How to Buy Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ETFs in Singapore

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) — often simply called “the Dow” — is the oldest U.S. stock market index still in use today and remains one of the most quoted measures of American market performance. 

Created in 1896, it tracks 30 of the largest and most established U.S. companies, making it a key barometer alongside the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.

What makes the Dow unique is its exclusive focus on blue-chip companies. These are well-established, financially resilient businesses such as Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, Nike, Walt Disney, Apple, and UnitedHealth Group. 

Unlike broader indices that include hundreds of stocks across all sizes, the Dow deliberately concentrates on industry leaders with long operating histories and strong balance sheets — companies that tend to be more stable and less volatile than younger or smaller firms.

The DJIA is also one of the few price-weighted indices still used globally. Instead of weighting companies by market capitalisation (like the S&P 500), the Dow gives greater influence to stocks with higher share prices. 

This creates a different, often more balanced exposure across sectors such as finance, healthcare, consumer goods, and industrials, rather than the tech-heavy tilt seen in many modern indices.

The Dow Jones companies

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) consists of 30 large, established U.S. companies that serve as a representation of the country’s corporate and economic leadership. 

While the index is widely viewed as a collection of stable blue-chip names, its composition has evolved significantly over time to reflect the shifting structure of the U.S. economy.

The Dow originally began as an industrial index, but over more than a century, it has transitioned into a diversified benchmark covering technology, healthcare, finance, consumer goods, and modern industrials. 

Changes to the index are infrequent, but when they do occur, they signal structural transitions: from energy to cloud computing, from manufacturing to services, and from brick-and-mortar to digital platforms.

Recent decades have seen some of the most consequential changes in the index’s history. Amazon’s inclusion in 2024, for example, marked the formal recognition of e-commerce and cloud infrastructure as core pillars of the U.S. economy. Walmart re-entered the index that same year, replacing Walgreens, reflecting the consolidation and resilience of large-scale retail.

In 2020, the Dow added Salesforce, Amgen, and Honeywell, while removing ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Raytheon—a shift that increased exposure to biotechnology and cloud software while reducing reliance on traditional energy and defense.

The removal of General Electric in 2018, the last remaining original Dow member, was a symbolic turning point. After more than a century in the index, GE’s exit highlighted the long-term decline of legacy industrials and the rise of more modern corporate sectors.

These adjustments illustrate the Dow’s ongoing effort to ensure that its 30 constituents continue to embody the long-term structure, leadership, and resilience of the U.S. economy.

The 30 companies that make up the DJIA

Data as of 1st Dec 2025

How are Dow Jones companies selected?

Unlike the S&P 500, which follows a fully rules-based methodology, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) uses a discretionary, committee-driven selection process overseen by the S&P Dow Jones Indices Index Committee. 

There are no formal, mechanical criteria—such as specific market-capitalisation thresholds, liquidity minimums, or profitability rules—governing inclusion. Instead, the committee exercises qualitative judgement to ensure the index continues to represent the structural makeup of the U.S. economy. Companies are reviewed periodically and replaced only when necessary, making changes relatively rare.

According to the S&P Dow Jones Indices methodology, the Index Committee considers:

• Corporate reputation and industry leadership
• Sustained earnings and long-term business growth
• Broad investor ownership and liquidity
• Relevance to the U.S. economy
• Sector balance within the 30-stock index
• A share price suitable for a price-weighted index
• Overall stability and consistency of financial performance

The Dow’s price weighting method explained

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the few major equity indices that still uses a price-weighting methodology — a structure that dates back to its origins in the late 1800s.

In a price-weighted index, each company’s influence is determined by its share price, not its total market value. A stock trading at $500 USD will therefore have a larger impact on the index than a stock trading at $50 USD, even if the latter is a far bigger company in market-cap terms.

Because the Dow cannot simply average the 30 share prices — splits, special dividends and corporate actions would constantly distort the index — S&P Dow Jones Indices uses what is known as the Dow Divisor. 

