UP FinTech Expands into Wealth Management

UP FinTech, an online brokerage firm focusing on global Chinese investors, has announced its entry into the wealth management business with the launch of its “Fund Mall.”

“Fund Mall” is a new wealth management feature that provides a one-stop-shop for investing in global mutual funds. With a selection of more than 30 renowned funds covering numerous underlying assets, Fund Mall lets investors create diversified portfolios tailored to their specific needs, according to a press release by UP FinTech.

A key strategic priority of the firm is to augment its wealth management and asset management capabilities. In November 2018, UP FinTech launched its first exchange-traded fund, the "UP FinTech China-US Internet Titans ETF. The ETF offers exposure to an index of 20 leading global internet companies and UP FinTech is using TTTN to educate its client base about the benefits of ETF investing.

In late 2019, the company added another asset management feature "Cash Plus" to its trading platform, Tiger Trade. This cash management service invests in treasury bonds, investment-grade bonds, and bond ETFs, providing clients with high liquidity and steady interest. By integrating Cash Plus into Tiger's platform, investors may manage their assets and build wealth with just a few clicks. Cash Plus has gained significant traction among investors due to zero transaction fees and an intuitive operating process.

The launch of the Fund Mall represents an important step forward in the company's strategy to enrich its wealth management offerings. Investors may subscribe to and redeem a wide variety of mutual funds in the Fund Mall with Tiger Trade's all-in-one account, adding easy and instant diversification to their portfolios without having to open a separate, non-linked account.

The range of mutual funds available on the Fund Mall provides investors with diversified access to multiple global markets and industries, limiting their exposure to volatility in a particular sector. The Fund Mall includes over 30 well-known mutual funds managed by top-tier global asset managers with deep investment expertise and rigorous risk management. The Fund Mall has already been well received by users on Tiger's platform who continue to allocate their assets to its newly available mutual funds.

Wu Tianhua, Chairman and CEO, UP FinTech, said “There are more than 100,000 open-end funds globally. When selecting mutual funds to put into our Fund Mall, not only are we focused on fundamental criteria such as the fund managers' investment strategies, and track records, but we also pay close attention to other metrics, including the fund's AUM and inception date, to judge whether the fund has gone through both bull and bear market cycles. We hope to include best-in-class funds that have withstood the test of time and provided investors with solid returns over long periods. The mutual funds that we selected for inclusion on our platform have been in operation for over 13 years on average. 22 of the funds went through the 2008 financial crisis, and 95% of the funds manage more than USD100 million.”

Fund Mall also includes funds that invest in multiple classes of securities, including equities, bonds and money market funds, empowering users to allocate their assets in accordance with their specific investment goals and risk-preferences under different market conditions.

Fund Mall is now available on the latest version of Tiger Trade. In the next few quarters, UP FinTech will continue expanding its mutual fund offering, providing clients with direct access to diversified investment choices from leading fund families, enabling them to allocate their assets across a wider range of countries, securities, and industries. In the future, UP FinTech also expects to offer wealth management services to investors located in other countries and regions as the company scales internationally.

“We believe wealth management is an integral part of the comprehensive services offered by our company as it complements existing investment capabilities on our trading platform. We aspire to become a one-stop destination for users to allocate their assets across a wide range of securities and investment products and we are confident this strategy will enhance our customer retention and diversify our income stream in the long run,” said Wu.