FinVest smartphone app will soon make it easier to invest in local, foreign mutual funds

Investors simply download the app, open an account and buy mutual funds from leading asset management companies within Thailand and elsewhere. This will enhance their investment options with the opportunity to earn attractive returns.

By early next year, customers should be able to invest in foreign mutual funds, and KBank is targeting 120,000 accounts with an investment value of more than Bt14 billion.

Patchara Samalapa, KBank’s president, said: “In 2020, Thailand’s total outstanding capital market value is worth around Bt44 trillion. Of this, investment in mutual funds totals Bt4.8 trillion, or around 10 per cent.

“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,” he said.

FinVest marks a cooperation towards digital technology development between KBank, which has 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, an expert in wealth tech.

Kit Wong, CEO of Lu International (Singapore), said: “Lu International has strengths in investment management and a world-class technology development team. The company believes that Thailand will become an important market, with the fastest growth in investment and economy of any Southeast Asian country.”

Chonladet Khemarattana, CEO and co-founder of Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities, said: “Though Thailand is fast becoming an aging society, most of its population still lacks any investment plan to save up enough for their retirement.

“Of Thailand's 70 million people, fewer than 5 per cent have invested either directly in the stock market or through a mutual fund. As people are generally concerned about risks and view investment to be difficult and time consuming, the FinVest platform provides investors with an alternative option for accessing an efficient investment channel.”

Once the FinVest account is activated via smartphone, investors have the option of linking their accounts to either Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, KBank or Siam Commercial Bank.

Interested persons can invest in various mutual funds offered by 15 leading asset management companies in Thailand – accounting for 90 per cent of the entire domestic industry – and many more across the globe, directly via FinVest.