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In focus
- StashAway building wealth in Singapore
- Flash Coffee spilling the beans on fresh strategy with new CEO
- Neuron and Beam merging, showing two wheels are better than four
Hello reader,
Singapore is the wealthiest country in Southeast Asia. So it may seem that a wealth advisory firm operating in the city-state would be more likely to deliver profit.
That’s not the case, however, as even more prominent companies like Endowus, Syfe, and StashAway were still unprofitable as of last year.
But they’re making headway. In today’s featured story, a report from our sister publication, The Business Times, breaks down StashAway’s financials and how it finally turned a profit in its home market in 2024.
The key to hitting this milestone was product diversification and turning cash management clients into long-term investors, according to the company’s co-founder and CEO, Michele Ferrario.
With Syfe also making a profit in Singapore in 2024, recent moves may signal a rebound in the robo-advisory space – an industry shaken by exits, including JPMorgan’s withdrawal in 2023.
This edition also features my interview with Flash Coffee’s new CEO, Bardon Matthew, who talked to me about the brand’s revamped store model and its bold plan to scale to 500 locations in Indonesia.
Miguel Cordon, journalist
Top Stories
1️⃣ StashAway hits profit milestone in SG as revenue jumps
StashAway’s Singapore unit is now EBITDA-positive, flipping a US$1.3 million loss in 2023 into a US$1 million profit in 2024. Revenue in its core market jumped nearly 45% year over year. CEO Michele Ferrario credits loyal users who kept investing.
The company, however, has yet to set a hard deadline for group profitability.
2️⃣ Yellow fades as Flash Coffee’s new CEO helps brew fresh strategy
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