UOB Asset Management Ltd (UOBAM) on Monday launched UOBAM Invest, a robo-advisory mobile app for retail investors in Singapore. This service was previously only available to corporate clients, but is now accessible to the public.
The biggest draw of robo-advisers, according to a survey by UOBAM among retail investors, is that these platforms provide a simpler and easier way to manage investments. However, they were also concerned about the credibility, security and long-term viability of robo-advisers.
Thio Boon Kiat, CEO of UOBAM, reassured that the UOBAM Invest mobile app is one way UOBAM demonstrates how it is combining more than 30 years of investment experience with the use of technology to make investing simpler, smarter and safer.
UOBAM Invest makes investing more effective through their key service, Digital Advisor, which allows clients to personalize their investment portfolios based on their goals, risk tolerance level, duration, etc., instead of providing a pre-built portfolio.
These portfolios are also dynamic, enabling clients to fine-tune their goals by changing their goals, contributions, duration, and risk tolerance level.
To really tailor to the differences between their clients, UOBAM has also embedded the ‘glide-path’ formula into the Digital Advisor’s investment model. The formula automates the shift in clients’’ portfolio allocation from higher-risk assets to safer ones systematically and gradually, particularly towards the end of their investment period, balancing their need for long-term growth with their risk tolerance levels.
These unique services are made possible by the integration of UOBAM’s proprietary capital market assumptions, derived from its extensive investment expertise and experience, into Digital Adviser’s algorithm technology.
Setting up an account with UOBAM Invest is simple. The mobile app has integrated MyInfo into the account opening process, which simplifies the sign-up process. The app also allows users to link PayNow to their accounts, which allows clients to use PayNow to invest.
Retail investors can start investing using UOBAM Invest from S$1 and there are no account opening or closing fees. For investments of $25,000 and below, the advisory fee is 0.8% per annum, and for amounts above $25,000, the advisory fee is 0.6% per annum.
UOB has partnered with FNZ Group, a global FinTech firm, to create UOBAM Invest. FNZ Group currently has more than 10 million retail customers on its global technology wealth platform and manges over $700 billion on its global technology wealth platform.
Tim Neville, CEO – APAC at FNZ, says, “We are delighted to have supported UOB Asset Management in the development of its robo-advisory mobile app for retail investors. This app leverages FNZ’s global robo-advisory solutions that provide tailor-made portfolios for each individual investor, incorporating their attitude to risk and various life goals over time”.
“The investment portfolio is then automatically monitored on an ongoing basis, ensuring portfolios can be optimised to people’s needs. This is not just digitising the original human advice process, it aims to provide a better investment outcome for the end investor through technology. By combining UOBAM’s investment expertise with FNZ’s market leading technology, investing is now simpler, smarter and more personalised than ever,” he adds.
As at 12:22pm, shares in UOB were changing hands 4 cents lower, or 0.198% down, at $20.19.
