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.

Endowus, a Singapore-based digital wealth management firm has unveiled a partnership with global alts giant EQT. The partnership will allow Endowus' clients in Singapore and Hong Kong access to EQT funds, broadening their access to private markets at lower minimums and with shorter lock-up periods. Samuel Rhee, co-founder and CIO of Endowus shared how the partnership helps investors to further diversify their portfolios and reduce overall risk in volatile market periods.

Endowus has partnered with EQT to allow its Private Wealth clients in Singapore and Hong Kong to access high-performing EQT funds via investment solutions offered on the Endowus digital wealth platform. Samuel Rhee, co-founder and CIO of Endowus expressed Endowus’ excitement in this partnership to give investors greater and well-managed access to alternative solutions.

Against the backdrop of MoneyOwl and GrabAutoInvest closures, Gregory Van, Endowus’ CEO, shared that there will be increased consolidation as wealthtechs in Singapore and Asia mature, leading to some players exiting the market, and smaller players closing down. However, Endowus’ group asset management has exceeded S$6 billion as of Aug 2023, while its net inflows and revenue are at its peak for the first half of 2023 and surpassed the first half of 2022.

(From 13:00) On a Money Mind broadcast, Min Axthelm, Director of Investment Research at Endowus, discussed the considerations of adding ESG funds into one’s portfolio. Companies with a higher ESG score tend to have higher growth, but energy transition funds may have more value. The belief is that ESG would help companies outperform in the future, but investors should still look for a fund that is diversified in terms of sector and country.