USD-denominated returns. When converted to MYR, the average comes out to approximately 6.6% due to currency effects. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns, but this gives you a realistic picture of what to expect over a full market year.
2. StashAway Simple
StashAway Simple is their cash management product, essentially a low-risk money market portfolio that aims to preserve capital while earning a modest return. Be careful with the rate here. StashAway’s Simple page headlines a projected 3.55% p.a., but the footnote on that same page dates the projected rate at 3.4% p.a. as of 19 August 2025, and the quarterly returns it publishes stop at Q2 2025. Treat the headline as marketing and check the live rate in the app before moving money across. What we can confirm today: the management fee is 0.15% p.a., and the portfolio holds 80% Principal Islamic Money Market Fund and 20% AmIncome Fund.
This positions it as a reasonable alternative to keeping emergency funds in a regular savings account (which typically earns 0.5–2% in Malaysia). It’s not as high as a fixed deposit, but you get daily liquidity — you can withdraw at any time without penalty.
3. Goal-Based Investing
StashAway also allows you to set specific financial goals — a house down payment, retirement fund, or travel savings — and builds a portfolio timeline around that goal. This feature is useful if you’re the type who saves better with a clear target in mind.
What StashAway Actually Returned (in Ringgit)
StashAway publishes its headline returns in US dollars, because the ETFs inside your portfolio trade in US dollars. What lands in your account is ringgit. In 2025 those two numbers were very far apart.
StashAway’s own 2025 report puts its General Investing portfolios at 17.5% on average in USD terms. The same portfolios, in MYR terms, returned 6.6%. StashAway explains why in the same report: the ringgit appreciated by about 10% against the US dollar over 2025. Currency took roughly two-thirds of the headline.
That drag is not permanent, and it swings both ways. Here is every period StashAway has reported since:
| Period (General Investing) | USD terms | MYR terms | Currency effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full year 2025 | 17.5% | 6.6% | −10.9 pp |
| 12 months to 30 June 2026 | 13.8% | 10.4% | −3.4 pp |
| First half of 2026 | 5.9% | 6.5% | +0.6 pp |
Read the bottom row again. In the first half of 2026 the dollar strengthened, and the ringgit result was better than the dollar one. Currency is a two-way swing you do not control and cannot predict. That is the honest argument for holding a globally diversified portfolio across years rather than judging it on any single one.
It hit every portfolio on the platform, not just the flagship one:
| Portfolio (2025 full year) | USD terms | MYR terms |
|---|---|---|
| General Investing (StashAway) | 17.5% | 6.6% |
| General Investing (BlackRock) | 17.1% | 6.3% |
| Responsible Investing (ESG) | 18.7% | 7.8% |
| Technology Enablers | 18.9% | 7.9% |
| Healthcare Innovation | 17.2% | 6.4% |
| Future of Consumer Tech | 14.3% | 3.8% |
| Environment and Cleantech | 25.5% | 14.0% |
What RM10,000 would actually have done
Take RM10,000 in a General Investing portfolio and run it through both periods. The published returns are gross, so we deduct the 0.8% annual management fee that applies at this portfolio size, plus the roughly 0.2% ETF expense ratio StashAway states on its pricing page. Fees are charged monthly against a moving balance, so treat these as close approximations rather than to-the-sen figures.
| RM10,000 invested | 2025 full year | 12 months to June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross return (MYR terms) | 6.6% | 10.4% |
| Less management fee | −0.8% | −0.8% |
| Less ETF expense ratio | −0.2% | −0.2% |
| Approximate net return | 5.6% | 9.4% |
| You would have | ~RM10,560 | ~RM10,940 |
| Same RM10,000 in EPF | RM10,615 | RM10,615 |
So in the year StashAway advertised a 17.5% average return, a Malaysian putting in RM10,000 would have finished with roughly RM10,560 after fees. That is about RM55 behind simply leaving the money in EPF, which paid 6.15% for 2025 with no management fee at all. Over the twelve months to June 2026, it pulled ahead of EPF by around RM325. Both are true. Neither alone tells you what to expect.
