By CHAN JIAWEI ADELINE, NGAI SI MIN and POH MING YAN FAVIAN

ITS NAME may be iFAST, but it refuses to make a quick buck from its customers. Instead, iFAST Financial would rather help them invest globally and profitably. 'We do what we believe to be right, and that our business will prosper from making the right decisions, not taking the easy way out,' says company co-founder Lim Chung Chun.

Founded by Mr Lim and Moh Hon Meng nine years ago, iFAST has become Singapore's largest online distributor of unit trusts, handling more than $4 billion of business so far. Starting with its business-to-consumer (B2C) unit Fundsupermart.com in 2000, to sell unit trusts to investors over the Internet, iFAST has revolutionised the local fund distribution landscape. Mr Lim, who is currently the company's CEO, says the firm's top priority is to understand customers' needs and concerns. Fundsupermart.com is aimed at helping investors make good decisions by providing them with convenience, superior research and unparalleled customer service.

Conceptualising the idea

Mr Lim, a former stock-broking analyst, always saw himself as an investor - and never imagined that one day he would be running his own company. From meetings with management consultants, he and his friend Mr Moh realised there was an online gap in the fund distribution segment. The two friends saw it as a promising business opportunity - and proceeded to set up their firm in 2000 with capital of $500,000. The business subsequently welcomed corporate shareholders such as online publisher SPH Asiaone and stock-broker DMG.

Today, Fundsupermart.com functions as a one-stop portal through which investors can access unit trusts from different fund houses as well as Singapore Government Securities (SGS). Fundsupermart.com provides investors with analytical tools and comprehensive research reports from its in-house team. In addition, it hosts webcast videos showcasing insights from industry experts and academics.

But it was not all smooth-sailing when the company started in 2000. Back then, established financial institutions and banks dominated unit trust distribution channels. Also, the dot-com bubble had just collapsed and there were doubts about iFAST's online business model. Still, the founders persevered in the belief that technology would be a competitive edge and their customer-centric approach would eventually succeed. They were right. IFAST is now a two-time E50 award (2008 and 2007) recipient.

Expansion and beyond

Since 2001, iFAST has also been growing its business to cover the business-to-business (B2B) segment via the iFAST Integrated Wealth Management Platform. The platform is used extensively by financial advisers and financial institutions for transaction support services such as settlement, research and training. Back in 2001, when the government liberalised the financial advisory sector by relaxing regulations to provide people with more financial planning options, Singapore saw a surge in the number independent financial advisers (IFAs).

This was the moment iFAST saw the opportunity to empower and support financial advisers. It sought to establish infrastructure to support back-end functions, freeing IFAs to concentrate on their clients. Awarded a Capital Markets Services licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, iFAST was the first firm to offer consolidated dealing and settlement and custodian services in Singapore. In addition, it has developed Verve Technology, an integrated solutions software that offers customer relationship management (CRM) and financial planning capabilities aimed at helping IFAs manage their clients more effectively.

Following its success in Singapore, iFAST has gone on to expand in the region. In 2007 it launched B2B and B2C services in Hong Kong. And in that same year it entered into a joint venture with OSK Investment Bank in Malaysia to set up iFAST Capital Sdn Bhd to pioneer the online distribution of unit trusts in that country. IFAST has also teamed up with Deutsche Bank for an Indian joint venture.

Success factors

Mr Lim likens the running of a company to a game of chess. 'To be able to position ourselves strongly in the long run, we have to think many steps ahead,' he says. One of the approaches iFAST has adopted as part of its long-term strategy is to develop proprietary capabilities. The company strongly believes in developing everything in-house - from systems to research content and even nurturing the firm's future leaders.

Both Fundsupermart.com and the iFAST Integrated Wealth Management Platform were internal initiatives and are maintained by iFAST's own IT and project management teams. iFAST believes that by doing this, it can keep running costs low and stay nimble to adapt to market changes. This has certainly helped the firm move swiftly into new markets, taking as little as six months to modify existing systems to cater to newly identified segments.

Great emphasis is also placed on staff. Mr Lim says: 'It is important that our employees realise they will eventually benefit from the company's long-term growth and performance. As such, our HR policies are geared towards cultivating a strong sense of ownership among our staff.'

IFAST believes in investing in all 240 of its staff to help them achieve their full potential, and even does so by giving them challenging projects. Also, the firm prefers to promote internal talent to management positions, even though they may not have the relevant job experience, rather than hire externally. As a result, iFAST's management team is mostly made up of employees who have been with the company since its early years and have worked in several departments.

As part of its long-term strategic plan, iFAST is reluctant to lay-off staff, even in trying times. Mr Lim believes the alignment of interests of shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers is a cornerstone of iFAST's success, and that retrenching employees is contrary to that conviction.

Moving forward

Mr Lim says that although the current slowdown has affected iFAST's business, the effect will be temporary and it will not be long before growth resumes. Seeing the downturn as an opportunity, he says: 'We believe we will emerge even stronger.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.