VinaCapital acquires Singapore fintech player Smartly

VinaCapital has worked with the company via its Singapore subsidiary VCG Partners since 2016, when it launched one of the city-state’s first robo-advisory investment services. That year, Expara Thailand contributed to a seed round of undisclosed size. 

“Smartly has been a trailblazer in robo-advisory services in Singapore, and we look forward to building on the momentum and expanding to other Southeast Asian markets as their regulatory environments allow,” Jason Ng, CEO at VCG, said in a statement. “For example, in Vietnam, current laws do not address robo-advisory services, creating significant risks for investors who elect to invest with some of the start-ups in the market that claim to offer such services.”

Smartly positions itself as an educational digital wealth management platform for retail investors across Southeast Asia, especially millennials. Users complete a simple questionnaire that assesses their risk tolerance, financial situation and goals. A robo-advisor then recommends a portfolio made up of a basket of exchange-traded funds. Algorithms then rebalance portfolios on a periodic basis, accounting for changes in the global economy.

VinaCapital claims $1.8 billion in assets under management across a range of asset classes including private equity, venture capital, real estate and fixed income. The firm typically makes buyout investments via its Vietnam Opportunity Fund, a London-listed vehicle regulated by the Vietnam government that closed in 2006 at $475.1 million. Last month, it set up a $1 billion growth fund in partnership with Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group and Naver.

VinaCapital also launched a $100 million venture arm last year that will make investments of $2-10 million in size with an unlimited holding time. Recent activity in fintech includes an investment of undisclosed size in Wee Digital, a company that provides artificial intelligence and biometric security technology to banks. The idea is to promote cashless transactions, through technologies that allow unique features of the human body to be used for identification and authorization clearance.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Buyouts
• Singapore
• VinaCapital
• Financial Services