Two caveats worth keeping in mind. EPF is not a like-for-like alternative, because your contributions there are locked until retirement while this money is withdrawable any time. And StashAway charges a minimum account fee of RM5 per month, which bites on small balances: on RM10,000 the 0.8% fee works out to about RM6.67 a month and the minimum never applies, but below roughly RM7,500 it does, unless you are within your first six months or making a net deposit that month.
None of this makes StashAway a bad product. It makes the USD headline a bad number to decide on. For money you might need sooner, compare it against a ringgit money market fund or our emergency fund guide, where the currency question does not arise.
StashAway Fees: What You’ll Actually Pay
| Portfolio Size | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| RM0 – RM30,000 | 0.8% p.a. |
| RM30,001 – RM100,000 | 0.6% p.a. |
| RM100,001 – RM250,000 | 0.4% p.a. |
| Above RM250,000 | 0.2% p.a. |
For most Malaysians starting out, you’ll be in the 0.8% tier. On a RM5,000 portfolio, that’s RM40 per year — or roughly RM3.33 per month. That’s genuinely reasonable for a fully managed, globally diversified portfolio. There are no trading fees, no deposit or withdrawal fees, and no minimum balance requirement.
StashAway vs EPF: How Do They Compare?
Many Malaysians naturally compare StashAway to EPF since both are long-term savings vehicles. EPF has historically declared dividends of 5–6% annually (with some variation), and contributions are mandatory for salaried employees.
StashAway is better thought of as a complement to EPF, not a replacement. Your EPF contributions are locked in until retirement (with limited withdrawal windows), while StashAway gives you a flexible, globally diversified investment you can access anytime. For money you won’t need for 5–10 years but want more accessible than EPF, StashAway fits well.
Who Is StashAway Best For?
StashAway suits you well if: You want to invest consistently without managing individual stocks, you’re comfortable with a long investment horizon (5+ years), you want exposure to global markets rather than just Malaysian ones, or you like the idea of a “set and forget” investment.
StashAway may not be ideal if: You want direct control over which stocks or ETFs you buy, you’re looking for short-term returns (the MYR returns can be modest in low-volatility years), or your portfolio is large enough that the 0.8% fee feels meaningful compared to simply buying ETFs yourself on a platform like Moomoo or Webull.
The Bottom Line
StashAway remains one of the most credible robo-advisors available to Malaysians in 2026. Its 2025 returns were strong, the fee structure is transparent and reasonable, and the platform is genuinely easy to use — even if you’ve never invested before.
If you’re sitting on savings that are currently doing nothing in a current account, or you want to start investing but feel overwhelmed by stock-picking, StashAway is a legitimate and low-effort way to get started. The referral programme also means both you and your referrer get up to RM30,000 managed fee-free for 6 months, which is a nice way to test the platform without paying anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is StashAway safe in Malaysia?
StashAway is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. Your investments are held in custody by a licensed custodian, separately from StashAway’s own operating funds. This means if StashAway the company were to face financial difficulties, your investment assets would still be protected. No investment is risk-free in terms of market value, but StashAway is a regulated, legitimate platform.
What is the minimum investment for StashAway Malaysia?
There is no minimum investment required to open a StashAway account or to start investing. You can begin with as little as RM1, though practically speaking, you’ll want to invest at least RM100–500 for the returns to feel meaningful relative to the management fee.
How does StashAway Simple compare to a fixed deposit?
StashAway Simple’s last officially dated projected rate was 3.4% p.a., as of 19 August 2025; the page now headlines 3.55% without attaching a fresh date to it, so check the app for the live figure. Fixed deposit board rates track the Overnight Policy Rate, which Bank Negara has held at 2.75% since July 2025, with promotional campaigns running higher than board rates. The dependable difference is liquidity rather than yield: Simple has no lock-in and you can withdraw at any time without breaking a tenure, which is what makes it worth considering for an emergency fund.
How much did StashAway return in 2025?
StashAway’s General Investing portfolios returned between 8.7% and 23.4% in 2025 (in USD terms), averaging around 17.5% across risk levels. In MYR terms, the average was approximately 6.6% after currency effects. Higher-risk portfolios generated higher returns but also carry greater potential for losses in down markets.
Want to compare StashAway against other investment options available in Malaysia? See our guide to the best investment apps in Malaysia for a broader comparison of platforms and returns.
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