Standard Chartered‘s innovation and ventures unit SC Ventures, has announced the commencement of their partnership with the independent asset management platform Franklin Templeton. The primary outcome of the partnership is to facilitate the launch of the wealth, health, and lifestyle solution platform Autumn; which will be headquartered in Singapore. The platform will see a progressive launch across the markets of Hong Kong and throughout the wider Asia region.
As an independent digital platform incubated in and backed by SC Ventures, Autumn empowers consumers interested in achieving their financial goals to better manage their financial and physical wellbeing by providing best-in-class tools, products, and services across all aspects of wealth, health and lifestyle. Autumn prepares users to be future-fit in finance, health, and wellness, regardless of their stage in life.
“Everyone wants to live well, and Autumn helps users plan for a future that makes this possible,” comments Mike Kruger, Chief Executive Officer of Autumn. “We’re delighted to be working with Franklin Templeton and Standard Chartered to create a truly customer-centric, holistic and affordable solution for all. By combining digital wealth technology with health, lifestyle, and financial wellness, we’ll help users adopt healthier habits and create a retirement that is personalised for them.”
According to the United Nations 2017 World Ageing Population Report, 15% of Asia’s 4.5 billion-strong population will be over the age of 65 by the year 2040. Autumn is focused on supporting the needs of this growing ageing population, aimed at those who are interested in utilising a more holistic solution for managing their financial needs. Autumn’s mobile application helps users to achieve financial clarity by combining their banking, investment, insurance, and healthcare data into a single dashboard. Users can plan for their financial future using personalised aspirations and goals, scenario analyses, and portfolio stress testing before executing their customised plan by transacting across multiple product providers and asset classes.
With this strategic partnership, Franklin Templeton will be an asset management partner of Autumn. The Autumn platform will provide users with access to curated financial literacy content from the Franklin Templeton Academy and investment insights from Franklin Templeton’s Investment Institute, harnessing the firm’s global investment expertise and extensive in-house research capabilities. Autumn users may choose to receive insights on their model portfolio based on their risk profile and their financial data. The implementation of the Franklin Templeton Academy and investment insights will take place in the coming months.
In addition to managing their financial wellbeing, Autumn will at the next phase provide insights into how a user’s lifestyle choices will likely impact their retirement plans by using data from third-party wearable and health applications. This will enable them to take proactive action to stay healthy, avoid unnecessary healthcare costs and optimise their insurance coverage. To enhance their general wellbeing, Autumn will also be bringing lifestyle partners on board, including travel services and volunteering opportunities.
Alex Manson of SC Ventures, comments, “Autumn addresses one of the greatest societal challenges of our time and which is dear to my heart: getting older, which is unfortunately inevitable. All of us want to grow older in a good way, with a healthy lifestyle, planning the form of retirement that is specifically the one we truly aspire to, and giving ourselves the means to achieve it, as opposed to procrastinating about the issue. This won’t be achieved by pushing products – it requires trust in a community of like-minded people, and importantly, the integrity of data-driven decisions. This is what Autumn is all about.”
Harshendu Bindal, Head of Digital Strategy and Wealth Management for Franklin Templeton, added, “We are delighted to partner with Autumn and SC Ventures in launching an innovative digital platform for investors’ wealth, health and lifestyle needs. As an asset management partner of Autumn, our best-in-class investment model portfolios and educational content will be made available to Autumn’s customers as they make informed investment decisions related to life events, retirement, as well as their general and financial well-being”.
