UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) is seeing a surge in online corporate investing, with the number of users on its digital investment portal for corporate investors, UOBAM Invest, jumping 330% over the last 18 months. Their combined assets under management (AUM) on the online portal have surpassed S$1 billion (US$740 million).

The rising trend reflects the increasing demand from corporate investors for digital solutions that offer round-the-clock access and the flexibility to make real-time changes to their investments and personalized portfolios, UOBAM says. The online portal was launched in Singapore in 2018 and in Malaysia and Thailand in 2020.

About three in five UOBAM Invest users were new customers to UOB Group, and many of them are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Corporate investors’ demand for online investing continues to rise given the restrictions in face-to-face interactions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the company says. The number of transactions made on UOBAM Invest so far this year is already more than 60% of the total for the whole of 2020.

Against the backdrop of a low interest rate environment, UOBAM has seen strong demand from corporate investors for bond funds that offer stable returns. In particular, UOBAM’s flagship United SGD Fund, which focuses on global short-term, investment-grade bonds, had AUM of more than S$200 million on UOBAM Invest as of June 30 2021.