As 2021 unfolds, Raiz’s decision to offer customers the opportunity to select their own asset weightings inside their portfolio is proving timely, with more than 8,000 taking advantage of our Custom Portfolio option.
Countries around the globe are responding to their COVID-19 vaccination rollouts differently, in part due to their economic and medical capability, but also because of political necessity. The US and the UK, for example, had a poor initial response to the virus, making it politically critical to get the vaccine rollout right.
Australia has been slow in rolling out the vaccine, in part because its success in containing the virus has removed the element of urgency evident in the UK, US and other developed nations.
These differing responses will have economic and investment consequences. Australia will probably remain closed longer to the rest of the world while the US, UK and some European countries will likely open up more quickly to international trade and travel. Investors will need to ponder these differences when deciding when and how to invest, which is why offering our customised portfolio to allow choice in selecting asset weightings inside individual portfolios is such an important initiative.
At the same time, Bitcoin has been doing well during the quarter as it becomes more mainstream with global institutions to start accepting it as a way of settlement and alternative to cash. VISA was the last large company to announce that transactions could be settled via Bitcoin. Our Sapphire portfolio, with a target weight of 5 per cent to Bitcoin, now has more than 40,000 customers.
Allowing individuals to diversify their investments according to their assessment of the markets, whether through our Standard portfolios, Sapphire or Custom portfolio, is a well-accepted investment principle as it can minimise the risk of loss.
We are very pleased with the initial response to our decision to add these options, which were driven by customer feedback, and we will continue to listen to your feedback. We have also added the ability for SMSFs to onboard via the Raiz platform. This is a $730 billion sector and will assist us, along with the other new portfolios, to meet our $1 billion target for funds under management by the end of this calendar year.
None of this would be possible without you, your support in our products and your feedback, to ensure we are continually improving Raiz. Yes, we listen, as the best ideas come from you.
As always, keep safe.
– George Lucas, Managing Director/Group CEO
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