KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 30 May 2019 – FSMOne (formerly known as Fundsupermart.com), the online investment distribution arm of iFAST Capital Sdn. Bhd. (“iFAST Capital”) is now offering round-the-clock bond trading through its in-house marketplace, FSMOne Bond Express. Previously, investors are only able to trade retail and wholesale bonds via FSMOne Bond Express on weekdays from 9am till 5pm excluding weekends and public holidays. The 24-hour continuous, one-of-a-kind initiative serves to enhance investors’ experience by allowing them the flexibility of transacting bonds at any time of the day.
This initiative comes on the back of FSMOne’s launch of retail bonds in early April 2019 in line with the Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) new bond seasoning framework. iFAST Capital is the first bonds broker to enable investors to transact retail-qualified bonds and sukuk from as low as RM1,000 in nominal value through FSMOne and through the FA companies and financial institutions which use iFAST’s Business-to-Business (B2B) platform services.
“Since the launch of retail bonds, we are seeing more and more D-I-Y investors showing strong interest in the bond market. They not only are able to start their bond investment journey at RM1,000, but they can do so now at their own convenience and in their own comfort whenever they like. This initiative is made possible by marrying our technological expertise with our drive to provide more than just a place for our investors to trade,” says Mr Wong Weiyi, General Manager of FSMOne Malaysia.
Besides this new initiative, clients can view their bond investments in their holdings as bonds are now transacted instantly on FSMOne platform.
“Bond transactions through FSMOne Bond Express are transacted on a real time basis and investors can view their bond investments in the holdings immediately now instead of the 4 working days that is taken for settlements. This also means that investors are eligible to earn interest starting from the date of purchase,” Mr Wong Weiyi commented.
This initiative applies not only to retail bonds but also to the wholesale segment under the FSMOne Bond Express that many are not familiar or even aware of. Only sophisticated investors whose total net assets exceed RM3 million or gross annual income exceeds RM300,000 could invest in wholesale bonds and find a host of interesting foreign currency bonds in SGD and USD that serves to diversify their portfolio.
“Investors can now look beyond the local scene. Bonds that are distributed on the Wholesale Bond Express list has undergone thorough reviews by our in-house investment committee to be qualified for us to make a market. Our own analysts are constantly keeping an eye out to reassess the creditworthiness of these companies and the attractiveness of these bonds so that our investors are well-informed of the latest happening about their bond investments,” Mr Wong Weiyi further commented.
Alongside other growing fintech players providing novel investment solutions that leverage on technology to ease investors’ participation, FSMOne’s introduction of opening up trading hours beyond the normal trading “window” is an evidence that the market player is keen to adapt to the changing needs of investors.
“Everything is all about convenience in today’s world. You practically have the world at your fingertips. We are just doing that, bringing bonds to our investors’ fingertips whenever they want to and help them understand that investing in bonds is friendly and not as complex as they think,” says Mr Wong Weiyi.
About FSMOne and iFAST Capital
iFAST Capital Sdn Bhd’s (“iFAST Capital”) holding company is iFAST Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which is wholly-owned by iFAST Corporation Ltd. (“iFAST Corp”), Singapore’s leading fintech wealth management platform. iFAST Corp was listed on the Singapore Exchange Mainboard in December 2014.
FSMOne (previously known as Fundsupermart.com) is the online unit trust distribution arm of iFAST Capital Sdn. Bhd. (“iFAST Capital”). It was first established in Malaysia in 2008 as an online platform for buying, selling and switching unit trusts from various fund houses. It serves as an aggregator of unit trust products, facilitating portfolio management in one account.
As a unit trust specialist, FSMOne capitalizes on critical information pooled from associated fund houses, providing an extensive range of information on global markets. In addition, FSMOne has an in-house research team performing independent research on unit trust investments, and conducting interviews with fund experts. As part of its service to investors, FSMOne features a versatile selection of online tools to aid unit trust portfolios analysis.
Every year, FSMOne organises two flagship events, “What and Where to Invest” in January and “Recommended Unit Trusts” in July. These seminars gather speakers from the unit trusts industry to share insights on their picks and the pertinent risks for investors to be aware of when investing.
FSMOne launched insurance products in July 2016, bonds in March 2017, and managed portfolios in May 2017. These launches are FSMOne’s initiative to broaden the range of investment products and services to cater to different aspect of financial planning for investors, from wealth accumulation to protection.
Under the Business-to-Business (B2B) division, iFAST Capital is a holder of a Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL) and is licensed by the Securities Commission to deal in unit trusts, to deal in Private Retirement Scheme, to offer investment advisory services, to deal in Over-The-Counter bonds and to offer fund management service in relation to portfolio management. iFAST Capital is also registered with the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FiMM) as an Institutional Unit Trust Adviser (IUTA) and Institutional Private Retirement Scheme Adviser (IPRA). The B2B division provides a distribution platform which offers investment products, mainly funds, portfolios, and bonds to financial advisory companies and banks. iFAST Capital distributes over 500 unit trusts, close to 200 different corporate and government bonds, 5 different insurance providers and unit trusts portfolios. Overall, iFAST Capital through its own platform serves 3 Institutional UTS Advisers (IUTAs), 17 Corporate UTS Advisers (CUTAs) and more than 500 wealth advisers registered under the platform.
In association with the B2B business, iFAST Capital is also an approved Financial Adviser licensed by the Central Bank of Malaysia to conduct financial advisory business. Under its own iFAST Global Markets (IGM) brand, it was launched with the vision and commitment of protecting consumers through complete commission and fees transparency to offer consumers personalized and unbiased financial solutions.
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