Finnomena wants AUA of B8bn

Finnomena wants AUA of B8bn

Finnomena, a Bangkok-based financial technology (fintech) startup, wants to expand its assets under advisory (AUA) to 8 billion baht next year through its core strengths in independent mutual fund investment advisory and open architecture technology.

Mr Jessada says independence is a lure.

Finnomena's AUA has around 300 retail investors with combined investment value of 3.2 billion baht, up from 300 million registered in 2016, said founder and chief investment officer Jessada Sookdhis.

"We are independent so we are able to suggest the best mutual funds for investors without a conflict of interest, basing our advice solely on the benefit to customers," Mr Jessada said.

He said the startup provides mutual fund investment advisory on a daily basis via social media platforms such as Line, Facebook, and its website. It has found 95% of customers use these platforms for their investment decisions.

The startup will launch its "Total Wealth Solution" system next year to facilitate retail investors' ability to invest in mutual funds, said Mr Jessada. The system is expected to be completed in the middle of 2018 and will be ready to engage in the e-KYC (know your customers) process if the electronic law is approved.

"The new platform will help us grow more rapidly, reaching 8 billion baht for AUA in 2018," he said.

Finnomena was founded a few years ago by a former chief investment officer of an asset management firm with an ambition to reach out to retail investors through fintech.

Finnomena serves retail investors with 5,000 to 10 million baht invested, while those with over 10 million baht will be served by Infiniti mutual fund brokerage, Finnomena's parent company.

Chayanon Rakkanjanan, executive director at Infiniti Global Investors, said the growth strategy is based on customers' life cycle. It will provide advisory services based on the age of each investor in order to generate adequate retirement savings.

"To talk about [retirement savings] with first-jobbers, we created a suggestion as a 'menu'. For example, the NTER 1st Million mutual fund targets new investors to help create financial discipline using the dollar cost averaging strategy," he said.

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