Syfe cuts losses by half, aims for group profitability by 2025

Singapore-based digital wealth platform Syfe’s group revenue jumped by 66% year on year during the financial year ended March 2024 (FY 2024), with losses after tax halved compared to FY 2023, its latest audited financial statement shared by the company with Tech in Asia showed.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Dhruv Arora, Syfe offers wealth management for the mass affluent, typically individuals with at least S$250,000 (US$186,000) in assets. In 2022, the platform started offering its services in Australia and Hong Kong.

Syfe founder and CEO Dhruv Arora / Photo credit: Syfe

In August, the startup raised US$27 million in additional capital, bringing its total funding to US$79 million. While the company said at the time that the funds would mainly be used to focus on its new markets, it also raised the possibility of using them for investments and acquisitions.

Speaking to Tech in Asia, Syfe adds that the capital has allowed it to offer a share buyback program for current and former employees. The program is estimated to reach S$5 million (US$3.8 million) and will be finalized before the year ends.

The startup says that its topline growth in FY 2024 was driven by products that launched in the past year, which encouraged new and existing customers to “double their average assets” in the platform.

One of these new products is Cash+, which guarantees returns comparable to Singapore’s money-market rates.

“Our diversified portfolio has been instrumental in building a resilient, growth-oriented business even through recent challenging periods,” the company says.

It adds that its Singapore office already achieved EBITDA profitability by the second quarter of 2024, though it did not share specifics. The startup expects the whole group’s business to achieve the same feat by next year.

See also: Digital wealth platforms report growing AUM, but have yet to see profits

Cutting costs

Syfe halved its losses by achieving significant reductions in its two biggest expense items: employee compensation and other operating costs. These dropped by 23% and 49%, respectively, between FY 2023 and FY 2024.

In an earlier report, the company confirmed to Tech in Asia that it laid off about 10% of its workforce globally in February 2023, including four employees in Singapore. Its workforce now numbers at 120.

The startup also says its marketing efforts were more “efficient” in the past year, which was a “key factor” in the reduction of its operating expenses.

It’s not the only wealth management platform that has a lid on its marketing expenses. StashAway, one of Syfe’s close competitors, also saw its marketing expenses drop by 80% in its last fiscal year.