Amid a rapidly-changing economic landscape, Singaporeans have been flocking to different investment products.
In its analysis, newly-launched and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-licensed investment advisory platform Beansprout has shown that Singapore’s retail investors are now exploring different ways to build a resilient investment portfolio to account for the current uncertainty.
This is reflected in the higher demand for the Singapore Savings Bonds and Treasury Bills in recent months, as well as net purchases in Singapore-listed REIT exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from January to September.
However, Beansprout also found that more than half of Singaporean respondents it surveyed say they do not feel confident about their investment decisions.
At the same time, Singaporeans have shown strong interest to educate themselves so that they can make better financial decisions. Beansprout saw a 9-fold increase in site visits between June and September.
Founded in 2021, the advisory platform says it is here to help every individual investor make better financial decisions by providing expert investment insights and actionable guidance to retail investors in Singapore.
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Its founder, Gerald Wong has more than 13 years of experience in investment advisory, and was most recently the Head of Singapore Securities Research at Credit Suisse. He was ranked top Singapore research analyst by Institutional Investor every year between 2016 to 2020.
“There is a clear confidence gap among many Singapore retail investors in trying to get to their financial goals. That’s understandable as access to actionable investment insights has not caught up with the proliferation of investment platforms and products in the market,” says Wong.
“At Beansprout, we believe that the best investment during an uncertain economic environment is in your financial literacy,” he adds.
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Beansprout’s advisors and early backers collectively have more than 100 years of experience in financial markets, and are here to help individuals achieve financial wellness. They include Ernest Fong, Asia Pacific CEO of Optimas Capital and non-executive director of Vincom Retail, former Portfolio Manager Eastspring Investments Pearly Yap and Vincent Pang former portfolio manager at Point72 Asset Management, in their personal capacities.
“We see tremendous potential in Beansprout’s ability to combine expert knowledge and technology to broaden access to clear and actionable insights. This is why we’re excited to support this innovative platform in its mission to put everyone in charge of their own financial wellness,” says Fong.
Investors can find clear and actionable insights across the most current finance-related topics on Beansprout’s website. These insights are categorised into a few pillars: Top Ideas, Investing 101 and Personal Finance, making it easy for every individual investor to gain more confidence in investing and be empowered to make better financial decisions.
“Investing is just like nurturing a beansprout. With trustworthy, clear, actionable investment insights, everyone can be on the path to financial wellness,” says Fong. “Simple. Practical. Aspirational. That’s what investing should be.”
Beansprout secured its Financial Adviser’s Licence from MAS in February this year. It is a recipient of the MAS Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) and is also supported by NTUitive, the innovation and enterprise arm of Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
