As geopolitical tensions rise and investors become increasingly anxious, Samuel Rhee, chairman and CIO of Endowus, discussed the impact war and conflicts have on financial markets. Many wars have had minimal impact on the existing trajectory of markets, and markets have weathered more than their fair share of geopolitical events over the years. The worst thing for markets is not war but the uncertainty that creates volatility. On the bright side, the stock market normally prices in risks quickly, reassesses growth and earnings, and moves forward as it has always done.

Gregory Van, Endowus’ CEO, shared more on the company's growth in Asia after the company’s US$35m fundraiser. In addition to supporting growth, Endowus is raising brand awareness and investing in AI while keeping an eye on acquisition opportunities, with a focus on building its Hong Kong business. With a growing clientele, Endowus has also debuted an AI-powered chatbot meant to guide clients through operational queries Endowus' advisers currently handle.

Lianhe Zaobao discusses how individuals may fully utilise their SRS account while maximising their savings. Besides reducing taxable income by the same amount contributed to their SRS account, one could also maximise their wealth by investing their SRS funds. Hugh Chung, Endowus Chief Investment Advisory Officer, advises investors to have a clear understanding of the pros and cons of each financial instrument, as they often come with trade-offs involving yield, lock-ups, duration, minimum or maximum investment amounts, and transaction fees.

The 2023 Endowus WealthTech Conference was graced by Guest of Honour, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who discussed trends about the macroeconomic trends in Singapore and Asia. He emphasised that Singapore needs to continue to invest in AI and resources in tackling climate change to remain competitive and capture growth opportunities in the global shift towards net zero. While trends continue to evolve, investors need to be mindful of high interest rates and elevated inflation in the current environment.

The total financial assets of the wealth market in Asia Pacific is expected to hit $81 trillion by 2027, according to McKinsey’s WealthTech in Asia-Pacific report. Chairman and CIO of Endowus, Samuel Rhee, shared his insights on the evolving wealthtech landscape in Asia in a joint interview with McKinsey on CNA TV. He highlights that Singapore is well-placed in the long-term trajectory of growth in the wealth industry. As the nation is strategically well located, cross-border wealth is something that Singapore can consider tapping into.

On a panel discussion at the Hubbis Investment Forum, Kenny Ho, Managing Partner and Founder of Carret Private Capital, shared about the evolution of private wealth management in Asia. Singapore has made more headway in the evolution of independent wealth management in recent years than Hong Kong, where clients tend to stick to the brand name banks. Asian clients are also increasingly inclined to diversify their custody across both Asian and European institutions. Endowus has become one of the largest independent wealth managers in the region, with assets under management of over USD 5 billion after the acquisition of Carret Private.

Endowus is one of the two platforms that allows Singapore’s consumers to access the latest 10 M&G Investments funds that have been made available on the local retail market. Among them, four of the funds available to Singapore retail investors are equity funds, three fixed-income funds, and the remaining three are multi-asset funds. The funds were previously available only to private banking and certain institutional clients in Singapore.

Singapore-based wealth management platform Endowus was one of nine Southeast Asian startups named on CB Insights’ 2023 Fintech 100 list. These startups are being recognised for the traction they have received from the past year, and were chosen based on criteria such as equity funding, investor profiles, R&D activity, news sentiment analysis, and tech novelty. Most notably, Endowus has raised a total of US$95 million in funding and delivered revenue growth of 80% organically in 2022.

As fixed income markets head into a third consecutive year of losses, investors should assess the likely fallout from higher-for-longer interest rates. Samuel Rhee, co-founder and CIO at Endowus, shared that growth, as the only silver lining, is the biggest risk to future returns for equity and bond markets. Therefore, amidst the unpredictability in a growth-scarce environment, quality is what matters. Quality growth in equities and higher-quality credit in the fixed income markets have performed relatively better and are likely to continue to do so.

While the markets have been on a sharp move since July, Samuel Rhee, Chairman and CIO of Endowus, shared his opinions on the stock and bond market, and the state of the US economy. A mismatch in demand and supply within the market is a cause for concern, as the surge of supply from the US Treasuries could be a key explanation for the sudden rise in yields. As inflationary pressures increase and market growth is expected to be more volatile, overall market uncertainty is set to rise.

Samuel Rhee, co-founder and CIO of Endowus shared insights about the Bank of Japan's potential intervention situation, as well as the bond market, the state of the US economy, US treasuries, and alternatives. While Japan's finance officials will do what they can to moderate the depreciating yen, in the US, central banks are tightening financial conditions due to persistent inflation and high interest rates. Globally, even as interest rates are a cause of concern, opportunities are arising in the fixed income space.

Endowus has expanded its private wealth solutions in a partnership with private equity firm EQT. Endowus' Private Wealth clients in Singapore and Hong Kong can access EQT funds, along with other funds from Balyasny, Brevan Howard, and more via the Endowus digital wealth platform.