Client targets
The firm is focused on adding clients to Youyu Wealth this year and is targeting is the mass affluent. Li said the average investment in this investor segment is HK$40,000 ($5,106).
Since the robo-advisor launched, the firm has been focusing on app improvements rather than spending on a massive marketing campaign, Li explained.
“Last year, we didn’t push too aggressively into the market because we thought there’s still a lot of room for improvement. But now we are confident that the technology and financial parts of the app are very stable.”
Currently, the firm makes use of We Chat as a marketing and education tool.
This year, the firm plans to be more aggressive in educating the market about robo-advisory, in collaboration with its fund partners, Li said, without elaborating.
She would not disclose the number of clients or assets the robo-advisor currently has, but added that the firm will be providing figures at the end of the year.
She acknowledged that there are more users for its trading app, Youyu Stock, which enables users to trade equities listed in Hong Kong, the US and on the mainland via the Hong Kong-Stock Connect.
Hong Kong, as well as Singapore, ranked the lowest in terms of the willingness of investors to use robo-advisory platforms, according to a study by Cerulli Associates.
A survey of 300 Asian investors conducted in 2016 revealed that only 40% of Hong Kong and 39% of Singaporean respondents said they were willing to use robo-advisors. The highest was India (70%), followed by 64% in China, Korea (56%) and Taiwan (50%).
