APAC is forecasted to overtake Europe as the world’s second largest wealth hub by 2026, with more than 15 million high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), according to a KPMG report for Endowus. The region’s investors have greater access than ever before to the digital platforms, apps, and advisory tools they need to make informed investment decisions. In fact, according to a 2021 study by McKinsey & Company, 60% of the population in APAC is digitally native, compared to just 45% in North America, and 35% in Europe. The investment landscape in the region is evolving quickly, and there are a host of wealthtechs - digital wealth management service providers - looking to both bring more traditional investors online, and enable the region’s new cohort of younger, digital-first investors.
INVESTORS' CONFIDENCE BOOSTED BY TECH
The rapid rise in wealth in APAC, together with the shorter life cycle for wealth creation, has meant that a flood of people have had to quickly learn how to effectively manage and grow their money. Many investment apps have educational features to allow people to learn the basics of investing and there are now apps specifically designed to cater to the investment needs of teenagers. US-based investment app Bloom cites that 77% of US adults wish they’d started investing earlier - and Bloom exists to make this possible for their teen offspring.
Solutions like this are making investing accessible and inclusive, changing the profile of investors who can now invest as little or as much as they want, wherever they want. In APAC, investment opportunities for countries with historically low financial inclusivity are opening up. In a bid to democratize investing, GCash - a leading Filipino ewallet, with 70 million active clients, has partnered with South African giant EasyEquities to make investing accessible to all qualified Filipinos, by allowing them to invest in the US stock market with ease.
WEALTHTECHS GIVING INVESTORS MORE CHOICE
It’s easier than ever for the everyday investor to reach their financial goals - to afford that dream holiday, to save up for that first house, to put money away for retirement or a rainy day. Investors can take their pick from an array of wealthtechs set up to help them on their investment journey. For those who want to take a more passive approach to investing, robo-advisors carefully curate portfolios to match an investor’s needs and preferences. Alternatively, the likes of Australia’s Pearler allows investors to choose from a wide range of investment options, kick-starting their journey towards financial independence.
Investors are looking beyond conventional asset classes to diversify portfolios and maximize returns. They are becoming increasingly aware of alternative investments in the dominant US market, as well as in additional geographies. This is creating a demand for the region’s wealthtechs to offer investment products domiciled in new, overseas markets. They are turning to experts to solve these cross-border challenges: to providers who can enable them to collect, convert and send funds to execution brokers quickly, seamlessly, and at competitive rates.
DIGITALIZation increasingly important to hnwi and emerging hnwi
According to a recent report by Deloitte, three quarters of all interactions between HNWI and their wealth managers will take the digital route in the next two years. This was a trend accelerated by COVID19, where relationship management was forced from in-person meetings, to phone or video-based conversations. Wealth service providers today are tasked with finding the perfect blend of digital and the human touch. Thankfully, there are a number of financial software providers available to provide client relationship management (CRM) and client lifecycle management (CLM) services, to help nurture HNWI client relationships.
This move towards digitalization is helping those investors who aren’t well serviced by investing apps, but don’t yet meet HNWI status, or qualify for private banking. They too need personalized advice and service, but delivered digitally. Emerging HNWI want to deploy their funds in the right asset classes, based on their risk appetite and financial goals. They are looking to Wealthtechs, so it’s important they provide the right services to the right segment at the right price point. Many are turning to investment experts like DriveWealth, who enable investments in fractional shares via award-winning APIs.
partnerships are key to set wealthtechs up for success
As APAC’s investors grow in number, confidence, and investing frequency, it will be increasingly important for wealthtechs to accept client funds in a way that is seamless, transparent, and as automated as possible. Maximizing revenue streams by building an efficient payments infrastructure, where funds are settled to execution brokers via local payment rails, and reconciliation processes are streamlined, is critical for the success of APAC’s wealthtechs.
Currencycloud is playing an important role in helping wealthtechs to collect funds from investors, convert these at competitive rates, and deploy them to execution brokers in the US and beyond, quickly and cheaply - all through best-in-class APIs.
Speak to our experts to understand how Currencycloud can deploy its FX and payments infrastructure to ensure your business is set up for current, and future, success.
