Veteran Australian financial adviser’s firm launches digital solution to reach new audience – SWU Online Invest

High profile financial adviser Simon Wu, Founder and chairman of the SWU Group, today announces the launch of the firm’s digital investing solution, SWU Online Invest.

SWU Online Invest is a fully online investing solution, giving Australian investors access to 4 investment portfolios managed by the SWU team, together with engaging and informative content. The objective is to help the mass market of Australians currently priced out of receiving traditional face-to-face personal advice – the so-called “advice gap” – by giving them access to the benefits of diversified investment portfolios managed by the experienced investment team at the SWU Group.

Wu explained, “Personal financial advice provides a wonderful outcome for clients, however, increased regulatory obligations imposed on financial advisers in recent years means the cost of traditional ongoing personal advice services has gone up dramatically, making it increasingly unaffordable to most Australians. We needed a digital solution to reach everybody else – thosevwanting to obtain professional investing expertise from a trusted provider, for a lower cost, via a few simple clicks.”

Simon Wu is a veteran of the Australian financial advice industry. He has over 40 years experience in financial advice, investment banking, private equity and funds management. Simon is the chairman of one of CPA Australia’s largest discussion groups, the Sydney Professional Accountants Group. He also has an extensive media profile. Together with his son, Jonathan Wu, he is the co-host of his own bi-weekly radio show aptly named “Simon Wu’s Economic Pulse” on the 2CR China Radio Network, which has an audience of 100,000 listeners, and of the “Money and You” TV program screening weekly on TVB Australia, which also has weekly audiences of over 100,000.

Jonathan Wu who is the lead portfolio manager of SWU Online Invest said he was excited about the reach that their new digital solution gives to the firm.

“A large proportion of our listeners and viewers are “digital natives”, and therefore, for them, this is a simple and easy way to obtain professional portfolio management, to help them build their wealth. I’m also excited about being able to communicate our views on sensible investing and financial wellbeing more broadly, via the SWU Online Invest app,” he said.

SWU Online Invest is being delivered via a partnership with Melbourne-based fintech investment platform, OpenInvest. CEO and co-founder of OpenInvest, Andrew Varlamos, said he was thrilled to be partnering with such a high quality organisation to help them reach and assist a broad audience.

“The SWU Group has a tremendous reputation in the financial advice industry, and high levels of engagement and trust with their large audience drawn from across the Chinese-Australian community. We’re proud to be playing our role in underpinning the SWU Online Invest solution.”

SWU Online Invest investment committee member, Paul Harding-Davis, a well-respected doyen of the Australian financial services industry, said it was exciting to be able to access innovative technology to help address a major issue across Australia.

“The past two years has seen a massive increase in the number of people investing in the stockmarket via cheap trading apps. Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to invest sensibly that way – and the barrage of ads telling people that share trading is fun and sexy don’t help. History shows that the only smart way to invest is via professionally-managed, diversified portfolios, and that’s what SWU Online Invest offers,” he said.