The divisor adjusts the calculation so that the index remains consistent despite mechanical price changes. When a company splits its stock, for example, the divisor is recalibrated so the split does not artificially move the index.

As a result, the DJIA ultimately reflects changes in stock prices only, not changes in company size. Companies with higher nominal share prices, or those experiencing sharper price swings, exert a disproportionately larger effect on the index’s daily movements. 

This is why a high-priced stock such as UnitedHealth or Goldman Sachs can move the Dow more significantly than far larger companies with lower share prices.

Historical performance: how the Dow compares with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100

The Dow’s defining characteristic over the past decade has been its ability to hold up better during periods of market stress. 

The clearest example came in 2022, when surging interest rates and a sharp correction in high-valuation technology stocks dragged major indices deep into negative territory. The Nasdaq-100 plunged 33%, and the S&P 500 fell 18%. The Dow, however, declined just 7%, cushioned by its larger weighting to financials, healthcare, consumer staples and other mature sectors that tend to be less sensitive to multiple compression.

That same construction — broad, sector-balanced, and price-weighted — also explains why the Dow’s gains in strong years are typically more measured. In 2023 and 2024, for instance, the Nasdaq-100 soared 55% and 26% as AI-linked mega-caps dominated market sentiment. The S&P 500 followed with 26% in both years. The Dow rose a steadier 16% and 15%, reflecting its reduced dependence on a handful of fast-growing technology names.

Taken together, the pattern is consistent: the Dow compounds more gradually in bull markets but provides noticeably stronger downside protection in volatile periods. 

How to invest in the Dow Jones

Investors cannot buy the Dow Jones Industrial Average directly, but they can gain exposure to it in two practical ways.

Buy individual Dow Jones companies

One way to gain exposure to the Dow is to buy the shares of the 30 constituent companies directly. 

This gives investors full control over how much they allocate to each stock, along with the flexibility to overweight or underweight positions. 

However, it also requires managing up to 30 separate trades, monitoring each company, and rebalancing the portfolio over time. For most investors, this approach is more complex and costlier due to multiple transaction fees.

Invest through a Dow Jones ETF

The simpler and more common method is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the DJIA. A Dow Jones ETF holds all 30 companies in the index, providing immediate diversification through a single trade.

It typically comes with lower costs, fewer administrative steps, and automatic rebalancing. For most investors—especially those in Singapore looking for efficient U.S. blue-chip exposure—an ETF is the most practical way to replicate the index’s performance.

Invest in the DJIA with StashAway ETF Explorer

Get exposure to the US' top companies with with StashAway ETF Explorer, and invest directly in the DJIA and over 80 other asset classes. Build a portfolio that reflects your goals and risk appetite, without the complexity of doing it yourself.

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Top Dow Jones ETFs to buy

Investors can choose from highly liquid U.S.-listed ETFs, convenient SGX-listed products that trade in SGD or USD, or UCITS-domiciled funds that offer estate-tax advantages for international investors.

SGX-listed Dow Jones ETF

For investors who prefer to execute trades on the Singapore Exchange — avoiding USD conversion, keeping everything in one account, and trading during local market hours — SGX-listed Dow ETFs offer a simple, convenient option.

U.S.-listed Dow Jones ETFs

U.S.-listed Dow Jones ETFs are the most widely used worldwide. They offer deep liquidity, tight bid-ask spreads, and typically the lowest expense ratios.

These ETFs are easily accessible through investment platforms like StashAway, Interactive Brokers, Saxo, Moomoo, Tiger Brokers.

UCITS-domiciled Dow Jones ETFs

UCITS Dow Jones ETFs, typically domiciled in Ireland, France, Luxembourg or Germany, are popular among non-U.S. investors because they are not subject to U.S. estate tax.

They often come with slightly higher fees but are well-suited for larger, long-term positions where estate-planning considerations matter.

How to buy Dow Jones ETFs

Once you’ve shortlisted the right Dow Jones ETF for your portfolio, the next decision is where to buy it. The platform you choose affects your overall cost, access to global markets, FX conversion fees, and even your tax reporting obligations.

