With unit trust agents out of the picture, the benefit of buying these funds online would obviously be lower sales charges. The downside to this is that you will have no one to help monitor and advise you on whether you should switch funds or to buy or sell your funds. But most people who invest in unit trusts are long term investors and do not need up-to-speed market information and action to buy and sell to make profits, like the equity market. I do not mind monitoring my own portfolio of funds and check on their performances from time to time.
With these two companies coming into the market with their online channels, many local fund houses are playing the wait and see game to see how this business will fare before they decide whether to join the bandwagon. Having said that, I’ve heard that Public Mutual is developing their own online platform but not much information has been divulged about it. I don’t think they can do away with their strong agency force, so I’m not sure if the online platform will be a complementing feature or a substitute to the agents.
I’m patiently waiting for these funds to come to the market. I only hope it is as good as these companies are painting it to be. I believe it is a cheaper method to invest in unit trust funds, but they must also be good performing funds. So bring it on and we’ll see how they work!
