Singapore based start-up Syfe, which wants to make investing more accessible in Asia, has announced that it has closed an $18.6 million Series A funding from a fintech-focused investment firm named Valar Ventures.
This round was also participated by Presight Capital and Unbound, which is also a returning investor of Syfe and led the last year’s funding.
The CEO of Syfe founded the company back in 2017. Like other firms, Syfe’s main goal is to make investing a more accessible affair. According to the firm, there’s no minimum amount required to start an investment and all the inclusive pricing structure ranges from .4% to .65% yearly.
The firm currently serves customers based in 23 countries, but for the time being, it actively markets its services in Singapore, where the organization is licensed under the Monetary Authority of Singapore. A part of Syfe’s new funding would be used to expand its services in Singapore. However, the start-up hasn’t shared the actual number of its customers, it only says the number of customers and assets have grown by ten folds since the beginning of this year, and nearly half of its new customers were referred by its existing customers.
Before founding the start-up Dhruv Arora was an investment banker at UBS Investment Bank, Hong Kong. He also served as a Vice President of Grofers, which is India’s one of the biggest grocery delivery services.
In many Asian countries, people tend to put their hard-earned money in bank accounts or invest in real estate. However, due to the stagnation of property prices and interest rates consumers are looking for various other ways to invest. Currently, the start-up offers three investment products. The first one is a REIT portfolio that is based on the Singapore Exchange’s iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index. The second one is a diversified global portfolio with a mix of bonds, stocks, and ETFs, which can be managed automatically as per the investor’s risk level. And lastly, the Equity 100 Portfolio from Syfe consists of ETFs that include stocks from more than 1500 companies.
The CEO of Syfe, Arora said, “We definitely want to be a tech-first platform, but we understand there is a value, especially as you deal with some of the older audiences who are in their 50s and 60s, who are still adapting to these technologies.” He also added, “They need to know that you know there is somebody out there to look after their products.”
Currently, Syfe’s average user base is aged between 30-45. However, a growing bracket is people in their mid-50s, who are saving for their retirement. According to the company, people normally start with an initial investment of $7340 and around four out of five people regularly top up the amount.
He also said, “I feel people have been rethinking their finances and the future.”
