Ep 42: Wai Ken Wong - Country Manager, StashAway (Malaysia)

Wai Ken Wong is the Country Manager of StashAway (Malaysia). He first worked in investments in Khazanah Nasional Berhad, then became the Vice President of the Equity Capital Markets at Affin Hwang Capital, before entering the startup world. Want to learn what it's like working in the fintech startup world, all things investments & the intricacies of how StashAway is set up? This is the episode for you! Highlights: 2:38: Using ang pow money to invest in unit trusts 6:10: Why he moved to Australia at the age of 16 7:54: Enjoying business 9:24: Whether Wai Ken was ever tempted to drop out of college to launch a startup 10:41: What drove Wai Ken to start working while still studying 17:56: Working in Khazanah 21:33: Working with Dato Hisham 22:35: Working at Affin Hwang 26:07: Why Wai Ken decided to join StashAway - then a 2-year-old startup that began in Singapore 32:13: Whether he had any doubts about joining StashAway 33:34: His role as Country Manager from Day 1 35:36: How Wai Ken built a 5000 person waiting list before StashAway launched in Malaysia 41:42: The role of content creation in StashAway 44:27: What does “robo advisory” mean? 47:38: Robo Advisory v ETFs 49:51: StashAway’s investment framework - known as the Economic Regime Base Asset Allocation (ERAA) 52:40: How StashAway came up with its risk index 54:56: Guaranteeing a 1% chance of your portfolio dropping? 57:17: How StashAway categorises risk 1:01:58: Will customers get to determine their own assets with StashAway in the future? 1:04:44: StashAway Simple 1:06:51: Why StashAway Simple doesn’t have PIDM protection 1:09:01: What guarantees StashAway has for its customers 1:11:51: How StashAway came up with its projected rate of 2.4% for StashAway Simple 1:14:05: How StashAway compares to Wahed & MyTheo 1:15:47: Whether StashAway will ever invest in crypto 1:17:53: StashAway’s Series B & Series C fundraising rounds 1:22: What do the rich know, that the poor should know? 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/42 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605