Grab Financial Group (GFG), the financial services arm of Grab Holdings, has announced that it will launch a wealth management solution for Grab users in Singapore.
“AutoInvest” will be the firm’s first micro-investment solution, which enables users to invest as they spend with their everyday Grab transactions. Users can choose how much they want to invest per Grab transaction, from as low as S$1 ($0.73), with returns estimated to be 1.8% per annum, according to a statement from the firm.
Grab, which was first founded in Malaysia in 2012 and later moved its headquarters to Singapore, started as a ride-hailing service, like Uber in the US. Later, it expanded its services to include food delivery and digital payments.
AutoInvest will make use of fixed income funds offered by Fullerton Fund Management and UOB Asset Management. The firm expects to roll-out the service in early September.
FSA sought more information from Grab whether it will roll out the offering in other Southeast Asian markets and if it plans to launch other wealth management solutions, such as robo-advisory services, but the firm was not able to reply in time for publication.
Grab is already operating in a number of different Southeast Asian markets, which include Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, according to the firm’s website.
The move follows after Grab Holdings acquired B2B robo-advisory firm Bento in February, which has been renamed as Grabinvest. At the time, Grabinvest noted that it already acquired a retail fund management company license with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which means that it can launch its products to retail investors in the Lion City.
GFG is also involved in other financial services. For example, it launched its consumer insurance business last year, with at least 13 million insurance policies issued since April 2019, according to the statement. GFG is now one of the largest digital insurance distributors in Southeast Asia for its insurance partner, Chubb.
Raiz
Separately, Australia-based robo-advisory firm Raiz Invest announced last month that it rolled out a micro-investing mobile app in Malaysia.
Launching the app is Raiz Malaysia, which is a joint venture company between Permodalan Nasional Berhad’s (PNB) subsidiary Jewel Digital Ventures and Raiz Invest. The mobile app enables users to invest in Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad’s mutual funds and is initially exclusive for Maybank account holders. Users can authorise the app to round up everyday purchases made using their debit cards and invest the spare change.
In December, Raiz also entered Indonesia, where it secured a licence to distribute mutual funds in the country. The Indonesian business opened in March 2019 and the app is expected to be available by the third quarter.
