KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 30 May 2019 -
FSMOne (formerly known as Fundsupermart.com), the online investment distribution arm of iFAST Capital Sdn. Bhd. ("iFAST Capital") is now offering round-the-clock bond trading through its in-house marketplace, FSMOne Bond Express. Previously, investors are only able to trade retail and wholesale bonds via FSMOne Bond Express on weekdays from 9am till 5pm excluding weekends and public holidays. The 24-hour continuous, one-of-a-kind initiative serves to enhance investors' experience by allowing them the flexibility of transacting bonds at any time of the day.
This initiative comes on the back of FSMOne's launch of retail bonds in early April 2019 in line with the Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) new bond seasoning framework. iFAST Capital is the first bonds broker to enable investors to transact retail-qualified bonds and sukuk from as low as RM1,000 in nominal value through FSMOne and through the FA companies and financial institutions which use iFAST's Business-to-Business (B2B) platform services.
"Since the launch of retail bonds, we are seeing more and more D-I-Y investors showing strong interest in the bond market. They not only are able to start their bond investment journey at RM1,000, but they can do so now at their own convenience and in their own comfort whenever they like. This initiative is made possible by marrying our technological expertise with our drive to provide more than just a place for our investors to trade," says Mr Wong Weiyi, General Manager of FSMOne Malaysia.
Besides this new initiative, clients can view their bond investments in their holdings as bonds are now transacted instantly on FSMOne platform.
"Bond transactions through FSMOne Bond Express are transacted on a real time basis and investors can view their bond investments in the holdings immediately now instead of the 4 working days that is taken for settlements. This also means that investors are eligible to earn interest starting from the date of purchase," Mr Wong Weiyi commented.
This initiative applies not only to retail bonds but also to the wholesale segment under the FSMOne Bond Express that many are not familiar or even aware of. Only sophisticated investors whose total net assets exceed RM3 million or gross annual income exceeds RM300,000 could invest in wholesale bonds and find a host of interesting foreign currency bonds in SGD and USD that serves to diversify their portfolio.
"Investors can now look beyond the local scene. Bonds that are distributed on the Wholesale Bond Express list has undergone thorough reviews by our in-house investment committee to be qualified for us to make a market. Our own analysts are constantly keeping an eye out to reassess the creditworthiness of these companies and the attractiveness of these bonds so that our investors are well-informed of the latest happening about their bond investments," Mr Wong Weiyi further commented.
Alongside other growing fintech players providing novel investment solutions that leverage on technology to ease investors' participation, FSMOne's introduction of opening up trading hours beyond the normal trading "window" is an evidence that the market player is keen to adapt to the changing needs of investors.
"Everything is all about convenience in today's world. You practically have the world at your fingertips. We are just doing that, bringing bonds to our investors' fingertips whenever they want to and help them understand that investing in bonds is friendly and not as complex as they think," says Mr Wong Weiyi.
30 May 2019
