Endowus, a Singapore-based wealth management platform, has on Wednesday announced the official launch of its digital wealth management services in Hong Kong.
Endowus said in a statement that Hong Kong is Endowus’ first overseas expansion market after Singapore.
Founded in 2017, Endowus has raised a total of $50 million in funding from investors such as UBS, EDBI, Prosus Ventures, Z Venture Capital, Samsung Ventures, Singtel Innov8, and global leading venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and SoftBank Ventures Asia.
According to the statement, investors can start building single and multi-fund portfolios via the Endowus Fund Smart solution, offering over 140 best-in-class funds across asset classes including cash and money market, fixed income, equity, multi-asset and commodities.
Endowus Private Wealth clients can also gain access to alternative strategies such as hedge funds, private equity, private credit and private real estate.
Endowus offers the same value propositions – greater access to best-in-class and institutional-grade investment products, as well as expert advice completely aligned with investors, at a low, fair fee – to its clients here.
Backed by some of the biggest names in finance and technology, such as UBS AG, Prosus (Naspers), and Samsung, Endowus is Hong Kong’s first fee-only, non-commission-based digital wealth management platform.
The firm does not receive any sales commissions and provides an industry-first 100 percent cashback on trailer fees to its clients.
This allows Endowus to remain independent and conflict-free when serving in its clients’ best interest as their trusted fiduciary advisor.
“Since our founding, Endowus has been staunchly committed to making wealth management advice and fund access fairer, more transparent and at a lower cost,
“We want to empower individuals and families to invest better to live better,” said Gregory Van, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Endowus.
While the firm is still in its early years, he said the Endowus group has grown rapidly and is entrusted with over $4 billion in client assets from retail and high-net-worth investors, as well as family offices and institutions.
Samuel Rhee, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Endowus, said, the industry practice of paying trailer fees to distributors, like banks and brokers, goes against the ethos of offering products based on the needs of clients and improving long-term returns for investors.
“By removing these often hidden commissions, we effectively remove any possible conflict of interest and place our focus solely on serving our clients’ wealth needs,
“Since 2019, Endowus has returned almost $5 million in trailer fees paid as cashback to our clients, and over $15 million in total savings, and we will be championing the same practice in Hong Kong,” he said.
He also said individual investors have historically not had a level playing field, as large institutional investors get access to better advice and products at a lower cost.
He said that Endowus was created to bring endowment-style institutional investing to all of us and provide institutional advice on fund selection, portfolio construction and optimization by a strong team of talented professionals with institutional experiences.
“Access at the lowest possible cost to exclusive and trailer fee-free funds in both public and private markets provides a strong foundation in achieving better outcomes for all individual investors,
“This includes some of our biggest investment goals like retirement preparation,” he added.
Steffanie Yuen, Managing Director and Head of Hong Kong, Endowus, said despite being a key international financial hub, it is not easy for individuals in Hong Kong to gain access to professional and independent advice on personal finance and wealth management.
Cited the latest Endowus Wealth Insights Report, she said most investors in Hong Kong rely on friends and family as their key source for financial or investment advice.
“And across all age groups, the most important reason behind why investors feel the pressure to invest more in the coming year, is the need to build a more robust cushion in preparation for retirement,” she added.