SINGAPORE (Dec 18): At 50, Robin Lee is taking a swing at the start-up world. His fintech, HelloGold, has created a mobile platform on which you can buy and sell gold for as little as RM1 (33 cents). “I wanted to try to make a difference to the underserved and the unbanked,” Lee tells The Edge Singapore in an interview.
Lee had served for four years as chief financial officer of the World Gold Council, the market development organisation for the gold industry. Before that, he was chief operating officer of a UK-based private-equity firm that invested in luxury branded hotel and residential properties. He also served as senior vice-president of finance at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels and had stints at The Boston Consulting Group, the Securities Commission Malaysia and KPMG.
HelloGold is one of several start-ups that participated in a 100-day accelerator programme at FinLab, a joint venture between United Overseas Bank and government-funded tech builder SGInnovate. In April, HelloGold partnered Malaysia-listed credit service firm AEON Credit Service (M) to offer a gold-backed digital personal-financing scheme.
Lee, who is also the company’s CEO, says HelloGold plans to expand its operations beyond its home market of Malaysia to Thailand, China and even the Middle East. He adds that Malaysia is a test market because it has a mix of ethnic groups, similar to the countries HelloGold wants to enter. The company also intends to diversify its product offerings to include assets such as silver, platinum, palladium and real estate. HelloGold is financially backed by several high net worth individuals, angel investors and venture capital firms, according to Lee.
Gold for the masses
Lee started HelloGold after observing how those in the lower-income bracket had limited investment options because banks see little opportunity to make money from them. The affluent tend to have access to a wider array of investment options such as unit trusts, property and securities. For the lower-income group, however, daily expenses and contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund — Malaysia’s equivalent of the Central Provident Fund — leave very little for even the simplest of investments.
“To open a fixed deposit in Malaysia, your minimum transaction size is RM1,000. And you need to hold it for at least six months to earn interest. It is not a lot of money. But when you [compare] it against what [Bank Negara Malaysia] said last year, [which is that] three out of four Malaysians are not confident they can put together RM1,000 in the event of an emergency, that’s pretty scary,” Lee says.
Using the HelloGold app, it is possible to buy physical gold in small amounts. Accumulated gold holdings are stored with BullionStar International, a bullion provider. Bureau Veritas, an auditor approved by the London Bullion Market Association, conducts an independent audit on BullionStar every six months. Customers can also sell their gold holdings through the app at any time, except during the daily maintenance hour from midnight to 1am.
“We fundamentally believe that the amount of money you have in your wallet should not be a barrier to entry to financial products. We want to democratise financial products so that you have a choice. No one should make the choice for you because you have a certain level of income,” says Lee.
Sufficient investment knowledge is another hurdle. For example, how should one select a unit trust or mutual fund? By underlying asset class, geography, industry or fund manager? “Even for someone who is a sophisticated [professional] in the financial services space, it is still a challenging [question],” Lee says.
The way he sees it, gold is a better investment option for unsophisticated or lower-income investors because it is easier to understand. “People intuitively get it. [Thus], you are less likely to make a wrong investment decision,” he says. Also, gold is a natural hedge against inflation. That is beneficial to most people in Asia, where Lee says 40% to 50% of wealth tends to be in cash. Gold is also negatively correlated to most other asset classes in times of crisis. “That could make a difference to paying next month’s rent or next semester’s school fees, for example,” he says.
Start-up life
Lee spent his early years in Malaysia and studied at Alice Smith School, a British international school in Kuala Lumpur. He was sent to a boarding school in the UK at the age of 11, and subsequently read classics at Oxford University.
While he was relatively unaffected by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, he recalls the devastating effect of the ringgit’s depreciation. Those who had saved money found themselves, through no fault of their own, suddenly left with very little. “That left a deep impression on me.” With HelloGold, he hopes many will be able to avoid being in a similar situation.
Working in a start-up has been very different from what he has been used to at large companies. Resources are limited and the team is smaller. While Lee had a personal assistant at many of his previous jobs, he now has to do most things on his own. “On the other hand, it is also very exciting because if you want something done, you get it done yourself. There is no bureaucracy. You can see things change on a day-to-day basis,” he says.
When he is not working, Lee is an avid runner. He recently completed a half-marathon and says he prefers the shorter distance to the 42km of a full marathon. The latter is more a test of mental grit than physical stamina, he says. “I do enough mental gymnastics at work [already]. I don’t need to try to be mentally strong when I’m running. I just want to enjoy it.”
