Retail banks are reinventing themselves with the launch on online platforms as investors in Asia Pacific become increasingly spoiled for choice when it comes to buying mutual funds.
Options for retail investors include online platforms and robo-advisors and the benefits include reduced costs.
As retail banks launch online platforms, “digital advisors are targeting high-net-worth investors (HNWIs) and corporate clients with more holistic suites of products and services – examples across the APAC region include Bank of Singapore, Fubon Bank and China Merchants Bank,” according to Broadridge’s Distribution 360 APAC report.
According to Broadridge estimates, retail banks are likely to see a reduction in the share of mutual fund sales from 40% in 2019 to 35% by 2024. Meanwhile, the total share of mutual fund sales from direct sales and online platforms will rise from 17% to 19% over the same period, the firm said.
Evonne Gan, Broadridge’s APAC insights manager and lead author of the report notes that in China and the Asia Pacific region where growth in the online funds business is an established trend, “asset managers are increasingly adopting online solutions to sell to and serve their investors more efficiently, and at greater scale.”
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