The startup of digital wealth manager Syfe announced that it has raised $ 40 million for its latest round of B-series funding led by U.S.-based Valar Ventures.
Valar, the venture capital fund co-founded by Peter Thiel, had also led Syfe’s Series A. Existing investors Presight Capital and Unbound also participated in the final round.
The investment comes just nine months after Syfe’s A-Series in September last year. To date, Syfe has raised a total of $ 70.7 million in capital.
The funds raised will be used to expand into new Asian markets, invest in top-notch talent, and develop higher-quality investment products and services.
The pandemic had affected consumer demand, said Sebastian Sieber, a partner at Syfe.
“Many consumers are now more comfortable managing their finances digitally and the fact that general financial literacy among consumers has improved in recent years. More people than ever invest and use capital markets to grow their wealth Said Sebastian.
Having our existing investors track their original investment in such a short time demonstrates their confidence in our vision of making more savings and investment more accessible. Wealth management has become a necessity in this low interest rate environment and we are seeing a significant increase in demand from customers looking for quality solutions.
– Dhruv Arora, CEO and founder of Syfe
“The opportunity for the company to meet the savings and investment needs of a growing affluent consumer population in Asia remains significant and we are confident that Syfe will continue to expand at the pace,” said Andrew McCormack, founding partner of Valar Ventures.
Syfe will expand the office, encourage new and existing employees
Syfe plans to increase its overall workforce to 200 in the next 12 to 18 months, Sebastian said.
Syfe has doubled the number of teams in Singapore since the beginning of the year to 50, bringing the global workforce (including 50 employees in other locations such as Malaysia) to more than 100.
The firm said it will make all its employees shareholders through a program of options on employee actions, which will allow them to benefit from the future growth of the company.
This means that any full-time employee, regardless of seniority, from graduates to department heads, will have a share of ownership in the company. Going forward, this will also apply to new hires, Sebastian said.
“The closing of this round is also a testament to the work and commitment of our team. Everyone in the company has been involved in obtaining the latter funding, ”added Dhruv.
Growth potential in the new digital wealth industry
Assets managed have quadrupled since the beginning of the year, according to Syfe. This is thanks to the company’s launch of two products: Cash + and its core portfolios.
Most of the startup’s customers are between 28 and 45 years old, although it was noted that there has been a recent growth in investors over the age of 50, as they are more looking for banking alternatives to grow their wealth. Syfe offers a range of solutions to meet different investment goals and customer needs, including low-risk investments such as Cash + and REIT +, which offer higher dividend yields.
Sebastian said there is huge potential in the digital wealth management space as it forms a small portion of the global market that includes traditional banks.
He did not comment on whether the emergence of digital banks next year will put pressure on competition over Syfe, but noted that digibanks will be a major addition to the financial ecosystem.
“With more players in the market, innovation and the adoption of digital financial services will continue to accelerate,” Sebastian said.
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Featured Image Credit: Unsplash, Syfe
