Investment Management

2018

ANNUAL REPORT

Investment

Management

UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) offers individual and institutional investors in Asia a comprehensive suite of products, from unit trusts and exchange-traded funds to customised portfolio management services across asset classes and geographies.
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UOB Venture Management (UOBVM) manages private equity funds that focus on investing in high-growth, privately-held companies in Southeast Asia and Greater China.

2018 Highlights

UOBAM

Rolled out first-in-market customised digital investment portfolios through UOBAM Invest, Singapore’s first digital advisory service for corporate investors;
Incorporated environment, social and governance (ESG) considerations into UOBAM’s screening of Asian and Singapore bonds, as well as investment-grade US corporate bonds;
Expanded our range of investment solutions across the region with the launch of 10 new UOBAM funds, such as:

The United Asia Pacific Diversified Strategies Fund, UOBAM’s first fund offering retail investors in Singapore access to alternative investments;
The United SGD Money Market Fund, which serves as a cash management tool for retail and institutional investors in Singapore to invest their short-term surplus funds;
The United SGD Fund, our flagship fixed income fund to provide retail and institutional investors in Brunei with regular returns;
The United Global Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund, which helps sophisticated investors in Malaysia to capitalise on the long-term growth of emerging markets;
The UOB Taiwan Balanced Income Fund, our first balanced fund in Taiwan suited for retail investors seeking income and capital appreciation over the long term; and
The United Global Innovation Fund for retail and institutional investors in Thailand seeking to invest in companies that drive and benefit from innovation; and

Recognised as a leading asset manager in Asia with UOBAM receiving more than 10 awards across the region, including Best Asset Management Firm, Best Asia Fixed Income House and Best Alternative Investment Fund Management Company in Singapore, and Best for Asset Management in Thailand.

UOBVM

Reinforced UOBVM’s commitment to responsible investing by becoming a signatory to the Singapore Stewardship Principles for Responsible Investors;
Maintained our investment focus on education, including in AI Education Inc. (AI Education), a high-growth company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive learning technology in its computerised tutoring system in China; and
Launched the fourth series of UOBVM’s flagship ASEAN China Investment Fund (ACIF) to continue supporting promising, growth-oriented companies across the region.

Providing Investment Solutions for Every Generation of Investors Across Asia

We are committed to make investing simpler, smarter and safer for our clients. In 2018, we enhanced UOBAM Invest, Singapore’s first digital advisory service for corporate investors and rolled out first-in-market customised digital investment portfolios. Offered through the Digital Adviser feature within UOBAM Invest, our customised portfolios are based on companies’ combined investment goals, investment horizons and risk profiles. Corporate investors can also choose to use UOBAM Invest’s Fund Direct feature to build and to manage their own investment portfolio of UOBAM-managed funds. UOBAM Invest offers all corporate investors in Singapore user-friendly, easily accessible and flexible digital investment services.

Through UOBAM Invest, we offer first-in-market customised digital investment portfolios for corporate investors.

We took feedback from our clients and stakeholders in 2018 and revamped our Singapore website to enhance the user experience. Developed in collaboration with Morningstar, the improved website provides real-time price information on our funds as well as our market and investment insights.
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As a signatory to the Singapore Stewardship Principles for Responsible Investors, we also stepped up our responsible investing efforts during the year. We have begun incorporating ESG considerations into our screening of Asian and Singapore bonds, and investment-grade US corporate bonds, in addition to our active investment research and evaluation processes for equities.
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Our impact investing strategy is centred on the research and identification of companies that can contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as those committed to creating innovative sustainable products to reduce consumption and waste.
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Our efforts in responsible investing were recognised by Fukoku Capital Management, a Japanese insurance investment manager, through the appointment of UOBAM as their investment adviser and to provide advice on and evaluation of ESG investment criteria for their Asia (excluding Japan) ESG equity investment strategy.
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To provide investment solutions that meet the needs of different investors across Asia, we continued to expand our product offering with the launch of 10 new funds in 2018. In Singapore, the United Asia Pacific Diversified Strategies Fund is UOBAM’s first fund offering retail investors access to alternative investments. This is an asset class designed to provide better long-term risk-adjusted returns and to provide capital appreciation through periods of market volatility. Sub-managed by UOBAM’s subsidiary, UOB Alternative Investment Management (UOBAIM), the United Asia Pacific Diversified Strategies Fund is also the first daily liquidity alternative investment fund in Singapore with a focus on Asia Pacific.

