Wealth Magik looks for asset surge in 2016

Wealth Magik Mutual Fund Brokerage Co hopes to double its clients’ assets to 2 billion baht and surpass 2,000 trading accounts next year.

The online mutual fund brokerage has plenty of room to grow, and investors can build up their investment knowledge via the company’s website, which offers information on all mutual funds available in Thailand, said Jirapol Pobukadee, chairman of the first non-financial institution providing mutual fund online trading services.

Information includes mutual funds’ net asset value, subscription and redemption prices, historical returns of each fund and initial public offerings of new funds, he said, adding that investors could also enhance their efficiency in making decisions regarding mutual funds.

After the company began operating in October 2014, Wealth Magik has achieved its target in drawing 33 million viewers with 2.3 million IP users at its website.

Mr Jirapol said about 2,000 users among the 33 million viewers had logged into the website, with half of them opening trading accounts and 600 already investing via the online trading platform.

Internet trading is growing in popularity among the new generation of Thais, he said.

The company’s strength is its decadeslong experience in installing trading platforms and providing databases for Thailand’s financial institutions.

“We’re confident investors will pick the new choices for mutual fund trading and investment, which we offer on Wealth Magik’s investment platform, while investment costs are not too different from other players,” Mr Jirapol said.

He said the company’s system ranked among the top five mutual funds, based on one-year returns.

At present, besides Wealth Magik, which is owned by leading financial software provider Wealth Management System, two other firms hold mutual fund brokerage licences.

They are Central Wealth Solution, owned by Central Department Store, and Amundi Mutual Fund Brokerage, owned by Amundi Group.

However, Central Wealth Solution and Amundi Mutual Fund Brokerage remain inactive.

Meanwhile, Jessada Sookdhis, a former executive with CIMB-Principal Asset Management, is applying for a mutual fund brokerage licence with the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish his own company called Infinity Global Investors.

He said mutual fund brokering is an interesting business, as the industry’s landscape is changing and investors need more investment advice and investment planning.

Mutual fund brokerage firms offer investors more choices, not just plain products launched by local asset management firms, Mr Jessada said.

The mutual fund brokerage business is very popular in some countries including the US, which has about 1,000 mutual fund brokerage companies.