Asia’s most exciting founders of B2C robo-advisors

Kelvin Lei, Aqumon

Aqumon, the robo-advisory brand run by Hong Kong-based Magnum Research, is ambitiously covering four markets: inside and outside of mainland China, both for B2B and B2C.

Noting the firm’s $30 million Series pre-B round completed last year, co-founder Kelvin Lei said, “Capital markets now recognize the trend.”

The trend is actual twofold. First, COVID-19 has changed investor behavior. They are using online broker apps from the likes of Futu Securities and Robinhood instead of walking into a bank branch; the cohort that wants to invest, not just trade, is making its way to robo-advisors.

Second, all wealth managers now need to have a robo. “This is becoming a standardized service, like offering deposits or a loan,” Lei said. The pandemic made this urgent, but in the background, the rise of big data and the cloud-based services to manage it have also made this feasible.

Lei wouldn’t detail the company’s AUM but says its consumer apps are growing at 400 percent a year. A growing roster of financial institutions are onboarding Aqumon, including AIA, BoCI Securities, and CMB Wing Lung Bank. The company has recently supported Guangzhou Rural Bank’s launching of its own robo-advisor to its deposit base of 10 million people.

The growth of business comes with a deepening sophistication of product. Aqumon started out five years ago offering ETFs listed in Hong Kong and New York. Now it has a multi-factor model to create thematic portfolios.

The B2B side of the business accounts for two-thirds of revenue but the B2C side is growing faster. Lei says Aqumon received 100,000 downloads in 2020, and his goal for 2021 is 500,000 just in Hong Kong. He didn’t comment on how engaged those users are.

Underlying that growth is a large tech team: Lei says 85 percent of his 120 employees are in R&D, of which more than 30 are focused just on operating the algorithms powering Aqumon’s portfolio decisions.

“To succeed as a robo-advisor requires a license, a track record, and the top tech talent,” Lei said.