Retail and institutional investors in Singapore can also invest their short-term surplus funds in the United SGD Money Market Fund. Through investing in high-quality bonds, it aims to provide returns comparable with Singapore dollar short-term deposits while offering liquidity. As part of UOBAM’s responsible investing efforts, the United SGD Money Market Fund does not invest in bonds from companies in sectors such as gambling, alcohol and tobacco.
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We also launched in Brunei our flagship fixed income fund, the United SGD Fund, in conjunction with the fund’s 20th anniversary. With a low-risk profile and offering stable returns, the fund is suited to retail and institutional investors seeking regular returns. The United SGD Fund is one of the largest fixed income funds in Singapore, with its AUM crossing the $1 billion milestone in 2018.
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In Malaysia, our new United Global Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund helps sophisticated investors to ride on the long-term growth of global emerging markets and to gain long-term capital appreciation through an actively-managed, high conviction approach to stock selection. In Taiwan, we launched our first balanced fund, the UOB Taiwan Balanced Income Fund, that invests primarily in the preferred shares of Taiwanese financial holding companies, high dividend stocks, fixed income exchange-traded funds and Taiwan government bonds.
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In Thailand we launched five new funds, including the United Global Innovation Fund for retail and institutional investors seeking exposure to companies that drive and benefit from innovation. The fund invests in businesses that create innovative technologies, processes, products or services to remain competitive and to capture a larger market share in their industry.
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Our efforts and achievements received industry-wide recognition across the region in 2018. In Singapore, we were named Best Asset Management Firm and Best Asia Fixed Income House, while UOBAIM received the Best Alternative Investment Fund Management Company award at International Finance’s Financial Awards 2018. We also won the Best of the Best Performance award for Asian Bonds (10 Years) at the Asia Asset Management Best of the Best Awards for the third consecutive year.

UOBAM continued to receive industry-wide recognition in 2018.

During the year, our funds, such as the United Asian High Yield Bond Fund, the United SGD Fund and the United Asian Bond Fund, continued to receive various industry awards, while our Asia fixed income team’s expertise was also recognised with the Manager of the Year award at the Benchmark Fund of the Year Awards 2018 for the second consecutive time.
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In Thailand, we were named the Best for Asset Management at the Euromoney Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey 2018, while our United Income Focus Fund-A won the Best Fund Award at the Money & Banking Awards 2018.

AI Education

AI Education was an early adopter of AI in the education industry through its Squirrel AI tutoring system. The system uses machine learning and advanced algorithms to assess students’ knowledge levels in order to provide targeted learning content and personalised learning plans.
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With more than 1,600 learning centres in more than 280 cities across China, the company aims to bring Squirrel AI to more students, including those from less privileged backgrounds and rural communities. To achieve its goal, the company is offering one million learning accounts to children from low-income families for free.

“We were able to grow our business, to develop our learning courses and to attract AI talent more effectively after the investment from UOBVM and other investors. We also had more resources to promote Squirrel AI through our expanded sales and distribution channels, turning it into one of China’s leading brands in the AI learning sector."

Mr Zhou Wei

Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Yixue Group

Ruangguru

As a provider of digital education content, Ruangguru focuses on using technology to overcome the geographical challenges of offering quality education in Indonesia, a country spanning more than 18,000 islands and 3,000 kilometres. With Indonesia’s high mobile penetration rate, Ruangguru’s mobile-optimised learning platform enables students, especially those from less privileged and rural communities, to access quality educational content at affordable prices. More than 10 million students across the country have benefitted from Ruangguru’s learning platform.

“The investment from UOBVM was critical to scaling up our mobile education offering to reach more than 10 million K-12 students in Indonesia and helping us become the biggest player in the sector. The UOBVM team truly cares about social impact and we are thankful to have them as our investor and partner.”

Mr Adamas Belva Syah Devara

Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Ruangguru

Following Series B financing, during the year we also increased our investment in Ruangguru, a market leader in EdTech in Indonesia offering affordable access to quality and interactive digital-based education content to educators and students across the country.
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In 2018, we also launched the fourth series of our flagship ACIF. Through the ACIF, we invested in Weimob Inc., China’s largest provider of cloud-based commerce and marketing solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises via the social media platform WeChat. We also support the company’s business expansion in Southeast Asia by connecting them to opportunities through UOB Group’s extensive international network.

The Asia Impact Investment Fund (AIIF), our collaboration with Credit Suisse AG Singapore Branch, continues to generate a positive impact on low-income communities. The AIIF supports companies modernising agriculture practices in Southeast Asia and China, or adopting technology to improve the livelihoods of small and micro businesses by increasing their access to financing and customers. The AIIF also supports companies that seek to increase the availability of affordable healthcare in the region’s developing economies through the use of technology.

Since 2016, more than 10 million low-income individuals have benefitted from higher income or better access to affordable goods and services, financing and quality education, due to the efforts of the AIIF’s investee companies.

Other Key Sections

Corporate Governance

Five-year Group Performance

Our Awards and Accolades in 2018

Investor Reference

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