Endowus crosses SGD1 billion in assets in under 20 months to become Singapore’s fastest growing digital wealth manager

Endowus hits SGD1 billion in assets under advice within 20 months of becoming the first MAS-licensed digital advisor for investing cash, CPF & SRS savings on one platform.

Following a fundraise from strategic partners - UBS, the largest wealth manager globally, Samsung and Singtel - Endowus.com, Singapore’s leading MAS-licensed digital wealth platform, announced that they have crossed SGD1 billion in assets under advice (AUA) in Singapore.

Endowus achieved this within 20 months of its full-service launch, making it the fastest-growing digital wealth platform in the country. It remains the first and only digital advisor to integrate investment advice across all key asset pools, both private wealth and public pension savings, on one platform. With Endowus, individuals can invest holistically across their private cash, Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) savings with access to optimised portfolios and best-in-class funds, at low cost, all in the palm of their hand.

Growth fuelled by client trust and investor confidence

Client assets grew by over 670% in the last 12 months ending June 30, 2021, despite COVID-19 induced market volatility. The number of clients investing on Endowus grew by almost 1,000% in the same period.

“We are humbled to reach this milestone in such a short time, a feat made possible by the trust placed in us by our clients. Adoption of our digital wealth services has been encouraging and far reaching. Today, our clients range from the age of 21 to over 90, with invested balances ranging from SGD1,000 to millions, showing that Endowus is for all Singaporeans and for all their investing needs,” said Gregory Van, Chief Executive Officer of Endowus.

Over the last year, Endowus’ CPF Core portfolios have rewarded its clients by making their CPF-OA monies work harder: the Endowus balanced portfolio of 60% global equities and 40% global bonds achieved a 20% return, and global equities portfolio achieved an over 30% return.

“This is a clear indication that Endowus remains on track with its vision of helping all investors move towards a more secure financial future — and better manage the generational challenge of retirement.” said Van.

“We set out to make systematic and institutional advice and products accessible to everyone, from the novice investor to the industry veteran. We believe in a better wealth management experience with total transparency and fairer fees. This will lead to better outcomes and enable everyone to take control and secure their financial futures.”

Staying true to the Endowus raison d'etre as a fee-only wealth platform

Endowus continues to fight fervently for lower, fairer fees. This is best illustrated by Endowus’ pioneering the practice of rebating to clients 100% of all trailer fees received, and proactively setting CPF fees to 0.40% per annum well ahead of an industry-wide implementation. Furthermore, by not charging any sales fees or transaction fees, Endowus is not incentivised to churn its clients, so its advice can remain more aligned to client’s individual wealth goals.

Endowus accesses the institutional share-class of funds and makes them available to retail investors at low costs typically only available to the industry’s largest and wealthiest clients. Within this low-cost, fee-only framework, the Singaporean start-up has aggressively launched landmark products to meet the needs of Singaporean investors, providing them with tools and solutions to invest smarter.

Within the past year, Endowus launched Cash Smart — an innovative cash management solution, and Fund Smart — a solution that allows investors to build custom portfolios from a selection of institutional share-class and trailer-fee free funds curated by the Endowus Investment Office. Also among those products was Asia’s first multi-asset multi-manager Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) investment portfolios.

Industry recognition reinforces Endowus drive

Endowus’ industry leading and innovative application of technology in wealth has seen it secure several awards over the past six months, gaining wider industry recognition as the top wealthtech platform. It was recently recognised as Asia Fintech Awards’ ‘WealthTech of the Year’, adding to previous accolades of ‘Singapore Rising Star' and 'Singapore Fintech Innovation in Asset Management’ at Asia Asset Management’s Best of the Best Awards in February this year.

Industry recognition and client trust have further strengthened the Endowus management team’s commitment to its mission to help everyone invest better to live better. The company aims to continuously provide innovative solutions as it unveils its latest suite of income products available on Fund Smart at the lowest cost possible.

To that end, Endowus aims to double down on product development and growth to meet the needs of investors in Singapore, while seeking to implement its vision of democratising investing in yet another major Asian financial hub, Hong Kong.