BOCI Securities has partnered with Hong Kong-based Magnum Research to provide robo-advisory services to its clients, according to a statement from the robo-advisory firm.
Magnum Research is the firm behind B2C robo-advisory platform Aqumon, while BOCI Securities is wholly-owned by BOC International Holdings in Hong Kong, which is a subsidiary of Bank of China.
BOCI Securities’ platform will generate portfolio recommendations based on the client’s risk profiles and investment preference. Users of the platform will also have the option to rebalance their investment portfolios.
The firm adds to the growing list of B2B partners that have signed up with Magnum. In December, for example, CMB Wing Lung Bank launched its robo-advisory platform, powered by Magnum, to its banking clients.
Separately, BOC International is also one of Magnum’s largest shareholders, alongside Alibaba and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where the firm was incubated.
Other firms that have partnered with Magnum include insurance firm AIA, Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, China Resources bank and China Asset Management.
In Hong Kong, other firms that have launched robo-advisory platforms include securities firm 8 Securities and Yunfeng Financial Group.
Covid-19 beneficiaries?
Separately, Magnum believes that robo-advisory platforms have benefitted from the coronavirus outbreak.
“As much as how the Covid-19 pandemic has impeded the development of many traditional business activities, robo-advisors have gained growth with the industry’s digitisation trend,” the statement said.
In a separate statement, the firm announced that it had a 317% increase in account openings for Aqumon compared with the previous quarter.
Similarly, Kristal AI, which operates in Hong Kong and Singapore, claimed that its weekly active users rose 21% in March to 5,100 from 4,200 when the virus was starting to spread globally in February. In March alone, the firm’s website had nearly 80,000 hits, which compares with just 35,000 in January.
