FWD Singapore (FWD) and Ascend Asia Financial Services Group (Ascend Asia) have signed a long-term strategic partnership to strengthen financial advisory distribution and broaden access to quality financial advice in Singapore. The partnership will provide customers with enhanced financial advice and broader access to insurance and investment solutions through Ascend Asia's open architecture financial advisory platform.
This partnership brings together FWD’s customer-led product capabilities and digital servicing strengths with Ascend Asia’s governance framework, adviser network and technology-enabled platform. It aims to support the continued evolution of Singapore’s advisory landscape and deliver greater value to customers over the long-term.
Ascend Asia’s customers across the retail, mass affluent and high-net-worth (HNW) segments have access to FWD’s full suite of solutions available to financial advisory firms, including life insurance, investment-linked products and HNW offerings.
Customers will also benefit from a wider selection of investment options, with Ascend Asia Asset Management funds now included as sub-funds on FWD’s investment-linked product portfolio.
Both organisations will also collaborate on selected analytics and technology initiatives to generate deeper insights into customer needs, facilitate product innovation and enhance advisory tools.
Operating fully within the open architecture financial advisory ecosystem, FWD aims to support the industry’s shift towards greater transparency, disciplined governance and technology-enabled advisory processes.
Mr Adrian Vincent, Chief Executive Officer of FWD Singapore, said, “As the open architecture financial advisory model gains momentum in Singapore, our partnership with Ascend Asia, alongside our longstanding collaboration with IPP Financial Advisers, reflects FWD’s commitment to raising the standard of financial planning. With consumers becoming increasingly discerning about how they access financial advice and ongoing support, we are confident in the future of the open architecture model and congratulate Ascend Asia on its investment in strengthening the independent financial advisory ecosystem.
With Singapore becoming a super-aged society, facing a significant critical illness protection gap and strengthening its position as a global wealth hub, these partnerships will further enable us to meet evolving customer needs at scale.”
Mr Tomas Urbanec, Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Asia, said, “Our mission is to empower our member firms with the strategic investment, structure and tools they need to thrive and support their clients along their wealth journeys. Close collaboration with our partners in areas like product and customer proposition development extends choice for customers and amplifies the impact of our open architecture model. This partnership with FWD broadens access to a strong range of customer-focused solutions and technology-enabled experiences for advisers on the Ascend Asia platform, and we look forward to unlocking superior outcomes for our member firms’ advisers and clients.”