WeInvest, a Singapore-based digital wealth services and robo-advisory firm, announced today its expansion will be into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Their entry into the UAE follows after their expansion in Southeast Asia across markets like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand while being based in Singapore. Their office will be located at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region where they will serve the Middle East market.
WeInvest was selected as one of the 11 finalists for the first edition of FinTech Hive, part of DIFC’s accelerator programme launched in August 2017. The accelerator programme provides a platform for the world’s most innovative start-ups the opportunity to test, develop and adapt their solutions to meet the evolving needs of the Middle East region’s financial services and insurance industries. WeInvest was chosen to undergo a 12-week programme under the guidance and mentorship of the leading financial institutions and insurance companies from the Middle East and across the globe.
Announcing the expansion news, Bhaskar Prabhakara, CEO and Co-Founder, WeInvest said, “After cementing our presence in Southeast Asia and having grown at a rapid pace to collaborate with financial institutions, brokerage companies by providing cutting-edge solutions for their customers, it is time for us to step into a new region. Our growing relationships with financial institutions in the UAE have prompted us to open an office in DIFC. Our association with DIFC has been of vital importance to us and being part of their accelerator programme in 2017 only escalated our decision to expand there. The expansion into the UAE is timely with the region opening up to more business opportunities. Furthermore, in the realm of wealth management, we believe robo-advisory solutions for the financial institutions will serve the wealth market with due diligence.”
“UAE is currently witnessing a digital revolution across industries be it fintech, e-commerce, medtech. Financial institutions in the UAE today recognise the significance of disruptive solutions and are innovating at a great speed. Their consumers on the other hand are digitally savvy and are ready for customised, personalised investment solutions that can cater to this emerging affluent market. We believe this is the one of the main reasons for the fast growing pace of the wealth market in UAE,” Bhaskar added.
According to DIFC Wealth & Asset Management report 2017, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to have an Asset Under Management (AUM) of approximately USD$100 billion by 2020, with UAE contributing around 20 per cent to the market. The study also reported that the MEASA region is particularly attractive for fund managers in the alternative investments sector, citing that alternative investments account for more than 15 per cent of the total assets, which is the highest share globally.
Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer at DIFC Authority commented, “WeInvest’s decision to establish an office in the DIFC validates the attractiveness of the region’s wealth and asset management market, as well as the robust platform and opportunities that the Centre offers. By selecting WeInvest as one of the participants of the inaugural FinTech Hive accelerator programme, DIFC enabled the firm to initially tap into the high-growth MEASA markets. Today, they are a fully licensed company in the Centre, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth. WeInvest is well-positioned to leverage the intergenerational transfer of over $1 trillion in private family wealth currently taking place in the region with their innovative robo-advisory technology.”
Singapore-based WeInvest, a robo-advisory platform-as-a-service provider for banks, wealth and asset managers, insurance companies and independent financial advisors, empowers relationship managers of banks to service their clients better and gives the investor the competitive advantage to understand investment options more easily. WeInvest recently secured their Series A funding of US$12.2 million from Schroders which enables WeInvest to provide a value-added proposition for its partners.
WeInvest also recently announced their tie-up with Singapore-based OCBC bank and CGS-CIMB Securities to provide its robo-advisory platforms for their clients. The OCBC RoboInvest is an automated, algorithm-based digital investment service targeting young and tech-savvy investors, which requires an initial investment amount of just US$2,500. As for CGS-CIMB, the robo-advisory platform eWealth brings personalised investment advisory services to its retail clients anytime, anywhere.
The platforms integrate solutions from two of WeInvest’s products namely GrowWealth, a robo-advisory-as-a-service providing goal-based and thematic investing journey for a Bank’s underserved or self-directed clients; and AdviseWealth, an RM-assisted advisory - equipping advisors to grow and deliver brilliant client service, in the face of challenges like system, product and compliance restrictions, manual processes and limited products. WeInvest also has a third product, TrackWealth, an aggregation-as-a-service, aimed at allowing banks to understand, analyse and engage its clients better.