How a robo-advisor can help your employees save for their future

Editor’s Note: How a robo-advisor can help your employees save for their future is a guest article written by the Syfe team.

Whether it’s accounting, payroll, or payments processing, technology has streamlined and simplified many once-complicated business processes. In just one click, we can easily access information, communicate with coworkers, or make orders and deliveries seamlessly. With the rise of robo-advisory services, we can now add wealth management to that mix. 

Just as fitness trackers have become an employee perk, companies are now working with robo-advisors to offer investment management as a benefit. Examples include Siemens and BlackRock with Scalable Capital in the UK and sleep retailer Casper with Betterment in the US. Closer to home, payroll software specialist Talenox is working with Syfe to offer employees access to Syfe’s tech-driven investment platform.

Why offer wealth management as an employee benefit?

To bring their best to work, employees need to feel their best – physically, mentally and financially. Financial worries can distract employees from the task at hand, and even lead to stress-related illnesses. Helping employees manage their financial health benefits both employers and employees. Providing access to an investment platform is a crucial element of a well-designed financial wellness programme. It can provide employees with a peace of mind for their financial future, and make them feel more valued at work. Investment management is also an innovative benefit that can help attract talented employees when you’re ready to hire.

The advantages of using a robo-advisor 

Convenience

Working with a robo-advisor is a simple, fuss-free way of providing employees with an investment plan. This is because your robo-advisor will recommend and manage optimised investment portfolios for your employees. 

Different employees have different financial priorities and goals. A robo-advisor like Syfe will customise portfolios based on your employees’ investment goals, risk profile, timeline, and other factors. There’s no need for employees to manually manage their portfolios. Everything from dividend reinvestment to rebalancing is taken care of by the robo-advisor.

Flexibility 

In general, most robo-advisors don’t have lock-in periods or early withdrawal penalties. This means your employees can cash out their investments any time they need to. This flexibility is what makes robo-advisors so ideal. Most traditional bank or insurance savings plans will lock up your money for whatever time period you have committed to. During this time, you will incur a penalty for early withdrawal. Even unit trusts, another investment popular with Singaporeans, will levy an exit charge when you divest your stake. 

Accessibility 

Many robo-advisors don’t require a minimum deposit amount. This means that all employees, from the rank-and-file to senior management, can benefit. For instance, a fresh graduate who has just joined the company can start investing from as little as $100 a month. A more senior employee can choose to invest their year-end bonus as a lump-sum. Whatever your employees’ preferences, a robo-advisor will be able to cater around that.

Low and transparent fees

Investing with a robo-advisor is significantly cheaper than paying a fund manager to do so for you. The majority of robo-advisors use low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the building blocks of their portfolios. Because these are passive investments, employees save on the costs of active trading. They also save on the hefty fees that typically go towards the salary of the fund manager. The less your employees pay in fees, the more of their returns they get to keep.

Low-cost doesn’t mean compromising on the quality of the investments your employees have access to. Syfe offers three personalised investment portfolios: a Singapore REIT portfolio, a 100% equity portfolio, and a risk-managed balanced portfolio of equities, bonds and gold. 

Lastly, fee structures are transparent. There are no hidden fees involved. Both employees and employers can see upfront exactly how much fees they will be paying even before they start investing.

Simplicity

With sleek websites and interfaces, robo-advisory platforms are easy to use even for employees with no prior investing experience. Signing up is also quick and secure with MyInfo. In addition, employees can keep track of their investments and easily add or withdraw funds via a central dashboard. 

For employers, the digital nature of robo-advisors means that all administrative duties are instantly automated. Be it onboarding or monthly statements, the work involved in setting up an investment plan is done by the robo-advisor. 

Holistic advice for your employees 

While a tech-focused platform is convenient and cost-effective, sometimes employees want to discuss their financial goals with a human advisor. This is why Syfe offers expert advice alongside an easy-to-use digital platform. Employees can easily schedule a call or a meeting with our licensed advisors. Our advisors will review their portfolios and share personalised tips on the most effective ways to save and invest.

In essence, what differentiates Syfe from other robo-advisory services is our holistic, on-demand financial advisory service. We help your employees manage their financial health. This goes beyond investing; we also look at managing debt, setting up a financial plan, and preparing for retirement. 

Invest in your team

A MetLife survey in 2019 revealed that employees who are on track with their financial goals feel more career satisfaction. They are also more committed to their organisation’s goals and reported higher levels of productivity and lesser stress. 

Helping employees save and invest for their future can result in happier, more engaged and productive employees. And with robo-advisors, that has never been easier or more cost-efficient. 

Ready to get started?

You’ll get up to $100 cash bonus when you open and fund your Syfe account.