HONG KONG, April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading online investment solution 8 Securities announced the launch of Asia's very first robo-investing service 8 Now!. 8 Now! is a simple way for anybody to create and automate a professionally designed global portfolio at a fraction of the cost of banks and investment advisors. 

"What have the options been for an individual who wants to invest in their future? Either they have a savings account earning virtually no interest or they are paying extraordinarily high fees to a financial advisor," said Mathias Helleu, Executive Chairman of 8 Securities. "We believe that the world of investing has been closed to too many, for too long. We believe that everyone, whoever you are and however little or much you have to invest, deserves the same access to world-class investing as the big guys.  We believe that the time has come to shake up an outdated system that's all too happy to create complex products to justify their inflated fees."

A dramatic shift of wealth from traditional to online channels

"Today there is over US$50 trillion of investible assets in Asia. We are also experiencing the largest generational transition of wealth in history," said Mikaal Abdulla, CEO of 8 Securities. "However, financial institutions have not evolved to meet the new demands of young investors such as mobility, simplicity and value. While older investors may prefer to use a bank or traditional advisors, the next generation of wealth will be managed on a smartphone," said Mikaal. "We are excited to today announce the launch of our iPhone app and Android is on the way."

Robo-investing began in the United States where it is regarded as a reliable and convenient way to invest. New services such Wealthfront and Betterment have accumulated over $14 billion in assets in a very short time and most are demonstrating over 100% annual growth. There is projected to be over US$452 billion of global assets managed through automated investment services by 2020 based on a recent independent research. Asia will represent US$113 billion of this opportunity. 

How it works

Investors complete a short online survey to assess their investment time horizon and objectives.

Investors are immediately presented with a personalised global portfolio of exchange traded funds. The portfolio is designed and optimised by Morningstar Investment Management.  Morningstar has over $170 billion in assets under advisement and operations in 27 countries.

The investor chooses the amount they want to invest, starting from US$1,000.

The portfolio is automatically optimised and rebalanced based on changing economic conditions.

The performance of the portfolio can be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on a smartphone, tablet or computer.

The only fee is an annual 0.88% of your total portfolio size. There are no commissions, management fees or hidden charges that are common with traditional advisors. There are no entry or exit penalties and investors can sell or buy more at anytime.

About 8 Securities

8 Securities is the next generation mobile trading & and investing service in Asia. It serves a large customer base and holds over US$800,000,000 in assets. The 8 Securities group has licensed offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. 8 Securities designs and develops its own proprietary technology. The 8 Securities group was founded by Mathias Helleu and Mikaal Abdulla. Prior to starting the company they managed E*TRADE across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India and Canada. 8 Securities Limited holds a licence of Type 1 Regulated Activity as defined in Schedule 5 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Hong Kong Law Cap 571).

CONTACT:
Mathias Helleu
Phone: +852-6979-8191
Email: mathias.helleu@8securities.com 

SOURCE 8 Securities