Introduction:
There was a rush of VC interest in Southeast Asian investment applications in 2021 and early 2022. One of these was Singapore Wealth Management, which quickly raised two rounds: a Series A in June 2021 and $25.6 million in follow-on fundraising just seven months later. Endows is announcing another round two years later, although the fundraising landscape has significantly changed, particularly for financial businesses.
The company has now raised $95 million, including $35 million from new investors like Citi Ventures and MUFG Innovation Partners. In addition, “four of Asia’s wealthiest families,” whose operating industries include banking and real estate in Southeast Asia and China, are participants, according to the startup’s news release. Notable companies, including UBS Next, Singapore’s EDBI, Prosus Ventures (owned by Naspers), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Singtel Innov8, and Endowed staff, are among the returning investors.
With over 100,000 customers served in Singapore and Hong Kong, the new money will be used to expand in those two key regions. Endowus manages $40 million in client savings and over $5 billion in total assets.
Endowus reported organic revenue growth of 80% in 2022 despite macroeconomic difficulties and tripled its group revenue after concluding the acquisition of multi-family firm Carret Private. Endowus has added new services since TechCrunch last reported on it, including Endowus Private Wealth for high-net-worth clients and low-cost passive index funds in Singapore. This year, it also began operating in Hong Kong as the “only independent, commission-free, and conflict-free digital wealth advisor and low-cost fund platform.”
Singapore Wealth Management Platform:
Singapore Wealth Management Platform (Image Source: techcrunch.com)
Samuel Rhee, co-founder and chairman of Endowus, said to TechCrunch that the company is now “multiple times the size of the next player and now competing with large banks and incumbent players.” Safe and Stashaway are two further investment-related apps in Singapore that earned significant VC funding a few years ago.
As the first digital advisor for Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPF), Endowus claims to be the only digital wealth platform serving private and public pensions. This is one of the critical ways Endowed sets itself apart.
Endowus administers pension assets worth over $1 billion SGD on its platform. One reason Endowus includes both personal wealth and pension funds, according to Rhee, is to assist clients at all stages of their financial lives, including retirement.
For CPF, it developed a tech stack in-house that gives investors access to a fully automated digital procedure. With the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) in Hong Kong, Endowus intends to emulate its CPF activities. Rhee claimed that Endowus, rather than acting as a robo-advisor, employs fund managers with a track record of success to make institutional-share class funds with the best performance more accessible to ordinary investors.
Endowus exclusively receives revenue from advising fees, and according to Rhee, it is the first and most significant platform in Singapore and Hong Kong to offer a 100% refund reimbursement on all trailer commission payments.
In response to how Endowus farid amid the decline in fintech investment (and funding in general), Rhee indicated the business needed help securing fundraising from its backers.
Including Citi Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners, and UBS as shareholders, he continued, “We are also fortunate to have some of the biggest investors as our shareholders.”
