Temasek Trust to buy, revamp MoneyOwl to meet needs of underserved communities

SINGAPORE – Temasek Trust plans to buy over financial advisory firm MoneyOwl for an undisclosed sum and revamp it to meet the needs of underserved communities, such as essential and gig workers, as well as youth.

“The move is aligned with Temasek Trust’s aims to uplift communities through holistic and inclusive education, and advance progress by building capacities,” said its chief executive Desmond Kuek on Nov 28.

“Together with like-minded partners across the public, private and philanthropic sectors, we want to repurpose MoneyOwl to bolster the financial well-being of community groups,” Mr Kuek added.

The trust is a steward of philanthropic assets from Singapore’s investment company Temasek Holdings and other donors.

A spokesman for the trust, when asked who the likely partners will be, said it is still too early to provide details “but we have some people in mind”.

MoneyOwl’s chief executive and chief investment officer, Ms Chuin Ting Weber, will continue to run the firm after the makeover.

She said that MoneyOwl shares Temasek Trust’s strategic vision of “driving the common good” and that more details of the new business model will be shared later. 

The deal will entail the acquisition of MoneyOwl’s “residual capabilities”, which include its financial planning, intellectual property and technology platforms.

MoneyOwl’s insurance and investment clients were, towards the end of October, transferred to iFast Financial, which had been the existing custodian for MoneyOwl clients’ investment accounts.

MoneyOwl was set up in 2018 as an NTUC social enterprise to offer financial planning at a low cost, with salaried financial advisers who were not driven by commissions.

Four main services were offered – insurance, a digital will-writing service, an investment module with asset portfolios of low-cost funds, and a comprehensive financial planning service that integrated Central Provident Fund savings planning.

For now, MoneyOwl’s comprehensive financial planning service will be put on hold from Dec 16 as it “refreshes the servicing model”.

Its free digital will-writing service and online educational content will continue to be available, while its corporate financial wellness programmes will be provided on a case-by-case basis.

The spokesman for Temasek Trust said it will provide base funding for new MoneyOwl pilot programmes and products.

“This, in turn, will encourage and motivate our partners who will help spread the risks of the new business model, thereby unlocking further opportunities for MoneyOwl to deliver even greater impact and value,” the spokesman added.