S’pore digital wealth adviser Endowus acquires Hong Kong’s Carret Private

SINGAPORE - In a move to scale up and expand beyond Singapore, digital wealth adviser Endowus has acquired a controlling stake in Carret Private Investments, a leading Hong Kong-based wealth manager.

No information was disclosed about the terms or value of the transaction, but Endowus said in a statement that its 60 per cent stake would combine its digital wealth technology with Carret’s platform of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts and charitable organisations across Asia. 

“With this acquisition, the Endowus group of companies will now vertically integrate to serve the needs of different client segments... as one of Asia’s largest independent wealth advisers across both digital and offline players,” it said. 

Combined, they will serve tens of thousands of clients with assets of more than US$4 billion (S$5.7 billion).

The Endowus Group, through Carret’s minority shareholding, will also have a strategic partnership with Singapore-based Lumen Capital Investors. Lumen is a Singapore-based wealth adviser and multi-family office that is founded and led by Mr Wilfried Kofmehl, a private banking veteran with 30 years of experience with global institutions such as UBS. Mr Kofmehl is also the former chief executive officer of Bank Julius Baer Singapore, while Lumen is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Mr Samuel Rhee, chairman and CEO of Endowus, said the combination of Endowus and Carret, and the partnership with Lumen, would allow the Singapore company to scale and grow faster.

“There is tremendous upside to scale into one of the largest independent wealth managers for the ultra-high-net-worth segment in Asia,” said Mr Rhee, a 28-year veteran of the wealth management industry who was previously the CEO and chief investment officer for Morgan Stanley Investment Management in Asia.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals are generally defined as having a net worth of at least US$30 million.

Endowus, which is registered with MAS and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, is the first digital adviser in the region to span both private wealth (cash) and public pension savings, such as the Central Provident Fund and Supplementary Retirement Scheme in Singapore. It helps investors to grow their money with advice and access to institutional financial solutions through a personalised digital wealth experience. 

Founded in 2017, it has raised a total of $67 million in funding from investors such as UBS, EDBI, Prosus Ventures, Z Venture Capital, Samsung Ventures, and Singtel Innov8, as well as global leading venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and SoftBank Ventures Asia.

As at August 2022, Endowus had more than $2 billion in assets under advice.