Endowus appoints new Head of Hong Kong as the company expands to its first overseas market

Steffanie Yuen, former Managing Director at Value Partners and Chief Marketing Officer of Vanguard-Ant Group joint venture joins Endowus to head its Hong Kong office.

Endowus, a digital wealth platform has appointed Steffanie Yuen as its Head of Hong Kong, as the wealthtech startup expands regionally. Steffanie is responsible for establishing and leading Endowus’ presence in Hong Kong, as the firm looks to launch its wealth management and advisory service in the city by Q4 2022.

With over 12 years of experience in fintech, wealth management and investment banking, Steffanie joins Endowus from Value Partners, where she was responsible for leading the Group’s Direct Distribution, Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations functions and other key strategic growth initiatives. Prior to that, she was the Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Director at Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, Ant Group. She was responsible for driving strategic collaborations and partnerships with international financial institutions and Ant Group’s overseas e-wallet partners which together, serve over 1.2 billion global active users annually.

During her time with Ant Group, Steffanie also led the set-up of a joint venture between Vanguard and Ant Group in 2019, where she served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Investor Advisory Service. The joint venture became the first independent fund investment advisor approved in China and achieved over one million users in less than one year of launch.

Steffanie said, “I am humbled to be entrusted with overseeing Endowus’ first regional expansion, and look forward to working with the outstanding team to bring its mission of providing all investors with access to the best-in-class investment products and expert investment advisory service at low, fair cost to Hong Kong.”

Endowus’ mission is focused on introducing the best practices to solve investor pain points of high cost and misaligned incentives that often lead to poor investment returns and outcomes. To this end, Endowus has provided over S$3 million of trailer fees rebates to its clients, in cash or back to clients’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) investment accounts

“Our success in Singapore demonstrates that we are driving tangible change in the industry and creating value for our clients. Endowus’ fee-only model and the provision of 100% cashback on trailer fees will be a market first in Hong Kong. We hope that this unique model that Endowus has pioneered in Singapore will be impactful in helping clients in Hong Kong to manage both their private savings and public pension monies on our digital platform. Over time, we hope to be considered by clients in Hong Kong as an essential partner for wealth planning and to boost retirement adequacy,” Steffanie adds.

Steffanie began her career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and Barclays in Hong Kong. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business and holds the CFA certification in ESG Investing.

Gregory Van, CEO of Endowus said, “Endowus is delighted to welcome Steffanie to the leadership team as we enter our next stage of growth to bring fee-only digital-first wealth management to North Asia. The shifts toward transparency in financial services and digitisation of wealth have unstoppable momentum and we are so excited to be making Hong Kong our first stop with Steffanie, who has built up invaluable fintech and institutional finance experience over the last decade. Under her stewardship, I believe that Endowus will be able to provide a better wealth experience for clients in Hong Kong, as we have done in Singapore.”

Earlier this year, Endowus received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to offer its wealth management and advisory services in the territory. This includes approval for licences under Types 1, 4 and 9, for dealing and advising in securities, and asset management.