StashAway surpasses RM1b in assets under management

• StashAway Malaysia country manager Wong Wai Ken said that the firm has helped Malaysians save over RM130 million in fees for unit trust funds in Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Digital investment platform StashAway Malaysia has surpassed the RM1 billion mark in assets under management (AUM) as of 2023, about five years since its inception in 2018.

StashAway Malaysia country manager Wong Wai Ken (pictured) said that the firm has helped Malaysians save over RM130 million in fees for unit trust funds in Malaysia.

During a media briefing, Wong said the company’s mission during its nascent stages was to make sophisticated investing accessible and affordable to everyone, with its success partly reflected through the fees it has helped investors save over the years.

“Achieving RM130 million in fee savings is a testament. We have since seen meaningful ripple effects from gradual phasing out of outdated practices like exit fees,” he says.

Exit fees are charges imposed by asset management companies on unit trust investors when the latter sell their units for cash, usually within a given time frame.

Despite progress in Malaysia’s wealth management industry, a constant challenge faced by investors is high fees, Wong said. Traditional investment solutions such as unit trust funds typically come with a 5% upfront sales charge and a 2% annual management fee, while StashAway charges fees ranging from 0.2% to 0.8% per year.

He emphasised that these costs, often overlooked by investors, can impact investors’ long-term wealth building. For instance, choosing a cost-efficient investment platform, like StashAway, can help investors build their minimum retirement fund of RM1 million four years earlier than if one were to invest in unit trust funds, based on a simulated scenario.

According to its press release, the simulated scenario assumes an annual investment sum of RM50,000, with both the StashAway portfolio and the assumed unit trust fund compounding at a 10% return per year, in line with the average annual return of the MSCI World Index between 1978 and 2023.

He explained that an investor who regularly invests in StashAway's General Investing portfolio could achieve this milestone in 12 years, compared to 16 years with a unit trust, assuming identical investment returns before fees.

Over 30 years, the gap resulting from the fee difference becomes even more pronounced. An investor would accumulate RM7.4 million with StashAway, compared to just RM2.4 million via a unit trust, added Wong.

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