OCBC Online Investment Platform

Buying investment products has never been easy even for confident investors. Doing so online without assistance is even harder. For years, banks and fund houses have ignored the needs of less experienced customers and have provided systems that require a considerable amount of investment knowledge before using them.

For some customers, the idea of investing their money through complex interfaces was very intimidating. We have identified further barriers specific to novice investors:

• They do not understand how and where to start investing;
• They are overwhelmed by the uncountable amounts of investment products, many of which are similar and confusing;
• There is no follow up or support after purchasing a product. In case of market downturns or changes in the economic environment, the investor is left on his own to decide his next course of action. Even if the investments perform well, it is difficult to understand when the right moment to sell is.

As a result, many potential investors decide to stay away from investment, even investments that are simple and suitable for novice investors such as unit trusts.

The current way to engage novice investors is obviously not compatible with their needs so we designed a platform that allows a different form of interaction, focusing on unit trusts:
Investors are clearly informed how unit trusts work and who might suit this investment. They are presented with a selection of only 120 funds which are handpicked by in-house experts and are suitable for less experienced investors. Investors are also guided during decision making which is supported by digestible bits of information.

They have an opportunity to evaluate, compare and understand each unit trust. The process to purchase unit trust is made simple and transparent, with clear instructions and relevant information to instill confidence. After the purchase, they are updated constantly on the experts’ views on the financial environment and the impact on the future value of the investment. They are now able to make buy or sell decisions more confidently.

We believe investing in markets and companies is a powerful approach to ensure financial independence and we want to equip our customers to do the same.