Crossbridge Capital, the boutique ultra-high net worth (UHNW) wealth manager, has launched a new digital advisory platform aimed at affluent Singapore-based investors, including accredited investors and US expatriates in the city-state.
Developed in collaboration with Morningstar, Pershing, Julius Baer and Bambu, the Connect platform is built around a series of actively-managed certificates, each with an exposure of up to 12 asset classes, including some not easily accessible beyond UHNW. Crossbridge and Morningstar developed the certificates and Julius Baer is the issuer, while Bambu developed the platform and Pershing is the asset custodian.
Connect is a smart-beta product that will enable Crossbridge to extend its mature UHNW practices and offerings to accredited investors, which are affluent but somewhat neglected investors who can invest more than the retail buyer, but yet still cannot fully access UHNW services, according to Charlie O'Flaherty (pictured), partner and head of digital strategy & distribution at Crossbridge Capital. "We are very excited to be offering an asset mix to clients who might not have had the opportunity to access these alternative classes otherwise," said O'Flaherty. "It's a big niche, and we can offer a lot of value to this underserved segment."
Based on its investment goals and risk appetite, investors would be able to access different structured portfolios built around the certificates directly via the platform. The portfolios are actively managed and rebalanced per investment, provide daily liquidity and trade on net asset value. Accredited investors are defined as individuals whose net personal assets exceed S$2m (US$1.44m) or whose income in the preceding 12 months is not less than S$300,000, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
US expatriates living in Singapore are also a sizable target with the collaboration with Pershing allowing them the same access to the new platform. "Since the introduction of new tax reporting regulations in the US, banks and other financial services institutions have been reluctant to serve US expatriates," said O'Flaherty.
"Initial portfolio options available to clients are skewed towards the lower end of the risk spectrum," said O'Flaherty. "We would love to expand our service regionally beyond Singapore, and in terms of product complexity and diversity. One thing we are looking at for the future is syndication of reverse inquiry deals, and more involved structured notes for the higher risk category."
A minimum of US$100,000 is required to access the platform. The service will charge minimal fees, with management aiming for as pure participation as possible, according to O'Flaherty. "There are fees of up to 1.25% pa charged at the investment level, and there are no fees on uninvested assets or additional transactional fees - even when clients' portfolios are rebalanced," said O'Flaherty.
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