Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the leading banks in the UAE, has launched a robo-advisory investment app ‘CBD Investr’ to tap the increasing demand for online trading during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The app offers customers convenient access to globally diversified and personalized portfolios like stocks, bonds and other asset classes using low-cost exchange-traded funds. These portfolios are developed based on the customer’s specific goals, risk appetite and investment time horizon and will be actively monitored and optimized depending on changing market conditions.
Developed in partnership with InvestSuite, a leading wealth tech company based in Belgium, ‘CBD Investr’ is the first of its kind app launched by a bank in the region to offer a robo-advisory investment solution.
“Digital technology is disrupting the financial industry and is a key strategic priority for CBD as part of its vision to be ‘default digital’. We believe the next wave of disruption will be in the investment industry,” Bernd van Linder, chief executive of CBD, said.
By downloading the CBD Investr app, customers can start investing in a matter of minutes by registering using their Emirates ID and answering a few questions to assess their risk profile and create a personalized portfolio and they can start investing with just $500 and withdraw at any time, without any charges.
Also, the customers do not need a CBD bank account to fund their portfolios and can make a local transfer from any bank account in the UAE.
Pandemic push for trading apps
Retail investors are increasingly seeking direct access to markets with the help of technology, leading to a surge in popularity for zero-commission trading apps like Robinhood, eToro, Interactive Brokers and Sarwa. Demand for trading apps jumped during the COVID-19 due to monetary easing by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks, giving people more money to invest during pandemic lockdowns.
According to a report by KPMG, banks and brokerages are scrambling to compete in the emerging area of financial investing. Even though overall customer awareness of available solutions in the robo-investing space remains relatively low, investors have a strong interest in their banks providing digital portfolio solutions.
Another report by Deloitte predicts that there will be more than $16 trillion worth of assets under management with the support of robo-advisory services by the year 2025.
“CBD Investr heralds the next generation of investment services and provides financial market access to a much wider range of investors,” Mark Zanelli, general manager, treasury, asset management and global markets at CBD, said.
The app will provide an online portfolio feature, which will allow customers to create portfolios and monitor asset performance before investing money. The app will also introduce a self-investment solution for more experienced investors, CBD said.
