OUTsurance Holdings Limited today launched a retail investment service, OUTvest, to complement its suite of direct to consumer short-term and life insurance products.
Willem Roos, Group CEO of OUTsurance explains, “In a country with a low savings rate, a large advice gap and expensive investment products, we want to help consumers easily and cheaply save and invest.”
The new service, OUTvest, offers goal based advice and passive investment solutions via a website and an app combining sophisticated technology and financial advisors based in a call centre.
The service’s key points of difference include its intuitive do-it-yourself digital front end, low fees and intelligent goal-based calculators – which will help investors understand how much to save to achieve their goals. Clients benefit from both algorithmic passive investment strategies and professional human advice.
Roos comments, Just like OUTsurance turned insurance on its head, we’re aiming to do the same with investing. We’re living in a digital age where people are more comfortable using smart websites and apps to make decisions previously only entrusted to a face-to-face advisor. OUTvest makes investing simpler, smarter and more affordable with the consumer at the centre.”
Crowdvest – Invite Friends And Family
Grant Locke, Head of OUTvest explains a key innovation, “We are first to offer Crowdvest, a social version of investing. We’ve made it easy to invite friends and family to collectively invest towards making a meaningful financial goal become reality. For instance, grandparents will easily be able to contribute towards a tertiary education savings goal for grandchildren or friends will be able to collectively save towards a trip or sports tour, and invite others to support them.”
The OUTvest user interface has been developed to be as intuitive and easy-to-use as possible. Whether through the app or website, clients can add or withdraw funds, stop, start or change contributions at any time at no cost and with no penalties.
Clients will also be able to completely comply with usually frustrating FICA requirements speedily via the app or website. The client dashboard will offer a summary of a client’s complete OUTvest landscape and how well they are tracking against their individual goals. Fees are competitive and extremely transparent and investments start from R100 per month.
Investment Funds
OUTvest has partnered with CoreShares, a leading index tracking passive fund manager, which has registered four advanced and cost effective unit trusts to cater for the different levels of risk and investment horizons of OUTvest clients. These unit trusts were developed in conjunction with S&P Dow Jones indices, one of the largest index providers in the world. In addition, OUTvest has partnered with Granate Investment Management, a member of RMI Investment Managers to offer its money market unit trust to complete the investment offering.
“South Africans need to save a lot more but they just don’t know where to start, how much to start with, who to choose, or what fees they will end up paying to the asset manager and advisor. OUTvest bridges these gaps by creating access to high quality and excellent value for money investment solutions. Everyone who has a goal worth saving for, no matter how big or small, could be an OUTvestor,” concluded Locke.
OUTvest has made an effort to comply with the draft FSB requirements for automated advice.