Local bank brokerages

Traditional platforms such as DBS Vickers, OCBC Securities, and UOB Kay Hian remain popular for their customer support and seamless linkage to existing bank accounts.

However, their commissions are higher, and minimum charges can materially reduce returns for investors who trade in smaller amounts. U.S. market access is also typically more expensive through bank-backed platforms.

Global and fintech brokers

Platforms like Interactive Brokers, Saxo Markets, Tiger Brokers, Moomoo SG, and FSMOne have reshaped brokerage pricing.

They offer significantly lower commissions, competitive FX rates, and direct access to U.S., Hong Kong, and European exchanges. The trade-off is that investors must manage their own tax obligations and handle more complex interfaces, especially when buying U.S.-listed ETFs.

Robo-advisors

Some robo-advisors now combine managed portfolios with direct ETF trading, offering a middle ground between full-service brokers and self-directed platforms.

StashAway’s ETF Explorer is an example of this hybrid model.

Platform comparison

Why investors may prefer StashAway ETF Explorer

For Singapore investors who want the simplicity of a robo-advisor but the flexibility of choosing individual ETFs, StashAway’s ETF Explorer provides a streamlined way to access global ETFs — including Dow Jones trackers — with a predictable cost structure.

ETF Explorer offers a curated selection of ETFs across equities, bonds, commodities and thematic exposures, filtering thousands of global ETFs down to a high-quality universe approved by StashAway’s investment team for cost efficiency, liquidity and tax considerations. 

Investors can browse more than 80 asset classes, understand what each ETF represents, and invest directly in just a few taps.

What differentiates ETF Explorer is its flat $1 USD per trade fee, with no additional management fee. Combined with one of the lowest FX spreads in the market, more of your money is invested rather than spent on transaction costs.

Investors can fund their ETF Explorer portfolio using cash or SRS, making it suitable for long-term asset allocation or tactical ETF exposure.

With selected ETFs in hand, the entire process — from logging in with SingPass to executing an ETF purchase — can take under a minute, eliminating the friction typically associated with global ETF investing.

Domicile considerations for investors

The domicile, which determines the tax treatment and tracking error, can have a larger long-term impact on investment returns than small differences in fees or trading costs. 

For investors buying Dow Jones ETFs, the key issues arise not from Singapore tax law, but from how foreign-domiciled funds are treated by U.S. and Irish tax authorities.

Singapore tax: capital gains and dividends

For individuals who are tax residents in Singapore, domestic tax treatment is straightforward:

• There is no capital gains tax on the sale of listed securities held for investment purposes.
• There is no tax on foreign-sourced dividends received personally under current rules.

This means most tax considerations come from foreign jurisdictions, especially the U.S. for U.S.-domiciled ETFs and Ireland at the fund level for UCITS ETFs.

U.S.-listed ETF Dividend withholding (DIA)

U.S.-domiciled ETFs such as DIA distribute dividends from U.S. companies, and for non-U.S. investors:

• Dividends are subject to 30% withholding tax.
• Singapore does not have a tax treaty with the U.S. to reduce this rate.

Illustrative example:

• Gross dividend yield: 2.0%
• Net dividend after 30% WHT: ≈ 1.4%

Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETF dividend withholding

Ireland-domiciled DJIA UCITS ETFs benefit from the U.S.–Ireland tax treaty, which lowers the withholding tax at the fund level:

• Irish funds typically pay 15% U.S. dividend withholding tax.
• Singapore investors generally do not pay additional Irish withholding.

Illustrative example:

• Gross dividend yield: 2.0%
• Net after 15% WHT inside the fund: ≈ 1.7%

U.S. estate tax exposure

U.S.-domiciled ETFs are considered U.S. situs assets. For non-U.S. persons, this creates potential exposure to U.S. estate tax above a relatively low exemption threshold (historically around $60,000 USD).

Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs avoid this issue because:

• The investor owns units of an Irish fund,
• The fund — not the investor — holds the underlying U.S. shares,
• Making the units non-U.S. situs assets for estate-tax purposes.

