Robo-advisors are all the rage in the wealth management industry as banks and financial institutions around the world are looking to respond to the industry’s rapid adoption of technology, changing consumer expectations and the disruptive potential of new entrants.
Even PayPal is hopping on the robo-advisor bandwagon, announcing on Monday that it has linked its platform to Acorns, a micro investing service, enabling PayPal users to make contributions to Acorns via their accounts and keep track of investments via the PayPal app. The new features rolled out to select US PayPal customers this week and will be available to all US customers by early 2018.
While robo-advisors are most common in the US, they are now present all across the world, including Southeast Asia where the vast majority of them can be found in Singapore.
Today, we look at some of the most popular robo-advisory platforms and digital wealth management companies from Singapore.
Robo Advisors in Singapore
AutoWealth
AutoWealth, a licensed digital financial advisor, uses a proprietary algorithm to provide financial advice and investment management online.
AutoWealth has created an automated process that cuts down on the processing time and middleman profits whilst still giving customers precise recommendations on the ideal composition of their investment assets, the initial sum to invest and the periodic investment installments.
Customers start with taking a three-minute questionnaire, which feeds into the robo-advisory system. Then, AutoWealth’s proprietary algorithm analyses the customer’s answers and recommends a tailored investment portfolio.
AutoWealth officially launched in August following a year of intensive beta testing.
StashAway
StashAway is an intelligent, automated digital wealth manager that personalizes, rebalances and optimizes clients’ portfolio based on their salaries, monthly savings capacity, risk preferences, and time horizon to reach their goals.
The platform automatically designs an optimized portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a monthly investment strategy. It also manages the portfolio by rebalancing and re-optimizing according to market and economic conditions.
StashAway has no minimum balance, low management fees that range from 0.2% to 0.8%, and lets users withdraw their money at any time.
StashAway was granted a Capital Market Services License in May 2017. Currently they try to get clients via MRT ads 😉
Smartly
Smartly, a service provided in collaboration with VCG Partners, a licensed fund manager, is a robo-advisor that automates investing for Millennials. The platform allows users to invest as little as S$50 per month in globally diversified portfolio of ETFs.
Smartly’s proprietary algorithms recommend a personalized investment portfolio and ETFs based on an individual’s risk profile.
Clients pay an annual management fee of 0.5%-1% per year and the underlying ETF fee charged by the ETF provider (between 0.1%-0.25% per year). Smartly charges no additional fees for rebalancing, withdrawals and trading.
CONNECT by Crossbridge
CONNECT by Crossbridge is a digital advisory platform part of the Crossbridge Capital Group, an established independent wealth management firm. The robo-advisor was developed in collaboration with top-tier industry providers including Julius Baer from Switzerland and Morningstar.
CONNECT offers actively managed portfolios with efficient and transparent fee structures. Fees range from 0.20% up to a maximum of just 1.25% per annum, depending on investment selection. It is available to accredited investors, including expatriates living in Singapore.
Bambu
Bambu is a business-to-business robo-advisor company offering wealth management digital platforms to financial and non-financial firms in Asia.
Bambu’s private banking product aims to improve the efficiency of relationship managers. The proprietary ranking algorithm offers a unified view of the market and house view, and recommends relevant investment ideas for client portfolios.
Bambu’s white-label robo-advisory platform enables investors to naturally and easily find suitable investment strategies for their needs. The platform creates a personalized portfolio and risk profile according to each of investors’ goals.
Pivot Fintech
Pivot Fintech offers wealth management and robo-advisory technology to financial institutions in Southeast Asia. The company provides sophisticated and dynamic investment strategies that mitigate risk and which take into consideration market volatility and economic cycle changes.
Pivot Fintech is a Singapore venture launched earlier this year by China’s fintech company Pintec Group. Pintec’s technology runs the robo services for Chinese companies including Minsheng Securities and Anbang Insurance Group.
The group also has several other businesses such as an online insurance broker, a consumer lending app and an online fund distribution company.
Smartfolios
Smartfolios is a B2B digital advisory and investment platform for financial institutions. The company creates tailor-made investment solutions to fit the specific needs of banks, wealth managers and brokers.
The proprietary technology and portfolio construction engine enables financial institutions partners to deliver an engaging and personalized digital investment experience to their customers at an affordable cost.
WeInvest
WeInvest is a digital wealth provider, serving leading financial institutions in the region.
WeInvest helps institutions deliver a full-suite digital investing experience to their customers and offers three main services: TrackWealth, an aggregation as a service platform enabling clients to track their finances, AdviseWealth, a B2C robo-advisory platform, and GroWealth, a goal-based and thematic investing platform.
Featured picture via pixabay
