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UBS invests in Singapore digital wealth platform

Tech start-up Endowus has attracted cash from the Swiss bank, Samsung and Singtel to fund expansion.

Endowus.com, a digital wealth platform licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has received investments from strategic partners UBS, Samsung Ventures and Singtel Innov8, along with their Series A investors— Lightspeed Venture Partners and SoftBank Ventures Asia.

UBS will be a strategic partner as a wealth manager, while the venture investment arm of Samsung Group and the venture capital fund subsidiary of Singtel Group will provide mobile technology expertise and customer marketing capability, according to statement by Endowus.

The additional capital brings the total size of the start-up’s Series A funding round to $22 million, according to the Endowus. UBS’s unspecified contribution is delivered through UBS Next, a $200m fund that invests in early-stage fintech firms, the Singapore-based company said in a statement on Thursday.

“Combining their expertise in wealth management, consumer technology, and digital infrastructure, we are confident in delivering on our promise to democratise wealth management through technology,” said Gregory Van, chief executive officer of Endowus.

Endowus, which has assets in Singapore of around S$1bn ($744m) — according to the firm — is a digital investment advisor for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS).

The Singaporean wealth platform offers retail, accredited, and institutional investors a digital way experience to invest all their cash, SRS and CPF savings. It offers provides personalised advice, and access to funds with no sales fees and 100% trailer fee rebates.

Endowus was set up in 2017 by former UBS investment banker Gregory Van, and Sun You Ning who has worked at Goldman Sachs and Blackstone. They were later joined by former Morgan Stanley Investment Management executive Samuel Rhee. The digital platform was launched 18 months ago.

 The firm is partnered with Singapore broker UOB Kay Hian, which provides discrete client custody services.

Part of the Mark Allen Group.