Kit Wong, LU International
The mobile platform offers a total of 16 products available, including funds from Blackrock, JP Morgan and Pimco (chart below).
Kit Wong, CEO at Lu International, told FSA that the firm’s product team uses quantitative and qualitative research to select funds for the platform.
Funds are first screened for performance track record and Sharpe ratio and then qualitative features, including fund management style and market trends, he said.
Client demand has been for private equity-related and healthcare-themed products, he said.
Wong has ambitious plans for the platform. He hopes to double the number of products offered, grow assets under management by 20%-30% and build a base of 10,000 clients — all in the next 12 months.
He admits the competition in the wealth management market in Singapore is high, with many traditional banks and fintech start-ups distributing through their own online platforms.
He believes that Lu Global can differentiate by the design of the mobile application.
“Compared with a relationship manager-driven experience, we aim to differentiate with the ease of use of the app and to deliver the right information through the app interface,” he explained.
“Through the application, we can upload a large amount of documents for our clients to browse. We are also exploring different mediums to help us explain the detailed features of each product, such as via video and animation.”
In addition, the investor on-boarding process uses technology provided by Ping An.
“Facial recognition technology is built in the app to facilitate opening an account. It is similar to a teller counter where you have to show identification documents to verify yourself,” he explained.
Lu International was established in late 2017 by the financial services arm under Ping An, Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange (Lufax), which currently operates a wealth management platform on the mainland.
Fund available on LU Global
|
Fund |
1-year return | Minimum investment amount |
| BGF Asian Growth Leaders A2 USD | -9.82% |
$1500 |
|
BGF European Special Situations Fund A2 USD Hedged |
5.27% | $1500 |
| Blackrock World Financials A2 USD | 8.7% |
$1500 |
|
Blackrock World Technology Fund A2 USD |
32.08% | $1500 |
| Blackrock Global World Healthscience Fund A2 USD | 15.13% |
$125 |
|
Blackrock Global World Real Estate Fund A2 USD |
4.49% | $1500 |
| JPM Japan Equity A (Acc) USD-H | 24.43% |
$1500 |
|
Pimco Global Investment Grade Credit Fund |
-1.33% | $1500 |
| Pimco Income Fund (E USD Acc) | -0.81% |
$1100 |
|
Phillip US Dollar Money Market Fund |
1.45% | $500 |
| LH Global Fund 1 SP Class AR | 3.8% (duration: 126 days) |
$5000 |
|
LH Treasury Fund SP Class SP2-C Series 2018007 |
3% (duration: 3 months) | $1 |
| LH Structured Fund 2 SP (Linked to China Mobile stock) | 15% (duration: 12 months) |
$5000 |
