Mr Thio Boon Kiat (left), Chief Executive Officer, UOB Asset Management and Mr Andrew Yeo, Chief Executive Officer, NTUC Income, enter a collaboration to enhance the accessibility of online corporate investing services.
UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) and NTUC Income (Income) today announced their tie-up to enhance the accessibility of online corporate investing services. Under the collaboration, Income’s corporate customers can easily access UOBAM Invest1, Singapore’s first digital advisory service for corporate investors, on BIX, Income’s corporate insurance self-serve platform. UOBAM is the first partner onboard BIX.
This collaboration between UOBAM and Income aims to help businesses to become more efficient in managing their investments and insurance needs online, thereby giving them more time to focus on other operational matters.
Digital investment services such as UOBAM Invest are fast gaining traction in Singapore and other markets such as Malaysia and Thailand due to the increased demand from corporate investors for solutions that enable them to self-serve and to manage their portfolios in real-time2. UOBAM Invest has seen a 250 per cent increase in the number of corporate investors in Singapore since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic3, and this number is expected to grow.
Mr Thio Boon Kiat, Chief Executive Officer of UOBAM, said, “At UOBAM, we are constantly seeking new ways to democratise investing across different client segments, including to engage and to help corporate investors with their investment needs. Through our collaboration with Income, more companies can easily tap our investment expertise and funds offered through UOBAM Invest to increase their liquidity or to grow assets to meet their financial needs and goals. Going forward, we hope to work with more like-minded companies to increase the touchpoints that corporate investors can access our digital investment services and products in a simple and seamless manner.”
With UOBAM Invest, corporate investors can choose either the Digital Adviser or the Fund Direct service, both of which give them the choice to self-serve and to make their own investment decisions. Through Digital Adviser, corporate investors will receive a customised investment proposal created from UOBAM-managed funds and global exchange-traded funds, based on the company’s risk profile. Conversely, those that are looking for a more independent approach can build and manage their own investment portfolios through the Fund Direct feature4.
BIX is Income’s proprietary platform for its corporate customers to customise their insurance coverage according to their business needs. It also makes the purchase and endorsement of corporate policies, as well as the payment and claims process, simpler with instant quote generation and digital payments options. More than 3,000 corporate insurance policies have been issued through BIX within the first six months of launch in early 2021.
Mr Andrew Yeo, Chief Executive Officer of Income, said, “Our customers today desire more control in handling their insurance matters, and want more convenient and efficient ways to do so. BIX is helping our corporate customers – particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises – simplify the processes and cut down the time taken to manage their business’ insurance needs. We have received a lot of positive feedback from customers on using BIX since we launched the platform earlier this year. We aim to grow BIX into a business solutions platform where, apart from fulfilling their business insurance needs, our corporate customers can also gain access to other financial and non-financial services that will bring value to their business, and we are proud to have UOBAM onboard as our first partner.”
1 UOBAM Invest for corporate investors was launched in Singapore in 2018. Please refer to news release: “UOB Asset Management rolls out first in-market customised digital investment portfolios for corporate investors,” for more information.
2 Please refer to news release: “UOB Asset Management sees surge in online corporate investing as companies, especially SMEs, reap the benefits of digitalisation”, 12 July 2021.
3 Data over 22 months, as at end-October 2021.
4 For more information on UOBAM Invest, please visit https://www.uobam.com.sg/uobaminvest/features.html
