UOBAM Invest is a robo-advisory mobile app that offers retail investors in Singapore personalised, dynamic investment portfolios based on their risk profile, financial goals and investment horizon, according to a statement by UOB Asset Management (UOB AM) today.
Basically, it is a version of the UOBAM Invest online portal, which was first launched in 2018 for corporate investors in the Lion City, but was not accessible via mobile phones. It was extended to Malaysian corporate clients in May, and a retail platform is already available in Thailand.
The app’s key function is “Digital Adviser”, a portfolio planner that enables retail customers to invest in individual portfolios. Users can also fine-tune the portfolios by changing their goals, contributions, duration and risk tolerance level, and are able to see the success probability of achieving their desired returns, said the statement.
The investor presents a particular goal, such as buying a property, sets a time horizon and then completes an online risk assessment profile.
They then receive an investment portfolio, based on UOBAM’s own capital market assumptions, built from US-listed ETFs across different asset classes, including money markets instruments, government bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds, high-yield bonds and equities.
ETFs available on UOBAM Invest
| Invesco Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt |
| iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond |
| iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan |
| iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth |
| iShares US Treasury Bond |
| SPDR Dow Jones REIT |
| SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 |
| VanEck Vectors Emerging Markets High Yield Bond |
| Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond |
| Vanguard S&P 500 |
| Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity |
Source: UOBAM, 27 July 2020
However, “retail investors can only make adjustments to their investment goals, portfolio contribution plan, investment duration and risk tolerance level. Such changes will lead to changes in the investment portfolios and, correspondingly, the success probability of meeting the stated goals,” a UOBAM spokesman told FSA.
UOBAM has also embedded a so-called “glide-path” formula into Digital Adviser’s investment model, which automates the shift in retail investors’ portfolio allocation from higher-risk assets to safer ones systematically and gradually, particularly towards the end of their investment period, balancing their apparent need for long-term growth with their capacity for risk.
“Through UOBAM Invest [we] want to remove the barriers to investing for under-invested segments, including young professionals or young people starting out on their financial planning and investment journey as they will not have to make a big commitment upfront. The app is available to all local and foreign investors who are non-US persons,” said the spokesman.
The advisory fee is 0.8% a year for amounts of S$25,000 ($18,000) and below, and 0.6% a year for amounts above S$25,000. The minimum investment amount is S$1 and there are no account opening or closing fees.
The technology partner on UOBAM Invest is FNZ Group, a financial technology company that is backed by Temasek in Singapore.
UOBAM, wholly-owned by United Overseas Bank, was set up in 1986. It managed about S$32.6bn in clients’ assets as of the end of May, according to the statement.
Robo-advisory competition
Rival Singapore banking group DBS launched a hybrid robo-advisory product to the country’s retail investors in September 2019.
DBS digi-portfolio gives investors access to between four and seven ETFs selected by investment professionals within the firm’s wealth management team. In contrast to conventional robo-advisory products, which typically use optimisation techniques, algorithms or artificial intelligence to construct portfolios, the role of robo technology for the digi-portfolio is confined to the trading cycle and administrative functions.
Fintech newcomers have also rolled out their own independent robo-advisory platforms in Singapore in recent months.
Earlier this year, Syfe introduced an automated risk-managed investing (ARI) portfolio comprised of Singapore Reits hedged by government bonds, Stashaway launched an income portfolio last September that invests in ETFs which is available to retail investors and Kristal AI offers a range of ETFs on its platform, as well as an advisory algorithm to create personalised portfolios.
