This article first appeared in Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 27, 2022 - July 3, 2022

The country’s first licensed robo-advisory firm, StashAway, launched on June 20 its Flexible Portfolios solution, which allows investors to custom-make their portfolios with a variety of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by global fund houses. 

These ETFs provide investors with access to 55 asset classes, including emerging markets, S&P500, real estate investment trusts (REITs), gold, energy and government bonds. They are managed by world-renowned fund managers such as iShares, SPDR, Vanguard and ARK. 

The new solution helps investors manage risk by providing them with the potential downside of their portfolios. This is to ensure they know how much risk they are taking. 

On top of that, its risk management feature informs investors when their portfolio’s risk level alters because of changing economic conditions. 

During the promotion period, StashAway is waiving the management fee for any fresh funds that go into Flexible Portfolios until June 30, 2023. 

The firm points out that the new solution is in high demand from clients who want more control over their overall investment strategies based on their own market views and other investment holdings outside of StashAway. 

“We really value feedback from our investors, and many were keen to create or customise their own portfolios according to their risk appetites. 

“We are excited that our clients are becoming savvier as they invest with us, and are pleased to enable them to have a say while we continue to deliver on two of our core values: investment intelligence and risk management,” says Wong Wai Ken, country manager of StashAway Malaysia. 

He adds that StashAway wants to make it easy for anyone to start investing effectively, whether through portfolios managed by experts, a do-it-yourself approach to investing, or a combination of both. 

Last September, the company rolled out its thematic portfolios — Technology Enablers, The Future of Consumer Tech and Healthcare Innovation — that invest in technology companies across several industries via ETFs. It then introduced two portfolios in January this year: Responsible Investing and Environment and Cleantech, which emphasise environmental and social impact.

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