Singapore's OCBC Bank has launched a robo investment service using technology from local startup WeInvest.
The live launch of the service follows a nine-month pilot trial last year forged through a partnership between WeInvest and the bank's fintech and innovation unit, The Open Vault.
Founded in 2015, WeInvest recently raised $12 million in a series A round of funding led by London-based asset management house Schroders, which has acquired a minority stake in the start-up.
Targeting young and tech-savvy investors, OCBC RoboInvest requires an initial investment amount of just S$3500. Customers can choose from 28 diverse portfolios of equities and exchange traded funds across six markets, including technology, real estate investment trusts, fast-moving-consumer-goods companies, property, healthcare and food & beverage. Algorithms monitor performance to re-balance investments and alert users to changing economic indicators.
OCBC says costs are a fraction of traditional investment management fees: Just 1.5% annually for assets under management of up to S$50,000, rising to one percent for portfolios above the low water mark.
OCBC Bank’s head of e-business Singapore, Mr Aditya Gupta, says: “With OCBC RoboInvest, we are empowering our customers to get started on their investment journeys and grow their wealth in a simple, smart and self-directed way. We are certain that our customers will find this new digital investment platform very attractive and that it will radically transform how customers engage with their investments.”