Lufax Holding’s subsidiary and KASIKORNBANK launch FinVest

By Edil Corneille

Lufax Holding’s subsidiary, Lu International, and Thailand’s KASIKORNBANK, announced the launch of the online wealth management platform – FinVest. The digital investment platform aims to help retail investors in Thailand gain access to a full spectrum of onshore and offshore investment products at a low minimum investment amount through the extensive network and relationships brought by Lu International and the local expertise offered by KASIKORNBANK.

The platform provides access to more than 600 funds from 15 Asset Management Companies in Thailand.

“Thailand is one of the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia and continues to see rapid wealth growth and economic development,” said Greg Gibb, CEO of Lufax Holding. “Partnerships and the sharing of technology know-how are defining the financial industry across the region, making significant improvements to the quality of service and offerings to clients. Through the collective capabilities of Lu International and KASIKORNBANK, investors now have access to international investment opportunities that have previously only been available to a select few.”

FinVest offers a curated client experience, including an enhanced design as well as user-friendly and mobile-friendly screen flows. In designing the mobile app, Lu International and KASIKORNBANK prioritise the ability to make informed investment decisions and the access to relevant investment knowledge provided in collaboration with Robowealth, a WealthTech and investment specialist and investment solutions provider in Thailand.

Kit Wong, CEO of Lu International commented, “Digital technology is rapidly changing the way investors use financial services. They are increasingly using digital channels to purchase financial products and invest. FinVest offers clients the convenience, efficiency, intelligence, and ease of use through a personalised online wealth management platform that will help Thailand and its economy stay at the forefront of the digital financial revolution taking place across the region.”

Patchara Samalapa, KASIKORNBANK President said, “In 2020, Thailand’s total outstanding capital market value is worth around 44 trillion baht. Of this amount, investment in mutual funds totals 4.8 trillion baht or around 10 percent. Of late, the younger generation has shown increasing interest in mutual funds, preferring to conduct transactions via digital channels and seeking products related to Thai and foreign equity instruments. Moreover, open-architecture investment is growing every year. Development of the FinVest digital platform will help enhance investment potential for Thai retail investors, allowing them to directly invest in global mutual funds via FinVest.”

“FinVest marks a cooperative effort towards digital technology development; KASIKORNBANK, which has extensive digital banking expertise; Lu International — a Singapore-based company under Lufax Holding, which is an associate of Ping An Group — a large Chinese company with a team of world-class experts well-versed in investment technology; and Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities Co., Ltd., an expert in wealth tech, ensuring that the FinVest platform is in alignment with the Thai capital market under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand. This cooperation also reinforces KASIKORNBANK’s status as a complete banking service provider, based on a combination of its own digital banking expertise and that of the world’s leading partners and fintech experts, to ensure that KASIKORNBANK is everywhere around you.”

FinVest caters to local investors with round-the-clock digital access to comprehensive information about their accounts, market insights and intelligence relevant to their portfolio, while opening the door to premium onshore and offshore wealth management products with an approximate minimum investment amount of US$35 / THB1, 000 with no additional account opening or closing fees. The platform adopts Know Your Product (KYP) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance procedures, alongside an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and an anti-fraud system, to meet regulatory requirements.