In a bid to help people manage their money better, Singapore-based financial education tech company 8VI Holdings (ASX: 8VI) has obtained regulatory approvals to launch its Financial Advisory businesses in Singapore and Malaysia. The Financial Advisory vertical was established in FY22 as part of the Group’s plans to expand its offerings. To successfully launch the service, however, the Company first needed a thumbs up from banking institutions.
Its Malaysian arm, 8VI FIN Malaysia, received its Financial Adviser’s licence from the Central Bank of Malaysia in January 2023 while its Singaporean arm, Vastus Wealth, got its licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on March 23, 2023. With these approvals, both 8VI FIN and Vastus Wealth can now finally commence their operations and work with key partners, including insurers and wealth protection providers, to cater to the wealth protection needs of clients in the Singapore and Malaysia markets.
CEO of 8VI, Low Ming Li, said, “We are delighted to have received official approval from the MAS and BNM to commence our Financial Advisory businesses in Singapore and Malaysia respectively.
“This milestone has been years in the making and demonstrates the Group’s commitment to adapting to the evolving business landscape to pave the way for our long-term success and sustainability. We remain dedicated to serving the needs of our VI Community and our mission of empowering everyone towards sustainable wealth.”
Low Ming Li was appointed Chief Executive Officer in January this year, following a particularly tough financial year for the Company.
8VI’s (or simply VI’s) goal is to help people achieve sustainable financial wealth—a goal it struggled to achieve within the Company. In H1 FY23, the Company’s revenue fell over 40% to $15.84 million on H1 FY22. While 8VI grew during the pandemic when people sought to preserve and maintain wealth, the post-pandemic form hasn’t been so great.
Its cash flows for the December 2022 quarter stood at negative $5.3 million, as compared to negative $3 million in the previous quarter (Q2 FY23). The impact was caused by lowered demand for the products because of the macroeconomic landscape and high operating costs. Cash receipts from customers fell from $3.71 million to $2 million as wealth management lost its spot as a top priority. To address this, it decided to enter the Web 3.0 and financial advisory spaces.
The Financial Advisory vertical is a promising growth opportunity for VI and is expected to diversify its revenue streams beyond GoodWhale, its investing platform.
GoodWhale, formerly the VI app, is a tool developed by 8BIT Global to help people understand and invest in stocks in a fun and simple way. 8BIT is a licensed financial adviser approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and provides financial advice through research analyses and reports using GoodWhale. With this tool, users can track their financial information, research and filter investible companies (thanks to its stock data), monitor their investments, and learn about investing. GoodWhale aims to promote investor education, knowledge exchange, and independent thinking.
CEO of Vastus Wealth, Chris Chan, commented, “We are thrilled to be launching Vastus Wealth and excited to offer our clients a comprehensive suite of wealth advisory services to help Singaporeans lead a life of Optimal Wealthness. Our team is dedicated to helping clients manage, protect, distribute wealth, and achieve their financial objectives. We believe that by providing personalized wealth coaching, we can help clients achieve their long-term goals.”
Alinda is a Business Reporter for The Sentiment
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