DBS launches digital advisory service offering investment recommendations to customers
SINGAPORE – DBS Bank customers can now get specific recommendations of investment products to buy through the bank’s financial and retirement planning platform.
On Thursday (April 8), the bank launched a service to provide these suggestions based on the customer’s investing knowledge and financial goals.
The Make Your Money Work Harder digital advisor will be housed in DBS’ NAV Planner platform, which customers can access via the DBS digibank online platform and mobile banking app.
Investors will be able to receive suggestions of specific investment solutions across six product classes. For a start, these products will include collective investment schemes, insurance solutions, and the Asia and Global portfolios managed by DBS’ robo-investment platform digiPortfolio.
Ms Evy Wee, the bank’s head of financial planning and personal investing, said only one in 10 NAV Planner users complete their investing journey as they “prefer a lot more hand-holding”.
“With today’s launch, we are augmenting the advice our customers receive with the expertise of our funds selection team, where we prioritise funds which are positively rated by the team,” she said.
Ms Wee added that the additional guidance will help customers overcome investment inertia and allow savvy investors to make more informed investment decisions.
She cautioned that investors should only make investment decisions after fully understanding their risk profiles and risk appetites, as well as after consulting professional sources of information.
“As more look to self-directed investing, it is important we equip them with the right information and intelligence digitally to construct their portfolios,” she said.
Customers will first have to complete a five-question assessment to determine their financial objectives, risk profile, investment preferences and financial situation. This will also help them to complete knowledge assessments required under regulatory requirements.
Users who obtain a “zero” risk profile will not receive investment recommendations and will be advised to review insurance solutions instead.
Those who have recorded a negative cashflow on the tool will also be unable to access the advisory service. They will be given advice to help turn their finances around or be prompted to consolidate their holdings via SGFinDex, Singapore’s public-private open banking infrastructure.
Finance professional Ric Krusemann, 32, said the digital advisory feature helps him to check his existing investments against its recommendations.
“It also helps me consider and evaluate other product types, such as income stream plans and endowments. It cuts down on me having to spend extra time reading up on the product,” said Mr Krusemann, whose portfolio consists of exchange-traded funds, unit trusts and stocks.
Other banks here also offer similar features in their financial planning services. OCBC’s digital financial dashboard Financial OneView recommends types of investment products customers can get into based on their risk appetite and amount of effort they want to put into investing.
Meanwhile, UOB launched Portfolio Advisory Tools in 2019. They are used by the bank’s relationship managers to help emerging affluent consumers manage their investment portfolios.
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