A letter from Endowus' Co-founders

A letter from Endowus' Co-founders

A successful US$35M fundraise, a glimpse of the future, and a sincere Thank You.

Endowus has successfully raised US$35 million in fresh capital in an oversubscribed fundraise. We welcomed new strategic investors who will help propel us in our next stage of growth, and enjoyed the continued strong support from our existing investors. We hope winning the support and validation from leading names in the wealth industry will allow us to gain greater trust from our valued clients.

• The new investors include Citi Ventures and MUFG Innovation Partners. Citi is a global leader in wealth and a strong global technology leader. MUFG is the largest financial group in Japan, and the largest shareholder of Morgan Stanley, the biggest wealth management company globally. Together with UBS, the biggest private bank in the world, we now have some of the world’s leading wealth managers and private banks supporting us strategically.
• ‍We also welcome as new investors, four of Asia’s wealthiest families with various operating businesses spanning banking to real estate across Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Greater China including Hong Kong. We believe with our strong network of family offices, we will be able to grow the quality and scale of our wealth business to serve and benefit all of our client’s needs.
• Existing investors who continued to show strong support and participated in this round include Singapore EDB’s global investment arm — EDBI, Prosus Ventures owned by Naspers — the largest shareholder of Tencent, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Singtel Innov8, and Endowus employees, who remain the majority shareholders of Endowus. 

Today is a truly meaningful day for Endowus — for us as co-founders, for our 150-person strong team, for our valued partners, but most of all, for our clients. You have supported us through your trust in us and in our shared beliefs. The strong support we have received throughout this fundraise, in a very difficult macro environment, emboldens us to continue to pursue our mission that remains the same as Day One: empower people to invest better to live better. 

To us, this means bridging the gap with technological innovation, providing scalability of professional expertise and uprooting traditional ills of the industry to embrace the conflict-free, independent, fee-only business model, because it leads to better advice, choice, and client outcomes. 

Just as we believe in the power of compounding of financial markets, we believe in the power of compounding when it comes to doing the right thing: 

• Innovation comes from following a path that nobody has yet taken. From becoming Singapore’s first digital advisor for CPF, SRS & Cash, to launching Hong Kong’s first independent wealth and fund platform, we will continue to chart a new path towards changing for the better the way traditional wealth services have been provided to individual investors. 
• We have proudly saved our clients an estimated US$40 million in fees to date, through innovating 100% Cashback on trailer commissions, removing all subscription fees, and providing institutional-cost access to individual investors and families.
• We have started to uproot the way funds and investment products are distributed forever, they can now be bought with transparency, rather than pushed with commissions. Endowus is democratising access and advising client allocations into some of the most sophisticated solutions, including exclusive hedge fund and private market strategies in the world.

Making meaningful change in this world always takes time, and there is a heavy cost involved. However, we are eager for the challenge ahead knowing that our collective efforts will change the future of investing and in making a meaningful impact in people’s lives. We are honoured to be the only digital wealth company to be named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer this year, and it is heartening to know that our efforts as a wealthtech company has the power to effectively dismantle the barriers to inclusive opportunities, and create better financial outcomes for all. 

Endowus is humbled to play a growing role in systematically changing the financial industry from the inside-out, championing new best practices and business models to solve big, socio-economic challenges like retirement adequacy across Asia. 

While we acknowledge the importance of today’s milestone, we are most excited about what more we can achieve now for you, our clients. We truly believe we are just at the start of building a generational service with you and for you and your family. You are ultimately our most valued investors — thank you for being part of the journey with us in turning this shared vision into reality. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Samuel Rhee, Co-founder & Chairman

Gregory Van, Co-founder & CEO

And all of us at Endowus.

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Read our press release and news coverage here:

• Forbes
• ‍South China Morning Post
• ‍TechCrunch‍
• Wealth Briefing Asia
• The Asset
• Hong Kong Economic Journal
• Metro Radio

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來自Endowus智安投創辦人的一封信

成功融資3,500萬美元，衷心感謝一路有您，與您一起展望未來

Endowus欣然宣佈成功完成最新一輪3500萬美元的融資。是次獲超額認購的融資中，我們迎來了一些新的重量級戰略投資者，將在下一個成長階段推動Endowus智安投不斷向前。同時我們也獲得現有投資者一如既往的鼎力支持。除了獲得財富管理行業領軍企業的支持和肯定，我們還希望能夠贏得更多——像您這樣寶貴——客戶的信任。凡是過往，皆為序章。Endowus智安投憑藉客戶信任和戰略投資者的鼎力支持，將把所獲得的成就作為鞭策，懷著期望，向著新旅程和新目標奔去。

