The world of investing has altered considerably as a result of technological advancements. With global markets available to anybody with an internet connection, it has never been easier or more affordable to start investing.
Financial institutions today view digital advancements as requirements that should be made available to everyone.
Today, financial information is at the fingertips of retail investors like you and me, and you no longer need a large sum of money to start investing anymore.
In fact, you don’t even need to leave your house or take out cash to pay over the counter to start investing. All you have to do is get online and start surfing.
How the internet has changed investing
Freedom of information is the biggest change to how investing is done in the digital world. Company information and stock performance can be pulled up at a moment’s notice. The millions of transactions that take place each day can be observed from a single dashboard.
In addition to this, automated investment platforms have made investing and day trading easily accessible to everyone. Regardless of income level or experience with financial markets, everyone can enter the world of investment.
This has led to a big increase in retail investors (the term for individual, non-professional investors) participating in the market. According to The Edge Markets, the participation rate of retail investors in our local stock market rose to 32.4% in 2021, up from 20.8% in 2019.
However, not everyone can directly benefit from these kinds of advancements in digital technology. While stock market information is now readily available, the sheer volume of daily trades makes it difficult for the regular individual to keep track of what is going on.
For instance, the turnover volume for Bursa Malaysia in December 2021 was over 65 million shares. That’s over two million shares changing hands every day!
While the internet has opened doors for new investors, some of its most important advancements are not for mass market consumption; rather, they are designed to help financial advisors better serve their clients.
Digital investing with Principal Asset Management
The good news is that you don’t have to personally shift through the mountain of information every day to keep track of what’s going on.
Principal Asset Management is on hand to do the hard work for you with Principal Direct Access (PDA), a one-stop distributor portal that helps their consultants better manage clients and their investments.
Here’s how you can benefit from using PDA:
Alternative onboarding
Getting new investors set up with a Principal fund is now as easy as tapping a few buttons. However, the real advancements come from being able to quickly sift through fund information in order to find an investment profile that best suits the clients.
PDA provides a convenient dashboard for consultants to view potential fund performance and adjust investment parameters to get a visual representation of potential returns over time (with an extra comparison against the benchmark).
Digital submissions
Supporting the onboarding of new accounts is the option to provide digital documentation. In the age of electronic records, there is less reason to have to fill out physical forms. Smartphones with cameras enable relevant paperwork to be scanned and uploaded to servers in a matter of seconds.
Clients don’t need to meet their consultants in person in order to submit paperwork or relevant documents. It’s not only practical, but it also helps preserve the social distancing in the current situation due to the pandemic.
New digital payment options
Traditionally, adding funds to a unit trust investment can only be done through a bank transfer. However, today’s digital investment platforms allow retail investors to top up their accounts through their phones. This feature is also available on the PDA platform.
Once onboarded with Principal, you can easily invest funds through your virtual investment accounts with the help of a consultant. These transactions will all be logged for future reference for both you and your consultant. This helps the consultant provide better support for their clients.
Experience it for yourself
Curious about what Principal Direct Access can do for you? Principal Asset Management offers over 70-unit trust funds to help investors diversify their portfolios according to their personal risk tolerances and preferences.
Using PDA, Principal’s consultants can help investors to:
- Easily onboard the platform as an existing or new investor
- Choose between a single or joint account holding
- Help create new cash account for EPF investments
- Perform top-up, switching or redemption for their funds
- Set up and manage a Regular Savings Plan (RSP) for their active funds
For those beginner investors who are ready to start investing, Principal e-Cash Fund which is available through the Touch ‘N Go eWallet, one of Malaysia’s leading e-wallets, that offers all the benefits of modern digital advancements. The fund is suitable for investors who are aiming to start small and have a short investment horizon.
What’s more is that you can conduct all your transactions through your e-wallet, which makes it the most convenient way to top up your fund when you have a few extra Ringgit at the end of the month. Principal e-Cash Fund is a short-term Islamic money-market fund that provides seamless usage capabilities that other investment instruments do not have.
Disclaimer
Investing involves risk and cost. You should understand the risks involved, compare and consider the fees, charges and costs involved, make your own risk assessment and seek professional advice, where necessary. Securities Commission Malaysia does not review advertisements produced by Principal. For full disclaimer, please visit here.
