FD's return is "guaranteed". Is that the case with SA Simple?

Sorry, can you explain on this a bit more? If the fees are based on % and no minimum charge, then it shouldn't matter if you split RM1k into 4x RM250 right?

Unless there's a minimum flat fee that they incur?

https://the-ken.com/sea/story/stashaways-qu...o-advisor-code/

Good detailed article on state of robo-advisor industry and Stashaway's plans. Need an account to read but it's free to register.

This has been discussed before already in this thread but basically roboadvisers need a very high AUM to be profitable, upwards and around $10b AUM, (Stashaway only just crossed $1b AUM).

Upside is that apparently customer acquisition costs are lower and people tend to have more cash holdings in our region vs the West, so Stashaway is more confident they can make it here.

Also, part of the reason I've withdrawn from MyTheo and consolidated into Stashaway. I don't see MyTheo making it if combined with Japan, they only have less than $1b in AUM. I think Stashaway is moving in the right direction, growing into other regions like MENA, think they have a higher chance of succeeding.


P/S: In the article, it's mentioned SA's margin is 0.4%, so $4mln in revenue for $1b AUM - that's really not a lot and definitely why they still need investor cash to continue to grow/operate. Big backers like Fidelity and some strong funding rounds to-date though, so should be all good.

This post has been edited by blackchides: Mar 16 2021, 07:50 AM

Yeah, think you're right, it could be more for US roboadvisors who also have a lower fee structure overall. In this and other article, they did say generally that they have strong unit economics and healthy cash holdings, so yeah, I think SA should do alright.

In Singapore, traditional banks have started offering roboadvisor-type products too though. Interested to see if Malaysian banks will follow suit - but they may not wanna cannibalize their own business.

Mind to share what that is? DIY ETF with broker?

Fair enough, I did do the math on DIY, in the end figured, besides the expertise issue, I still have to pay the brokerage fees and switching fees if I self-rebalance or reoptimize, and also a time/effort cost. Plus harder to DCA if brokers have a high minimum fee, which they usually do. Unless, I buy the ETFs on zero-commission platforms like eToro - which I'm even more uncomfortable in doing.

So, happy to pay the premium for now, and hopefully as my holdings with them grow, the average fee will come down.

But like you said, if I have bigger capital to work with and more knowledge, DIY definitely a good option to consider to avoid annual fees.

This type of comment is not constructive and not relevant, bro. Keep the discussiona healthy

Funnily, that's how I'm rationalizing my cash holdings, besides the X months of expenses. Eg. what if one day, my mum or bro suddenly needs to borrow RM30k from me lol.

Stashaway 36% RI Portfolio - "In Case of Kidnapping" LOL

Nola, my bro has history of borrowing cash, car accident repair car, etc.

Mom, not really haha - she has no medical card because of pre-existing conditions la, but that one can be settled with credit card while liquidating other funds.

What was the Smartly experience in recovering funds? I think that's a good analogue to learn from.

It's just more smoothening. If there's not a lot of volatility, higher frequency has diminishing returns.

FWIW, I'm doing weekly.

I noticed the same too, I used to DCA into FSM moderately aggressive managed portfolio but the returns just aren't great, and the fund expense ratios start getting annoying when the returns are low.

To be fair, my only performance benchmark then was from people in the FSM LYN thread that rag on Managed Portfolios a lot (pokemon-style portfolio, etc), so I may be a bit biased.

Withdrew the whole lot from FSM the moment my portfolio broke even, moved to Stashaway when they launched in Malaysia and never looked back .

These days, I only use them for PRS funds.

This post has been edited by blackchides: Mar 19 2021, 04:17 PM

Guilty. Been referring people every 6 months - sometimes even funding their RM1 to start their accounts.

They gave a talk at my company recently too, and offered free management fee for up to RM100k AUM for 6 months to employees - just send them mail using company email address. Pretty cool

If your existing promotion is enough to cover the sum you have invested, then yes, you should wait until the promo is over.

That's what I'm doing too.

BFM code is working again for those who missed it first time round. RM100k managed free for 3 months.

Very true. Very difficult to convince old-timers to move to this shiny "DIY" app when familiar Big Bank brands are attached to UT funds and are serviced by agents.

Good summary. Just one more consideration to add: whether the robo is at risk of going bust. Stashaway manages investments well so far, but they're also growing their business and expanding into new markets at a steady rate as well, which is good news for investors on their platform. The bigger Stashaway grows, the more confidence investors would have in their business sustainability.

I know the funds are held with trustees for robos, but even if you can recoup your deposits in full, the opportunity cost and mental stress while you're recouping your investments would be considerable.

Lol the answer to these types of questions in this thread will be the same as it has always been. In it for the long term, just stay calm and keep buying in regularly.

It's boring but sound advice.

It's been talked to death in this thread but just want to point out for transparency that generally speaking, (1) DCA itself is a form of timing the market because you're deliberately choosing not to invest now on the fear that the market may dip in the future, (2) history favours lump sum investing over DCA approximately 2/3 of the time.

You can check out a couple of links here on the subject:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertberger/2...sh=6fb5351e7c50

https://ofdollarsanddata.com/dollar-cost-av...ng-vs-lump-sum/


However, it comes down to an individual's risk tolerance - if DCA is psychologically more comforting and helps you sleep better at night, then absolutely go for DCA.

I am personally a bit impatient and don't like waiting for my money to start working for me, so knowing the historical data and that my investment horizon is long term, I am very comfortable just investing lump sum.

Go with the strategy that you're most comfortable with and that will allow you to stay invested during the downturn without being tempted to pull out your funds.

This post has been edited by blackchides: May 26 2021, 12:17 AM

Definitely not AI, but there's an investment framework (ERAA) that processes certain economic indicators which the investment team will use to decide on portfolio allocation.