After-tax yield comparison: U.S. vs. Ireland domicile

Illustrative example:

Tracking error: When ETFs wander off course

Tracking error is how closely an ETF mirrors its benchmark and where an ETF is listed can significantly affect its performance. US-listed ETFs tend to have much lower tracking error compared to those listed in other regions. This is largely due to higher trading volumes, tighter bid-ask spreads, and more efficient market structures in the US.

In contrast, ETFs listed outside the US may experience slightly wider spreads and lower liquidity, which can cause deviations from their benchmark index performance over time. In short, gains in the benchmark index may not be accurately reflected in ETFs domiciled outside the US.

Costs: what you actually pay when buying DJIA ETFs

The total cost of owning a Dow Jones ETF is more than just the fund’s management fee. In practice, investors should account for several layers of friction that can affect long-term returns.

Brokerage commissions

The fee you pay each time you buy or sell an ETF. Commissions vary widely across platforms, from flat-fee robo-advisors to percentage-based fees at bank brokerages.

FX conversion costs

Most DJIA ETFs trade in USD, so Singapore investors often incur currency conversion spreads when funding their accounts or reinvesting dividends.

ETF expense ratio (TER)

The annual fee charged by the ETF provider. DJIA ETFs range from low-cost options such as DIA to higher-cost UCITS or strategy-based ETFs.

Bid-ask spreads

The difference between the buying price and selling price of an ETF. More liquid ETFs like DIA tend to have tighter spreads, reducing implicit trading costs.

Custody or platform fees

Some brokers charge custody, platform, or inactivity fees, which can add up for long-term investors.

Tax drag on dividends

As covered in the previous section, U.S.-domiciled ETFs face 30% withholding on dividends, while Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs generally incur only 15% at the fund level.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Can I buy DJIA ETFs in SGD?

Pure DJIA trackers in SGD are uncommon. Most Dow ETFs trade in USD, and UCITS versions trade primarily in GBP or EUR. Even if an ETF is SGD-denominated, your underlying exposure remains USD.

Is there a Shariah-compliant Dow Jones ETF?

There is no mainstream Shariah-compliant ETF that tracks the DJIA directly, as several Dow components do not pass Shariah screening. Investors seeking compliant U.S. equity exposure should consider ETFs tracking Dow Jones Islamic, MSCI Islamic, or FTSE Shariah indices.

What’s the dividend withholding tax difference for Singapore investors?

U.S.-domiciled DIA incurs 30% withholding on dividends. Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs face 15% withholding at the fund level under the U.S.–Ireland treaty, with no additional tax to Singapore investors. 

Does investing in a DJIA ETF create tax-filing obligations?

Singapore investors generally do not need to file taxes on foreign dividends or capital gains. U.S.-listed ETFs may require a W-8BEN form with your broker. UCITS ETFs avoid this entirely.

Are DJIA ETFs suitable for long-term investing?

Yes. Because the Dow is tilted toward large, stable companies, it often delivers smoother performance than tech-heavy indices like the Nasdaq. Investors who prefer steady compounding and lower volatility often use DJIA ETFs as a core holding.

Do DJIA ETFs distribute dividends?

Most DJIA ETFs are distributing funds because the index constituents pay regular dividends. UCITS variants may offer accumulating and distributing share classes. Dividend treatment depends on the ETF’s domicile.

Is currency risk a concern?

Yes. DJIA ETFs expose you to the USD, regardless of trading currency. Long-term returns will partly depend on SGD–USD movements. Many Singapore investors accept this as part of global diversification.

What’s the difference between DIA and equal-weight or covered-call Dow ETFs?

DIA tracks the Dow exactly. Equal-weight ETFs (e.g., EDOW) give each company similar influence, while covered-call ETFs (e.g., DJIA, DYLG) trade upside potential for income generation. These variations behave differently from the core index.

Can I buy DJIA ETFs using SRS?

Yes. StashAway’s ETF Explorer supports SRS purchases for selected ETFs, including UCITS DJIA products. Certain SGX-listed feeder funds may also be SRS-eligible.