Robo adviser Endowus raises S$35m from new and current investors
Singapore
ROBO investment platform Endowus has raised another S$35 million from several parties, bringing its total fund-raising this year to S$67 million.
The latest round is co-led by EDBI, the investment arm of the Economic Development Board, and Prosus Ventures, the venture investing arm of Netherlands-listed Prosus, which is majority owned by Naspers. Naspers is one of the largest shareholders of Tencent.
Investors in this round include Z Holdings, the Japan-based technology conglomerate which owns the LINE messaging app, and returning investors including UBS, Singtel Innov8 and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Endowus's employees, who remain the largest shareholders, added to their investments as well. And, there are new investors who are Endowus clients. These include K3 Ventures and Wee Teng Wen, founder of The Lo & Behold Group, a lifestyle and F&B group.
The firm's total assets under advice has "meaningfully" surpassed S$1.5 billion, less than two years since its full-service launch. It has invested heavily in technology to enable end-to-end investing of both private wealth and public pension assets. These comprise cash and funds in the CPF and Supplementary Retirement Scheme.
Endowus was founded in 2017 by six partners, with startup capital of about S$9.5 million. It obtained its financial advisory licence in 2018 and its initial portfolio services were for accredited investors. While Covid-19 has been a health challenge, it also yielded a silver lining as adoption of digital investment services accelerated and its assets mushroomed.
Co-founder and chairman Samuel Rhee said: "We're 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."
The strategic partners are expected to bolster the firm's growth initiatives, including geographic expansion, roll-out of new product offerings, and further development of its technology platform to enhance client experience. Headcount is also expected to double by end-2022, from around 100 currently.
Endowus chief executive Gregory Van said the new investments are a validation of the firm 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."
EDBI chief executive and president Chu Swee Yeok said: "Our goal is to make strategic investments in companies which are at the forefront of innovation and disruption, especially homegrown leaders such as Endowus. The company is primed to capture strong growth opportunities in Asia's burgeoning wealth sector. EDBI is pleased to partner and support Endowus as it continues to strengthen Singapore's position as the wealth and financial services centre and the fintech capital of the region."
The firm's milestones this year include the launch of multi-asset multi-manager ESG (environmental, social and governance) portfolios for retail investors. In November it launched six new satellite portfolios - technology, megatrends, global real estate, China equities, China fixed income and low-volatility fixed income - to supplement core portfolio offerings.
