facebookOther than track records and fees, how else can we compare between different advisors? - Seedly

Anonymous

07 May 2019

Robo-Advisors

Other than track records and fees, how else can we compare between different advisors?

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Discussion (3)

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Tai Zhi

07 May 2019

Chief Investment Officer at Autowealth

We wrote about what factors to consider when choosing a robo-advisor. You may find the article here:

https://www.autowealth.sg//blog//how_to_choose_...

Basically you want to know about its (1) investment strategy, (2) fees, (3) client service level, (4) safeguards, (5) team and (6) advice.

Christopher Tan

04 May 2019

CEO at Providend Ltd

Dear Anonymous

I agree to what HC Tang has said. All the robos that are in Singapore today are in many ways, new. The first robo only really started 2 years ago. And in the past 2 years, except for the last quarter of 2018, the markets were generally good and it is not an indication of true performance and even future performance. What is important is to consider factors that will give you confidence in the firm that can deliver.

In my humble opinion, these are the few factors you need to consider before deciding who you want to go with. Also, I can only share from MoneyOwl's perspective with regard to these factors and will leave other robos to share theirs.

  1. Investment Philosophy

Some of the robos are active mangers, in that they believe they can beat the markets by tweaking the portfolios tactically in line with economic changes. Some of the robos do not believe in active management. As an example, MoneyOwl do not believe that it can beat the market. The investment philosophy is one whereby you should stay invested for the long term without trying to guess when is the best time to get in and out of markets.

  1. Underlying instruments

Some of the robos use ETFs as their underlying instruments whereas 2 of us (Endowus and MoneyOwl) use DFA as our underlying funds.

  1. Investment or Financial Advisory

Almost all the robos are investment robos. But for MoneyOwl, although we are a fund manager in terms of our MAS license, at the core, we provide financial advisory. The investment service that we provide is just part of our comprehensive financial advisory service to help you reach your life goals. You will notice that we already have insurance, will writing and in a few months time, we will launch our comprehensive financial planning service via robo and human advisers to integrate all the various areas (insurance, investments, CPF, etc) together. So I think you probably have to ask whether you are looking for pure investment advice or comprehensive financial advice.

  1. People behind the technology

The problem behind tech firms is that the technology is opaque. You do not know what goes behind the algos. So at the end of the day, you have to trust the people behind the company. As you know MoneyOwl is a JV between 2 longstanding local companies - NTUC Enterprise and Providend. Providend in particular is one of the earliest financial advisory firms in Singapore since 2001. It is well known for its deep knowledge in financial advisory and reputation for championing conflict-free and ethical practice.

  1. Sustainability and Secured Platform

In this world where start ups come and go, and also with the pervasiveness of cyber attacks, it is important that you invest with a company that is stable and secure. In this regard as mentioned, MoneyOwl is a JV with NTUC Enterprise and Providend, both have been around for decades. We are not a pure startup per se. Also, MoneyOwl is ISO27001 certified which means that we are serious in ensuring that our platform is safe and secure.

To find out more about MoneyOwl, please visit https://advice.moneyowl.com.sg/investment/

Hope this helps!

HC Tang

04 May 2019

Financial Enthusiast, Budgeting at The Society

The company or sponsor background, the management team integrity in their ex work to ensure the comp...

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