Maybank, BNY Mellon unveil Thai partnership

Maybank Securities Thailand (MST) is joining forces with global investment firm BNY Mellon Investment Management (IM) to modernise its organisation by leveraging BNY’s expertise in digital wealth services to provide access to investments anytime and anywhere.

Maybank is the fourth-largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets, and MST aims to become the top investment house for Thais.

MST announced the partnership with BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest investment managers with US$2.3 trillion in assets under management, to offer customers opportunities to navigate the global investment landscape.

Arapat Sangkharat, chief executive of MST, said the company has been a financial broker in Thailand for 30 years and is leveraging technology to enhance its businesses.

He said the partnership with BNY Mellon IM marked a milestone that would strengthen MST’s investment advisory and wealth management capabilities, enabling the company to offer more insightful information and add value to products.

According to Mr Arapat, the company has undergone several changes, including rebranding and changing its name to Maybank Thailand, adjusting to flexible working hours, and adopting an open-plan work environment to facilitate more efficient operations.

He said the firm is offering new products and services to meet the needs of individual and institutional investors, both domestically and overseas, to sustainably create wealth.

MST developed the Maybank Invest app to offer customers investments in various financial products, including stocks, funds and debentures in both local and global markets.

Artificial intelligence will be applied to customer data to enable investors to efficiently choose products and align their portfolios to their investment purposes, Mr Arapat said.

The Maybank Invest app is due to launch by the third quarter of this year, he said.

The partnership will allow MST to use BNY Mellon IM’s model portfolio services — five portfolios of different risk levels and another five with different volatility targets — to enhance its asset management and investment planning services, Mr Arapat said.

BNY Mellon IM will support MST in the construction and ongoing maintenance of the model portfolios, including asset allocation, risk management and manager selection, he said.

MST will exercise its discretion to select and modify appropriate portfolios for eligible clients in Thailand, said Mr Arapat.

“Leveraging the strength of our global franchise, BNY Mellon IM is excited to offer our bespoke investment solutions to MST, assisting them in the model portfolios provided to their clients in Thailand,” said Doni Shamsuddin, chief executive for AsiaPacific at BNY Mellon IM.

MST reported net profit of 282 million baht for the first quarter this year, up 1.76% from the same period in 2021.