• 新投資者包括花旗銀行旗下的Citi Ventures和三菱日聯金融集團屬下的風投基金MUFG Innovation Partners。花旗銀行是全球財富領域的領導者，也是實力強勁的全球科技領軍企業。三菱日聯金融集團是日本最大的金融集團，也是全球最大的財富管理公司——摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）的最大股東。連同全球規模最大的私人銀行瑞士銀行（UBS），Endowus智安投現在擁有全球領先的財富管理企業和私人銀行作爲我們强大的戰略股東支持。
• ‍另外，四個亞洲最富有的家族也將成為新投資者，其業務涵蓋新加坡、東南亞和大中華地區（包括香港）從銀行到房地產領域的各種經營業務。我們相信，憑藉強大的家族辦公室網絡，我們能夠促進財富業務質量提升和規模拓展，以服務並滿足所有客戶的需求。
• 在此輪融資中，現有投資者包括瑞銀集團（UBS）、新加坡經濟發展局（EDB）的全球投資部門EDBI、Naspers旗下的Prosus Ventures（為騰訊最大股東），以及光速創投（Lightspeed Venture Partners）、新加坡電信的Singtel Innov8繼續給予大力支持並參與是次融資。除此以外，當然還有Endowus的員工，他們仍然是Endowus持股最大的股東。

對Endowus智安投來說，無論是對於我們兩位創辦人、智安投150人的專業團隊、寶貴的合作夥伴、還是——最重要的——對我們的客戶，今天都將注定是一個意義非凡的日子。您的信任和我們共同堅守的信念一直支持著我們在逆境中乘風破浪。在融資過程中Endowus智安投得到這強而有力的支持使我們更有信心繼續追求我們的使命，這項使命始終如一：賦能用戶，提供更好的投資體驗，創造更好的生活。專業睿智，安心投資。

我們堅信，通過科技創新將可以不斷縮小不同投資者之間的財富管理服務體驗差距，併除行業內的傳統弊端，邁向利益一致、無佣金、獨立的商業模式，為客戶帶來更專業的投資建議、更多的投資選擇和更好的客戶收益。

正如我們相信金融市場的複利效應一樣，我們也相信在做正確事情時會產生複利效應：

• 創新源於走上尚未開拓的道路。從成為新加坡首家為公積金（CPF）、儲蓄退休計劃和私人財富（SRS & Cash）提供數字化投資的平台，到推出香港首個獨立財富管理和基金平台，我們將繼續披荊斬棘，從根源革新面向個人投資者的傳統財富服務模式。
• 智安投通過創新地提供100％現金回贈制度，取消尾隨佣金，為個人投資者和家族提供機構成本級別的投資機會，目前已為客戶節省預計高達4,000萬美元的費用，為此我們深感自豪。
• 我們已經對基金和投資產品的分銷方式產生深刻的變革。通過提供透明的投資體驗，投資者可在Endowus智安投平台上安心選購合適的投資產品，而無需擔心因佣金制度下被推銷不合適的產品。在Endowus智安投的努力下，更多投資者并且能夠獲得更多的選擇，並提供業界最尖端的資產配置解決方案，包括全球獨家的對沖基金和私募投資等策略。

在這個世界上，實現有意義的改變總是需要時間沈澱，乃至付出重大代價。然而，我們期待著未來的挑戰。因為我們深知，戮力同心就能改變投資的未來，對人們生活產生深遠影響。近日，Endowus智安投榮膺2023年世界經濟論壇技術先鋒，作為唯一一家榮獲該稱號的財富科技公司，我們很高興能藉助科技的力量，為所有人提供更公平的財富建立機會。我們的努力獲得認可無疑讓人振奮。

我們很高興Endowus智安投能在為逐步改變金融行業的變革扮演著越來越重要的角色，通過倡導新的最佳實踐和商業模式，解決亞洲各地的重大社會經濟挑戰，如退休資金不充裕等問題。

“九層之台，起於累土”。今天我們取得的里程碑無疑是重要的。但我們更期待可以為您——我們的客戶——實現更多的成就。我們衷心相信，這是我們與您和您家人共同打造的一項劃時代服務的起點。您就是我們最寶貴的投資者——感謝您與我們一路同行，讓我們把曾經是遙不可及的願景變成現實。

此致

李眞，聯合創辦人及集團董事長

萬振邦，聯合創辦人及首席執行官

及全體Endowus智安投員工

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更多關於本次融資的新聞稿和媒體報道：

• Forbes
• South China Morning Post
• ‍TechCrunch‍
• Wealth Briefing Asia
• The Asset
• 信報財經新聞 Hong Kong Economic Journal
• 新城廣播 Metro Radio

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Risk Warnings

Investment involves risk. Past performance is not an indicator nor a guarantee of future performance. The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, and you may not get the full amount you invested. Rates of exchange may cause the value of investments to go up or down.

This article is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or research or investment advice, and should not form the basis of any investment or other decisions. The information contained herein is not intended, and should not be construed, as any legal, tax, regulatory, accounting or financial advice. If you would like investment, accounting, tax or legal advice, you should consult with your own professional advisors regarding your individual circumstances and needs.

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