Endowus, a Singapore-based investment platform, has raised S$23 million (US$17 million) in a Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Softbank Ventures Asia, the global early-stage venture arm of SoftBank Group, also participated.
The fresh funds will fuel the company’s expansion plan in Asia, starting with Hong Kong. This is the first external fundraise by the company, which to date had been bootstrapped by its employees hailing from companies, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS.
Launched in 2019, Endowus offers retail, accredited, and institutional investors a platform to invest cash, Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) savings. Endowus claims it provides access to expert personalised advice and “best-in-class” funds at a lower cost with no sales fees and a complete trailer fee rebate.
Endowus noted it has experienced 20X growth in clients investing on the platform, with an eightfold increase in assets under advice.
As per a statement, it is on track to hit its target of S$1 billion (US$743 million) in assets under advice by Q2 2021, just over 18 months after its full-service launch.
Riding on the increased preference for impact investing, Endowus also recently launched sustainable ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) investment portfolios for retail investors in Singapore.
Also Read: What do I need to know as a first-time impact investor?
“Endowus will use the additional resources and the support of our VC partners to go deeper and broader in the Asia market where we want to continue helping all investors achieve their investment goals. We began “Day 1” with the mission to solve the greatest challenges and problems of wealth and finance such as retirement adequacy,” said Samuel Rhee, founding partner and chairman of Endowus.
“As the first-and-only CPF digital advisor and now the fastest growing digital wealth platform in Singapore, Endowus is achieving that goal and the new fundraising will help us bring that mission of the company and vision of the future into reality for all Singapore-based investors,” he added.
“The success we’ve seen in Singapore this past year proves that our solutions are meeting the needs of investors, with one in two clients acquired on our platform investing across multiple wealth streams. And with the same rigour, we will expand our offerings to other key markets in the region, starting with Hong Kong,” said Gregory Van, founding partner and CEO of Endowus.
“Endowus’s mission is to solve saving and investing for individual investors and meet global retirement challenges aligned with our understanding of what was needed in the market. Their innovative business model, ambition and commitment to a higher standard of fiduciary duty speaks of a team that is at the cutting edge of the fintech space,” noted Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
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Image Credit: Endowus
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