Singapore's second largest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), has officially applied the latest artificial intelligence-led technology to its wealth-management operations, as the lender tries to gain an edge over rivals in the banking sector.
Through a partnership with local Startup WeInvest, OCBC will run its newly-launched robo-adviser service through its Fintech and innovation unit 'The Open Vault'.
For retail investors, the investment threshold for the new service has been set at S$3500, which is low compared to the usual limits of traditional banking wealth management.
OCBC will begin offering the automated online investment advice across its 51 branches in Singapore. The product is a cheaper option for customers that want in-depth financial advice on topics such as tax and inheritance planning. Specifically, it costs 1.5 percent annually for assets under management of up to S$50,000, dropping to one percent for portfolios above the low water mark.
OCBC has already tested the waters by using robo advisers in a bid to improve the bank’s financial results. The pilot program was launched last year at a few OCBC bank branches.
With banks in the Singapore still largely playing catch-up with digital technology, OCBC is claiming to be the first among the nation’s big lenders to unlock the potential of robo-advisers, which are being adopted rapidly by the wealth management industry worldwide.
Commenting on the news, OCBC Bank’s head of e-business Singapore, Aditya Gupta, said: “With OCBC RoboInvest, we are empowering our customers to get started on their investment journeys and grow their wealth in a simple, smart and self-directed way. We are certain that our customers will find this new digital investment platform very attractive and that it will radically transform how customers engage with their investments.”
