Singapore digital wealth app Endowus announced Tuesday it has raised an additional S$35 million ($27 million) to accelerate its growth in Singapore and across Asia.
This brings the company’s total funding this year to S$67 million ($50 million).
The round was co-led by Netherlands-listed Prosus venture capital arm Prosus Ventures and Singapore-based global investor EDBI, Endowus said in a statement.
Japan’s Z Holdings, and existing investors UBS, Singtel Innov8, Lightspeed Venture Partners, also participated in the round.
Other news investors included K3 Ventures, Wee Teng Wen, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Lo & Behold Group. Employees of Endowus, who remain the largest shareholders of the company, also invest in the round.
“We are excited to strengthen our investor base with new and returning investors who believe in the long-term, strategic vision of building a digital wealth platform aligned to the best interests of clients and their success. But more importantly, each investor will uniquely contribute to shape the future growth of Endowus. The permanent capital they bring will help us to stay focused on our long-term aim of solving the meaningful pain points consumers face when managing their money, including retirement”, said Endowus Co-Founder and Chairman, Samuel Rhee.
According to the statement, the growing list of strategic partners bolsters Endowus’ key growth initiatives, including geographic expansion, the roll-out of new product offerings, and further development of its technology platform to enhance client experience.
The company also plans to boost its human capital by doubling headcount across core functions and strengthening its technology and talent, to lean into its advantages as a technological and financial expert leader in wealth management.
“The new investments are a validation of our achievements in establishing Endowus as a leading digital wealth platform in Singapore. We will double down on our unique and differentiated long-term strategy and fee-only business model to continue to win the confidence and trust of our clients, without whom we would not exist. We will continue to transform the wealth industry by strengthening the key building blocks of long-term investment success–advice, access, and cost–so that our clients can live easier today and better tomorrow”, said Endowus Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Van.
Endowus is a digital advisor in Asia that has heavily invested in the technology that enables end-to-end investing of both private wealth and public pension assets, including in Singapore all cash savings, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), which are all integrated for the convenience of the user on a single easy-to-use app. The Endowus platform provides savings, wealth, and retirement solutions, allowing individuals to invest holistically, conveniently, and with expert advice at a low and fair cost.
The company has experienced significant customer adoption and scaled into one of the largest digital wealth service providers in Asia, with total assets under advice meaningfully surpassing S$1.5 billion, less than two years after its full-service launch.
“Investing and wealth management is traditionally complex, expensive and not accessible for a lot of consumers. Endowus has built a next-generation wealth platform that is democratizing financial access while offering best-in-class products that cater to all types of wealth needs. The company has already experienced impressive growth and is well-positioned to scale further in Singapore and across Asia,” said Sachin Bhanot, Head of Southeast Asia Investments for Prosus Ventures.
EDBI Chief Executive Officer and President Chu Swee Yeok also said the fund’s goal is to make strategic investments in companies that are at the forefront of innovation and disruption, especially home-grown leaders such as Endowus.
“The company is primed to capture strong growth opportunities in Asia’s burgeoning Wealthtech sector, and EDBI is pleased to partner and support Endowus as it continues to strengthen Singapore’s position as the wealth and financial service center and the fintech capital of the region,” she added.
In March 2021, Endowus launched multi-asset, multi-manager environmental, social, and governance (ESG) portfolios for retail investors, a first in Asia, facilitating advice and access to solutions previously reserved for institutional or private banking clients.
In September 2021, Endowus made major enhancements to its fee-only fund platform, Fund Smart, further lowering costs for Singapore-based investors, and providing access to over 100 best-in-class unit trusts at just 0.3 percent per annum, with no sales charges and 100 percent trailer fee rebates, achieving the lowest possible all-in cost for the majority of the funds available on the platform.
In November 2021, Endowus launched six new satellite portfolios – Technology, Megatrends, Global Real Estate, China Equities, China Fixed Income, and Low Volatility Fixed Income, to supplement its Core portfolios in Flagship and ESG portfolios, to meet the needs of its clients for select market opportunities. These advised portfolios are curated and constructed using best-in-class funds by the Endowus Investment Office to make institutional-quality investing available for all retail and accredited investors at a low cost.