UOB Asset Management Brings Robo-Adviser to Retail Clients

Its UOBAM Invest service, previously available to corporate clients, is being launched in the form of a mobile app for individuals.

UOB Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UOB, has rolled out a retail version of its UOBAM Invest online portal, which was first launched in 2018 for corporate investors in Singapore.

The platform offers retail investors in Singapore personalized, dynamic investment portfolios based on their risk profile, aggregate financial goals, and investment horizon. It also automates the shift in retail investors’ portfolio allocation from higher-risk assets to safer ones systematically and gradually, particularly towards the end of their investment period, balancing their need for long-term growth with their capacity for risk, the announcement said.

The portfolio planer also incorporates risk-profiling and goal-setting tools so that the proposed investment portfolios offer the maximum possible returns to suit the needs of retail investors.

UOBAM acknowledged the popularity of robo-advisors as a simpler and easier way to manage investments and hopes to leverage its brand name and track record to alleviate concerns about credibility, security and long-term viability users might have about such platforms.

UOBAM is the first regional asset management firm to offer a robo-adviser with personalized portfolios for retail investors. We have an established track record in managing risks actively while optimizing returns, Thio Boon Kiat, CEO of UOBAM, said.

Given the current market volatility from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to bring the benefits of our risk-based approach – one that is trusted by institutional investors – to more retail investors through UOBAM Invest, Thio added.

Robo-advisors promising retail investors low-cost, diversified, passive investing have proliferated in recent years. According to Statista, assets under management among robo-advisors in Singapore reached $4.5 billion in 2020 (49.2 percent growth year-on-year), with 265,000 users (39.6 percent growth year-on-year).

However, competition in the digital investment advisory space is intense and has already resulted in Smartly, one of Singapore’s oldest and most well-established platforms shutting down earlier this year.

Traditional banks have also joined the fray, with OCBC launching Roboinvest in 2018, and DBS rolling out its digiportfolio in 2019 for retail clients.