ADGM digital wealth manager FinaMaze unveils investments for retail clients
FinaMaze, a hybrid asset manager regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, said it will start offering prime retail investors access to its algorithm-powered investment solutions across asset classes.
A hybrid asset manager offers investment advice through a combination of human experience and machine learning outcomes.
FinaMaze defines prime retail investors as those who invest a minimum of $2,000.
“Our view is that you cannot have a sound investment with $100. It’s only beyond a certain amount that our algorithms can serve you best,” Mehdi Fichtali, founder and chief executive of FinaMaze, said yesterday.
While only professional investors could access the wealth manager’s investment products until now, FinaMaze said it currently allows prime retail investors to access 10 diversified investment themes.
Elite professional investors (with more than $500,000 of wealth) have access to 38 diversified investment strategies on the wealth manager’s platform, Mr Fichtali said.
Robo-advisers have become popular within the wealth management sector because algorithms can crunch large and intricate data sets across different parameters faster and more precisely and at greater volumes than most people.
In addition, they reach a historically underserved market of middle-class investors unable to access portfolio management services thanks to minimum investment requirements.
FinaMaze customises profiles for investors from thousands of different options and then offers investment advice based on a combination of human experience and machine-learning outcomes.
The company was launched during the FinTech Abu Dhabi 2020 forum last November and is regulated by the ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
The site’s in-house AI algorithm uses this information to determine each investor’s personality.
“Our profiling questions do not only take into account the client’s personal situation, wealth, experience and objectives, but also dig deeper to understand how they behave in the face of risk,” Mr Fichtali said.
Clients then pick one or more investment themes – FinaMaze calls it a SmartFolio – across regional and global financial markets.
Retail investors can choose from diversified FinaMaze portfolios, with each one having a special focus. Some of the available SmartFolios include global stocks, ESG, Islamic (investing in Sharia-friendly stock indexes), fixed income, currencies and commodities (sovereign bonds from G10 and emerging countries, G10 and emerging market currencies, precious metals, oil, silver and renewable energy), Mr Fichtali said.
Retail investors can also consider other investment themes such as stock markets in the US, Gulf, China or India or sectors such as technology or G10 real estate.
FinaMaze charges a fee that ranges between 0.45 per cent and 0.85 per cent of a client’s investment per year, the founder said.
Each SmartFolio is built, monitored and rebalanced by FinaMaze algorithms under the supervision of the FinaMaze investment team to remain suitable for an investor’s risk appetite and parameters, according to the statement.
The FinTech company launched two new investment themes – cryptocurrency and inflation protection – for professional investors in June this year in response to rising demand for digital assets. It claims to be the first robo-advisory offering cryptocurrency investment services in the Middle East and North Africa region.