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Wahed Invest is the 3rd Robo Advisor that has entered Malaysia. And it is the first syariah-compliant robo advisor to ever enter Malaysia. It got licensed by Malaysia Security Commissioner and start operation last year. Wahed claim to provide ethical investment platform in accord to syariah. And this open the door to muslim in Malaysia to start using robo advisor as an investment tool.
Getting Started
To register, it can only be done on the app. For some reason, you cannot register on their website. If you try to even sign up, it will send you an SMS with a link to download the app and lead you to register using the app.
After you download and open the app, you will be greeted by an intro pages. Follow the instruction upon registering and lastly you need to submit a photo capture of your MyKad and other documents (telco bills or bank statement letterhead).
Your newly created account will be put under review and it will take 3-7 days to get approve. In my experience, it took 3 days. You will receive an email letting you know your account is ready.
The first screen after login will show an instruction on what to do. One of the step require you to make a One Time deposit or Weekly or Monthly. With Weekly or Monthly, you can set a recurring deposit through Direct Debit. And another step will require you to choose your risk appetite.
The first deposit will take longer than the normal 1-3 days. Once Wahed complete the transaction, you will see the amount in Overview screen.
Wahed Fees
Wahed does not have trade and rebalancing fees. The monthly charges are differs from the range amount that you will deposit.
RM100-RM249,999 – 0.99% per year
RM250,000 and above – 0.49% per year
My thoughts
I have been using Wahed for more than a month. I was skeptical at first to try a muslim-friendly halal investment instrument and it is new in Malaysia. Here what I think:
1. Single Portfolio
You will be only getting a single portfolio with the risk level you set earlier. There is no a way to add a new portfolio with a different risk level.
2. Portfolio Allocation
My risk level is Moderately Aggressive. Wahed allocate most of my portfolio (in order from highest to lowest) to RHB Islamic Bond Fund (Sukuk), MyETF Dow Jones U.S. Titans 50 (MyETF-US50, U.S Stocks), MyETF MSCI Malaysia Islamic Dividend (MyETF-MMID, Malaysia Stocks), TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker (Gold). They do reserve the left over cash. Wahed recently allocate more off the cash to Sukuk over U.S. Stocks due to market volatility.
3. Edit Portfolio
Wahed allow users to edit portfolio, allowing you to adjust risk levels according to your appetite. But you will not be able to edit your portfolio afterward for 3 months which is a bummer. StashAway on the other hand allow you to change portfolio without this kind of restriction (but let’s be honest, do not change your portfolio too often). At least I wish Wahed allow us to edit portfolio with a lesser restriction like a few weeks.
4. Risk Levels (Portfolio Types)
These are the risk levels: Very Aggressive, Aggressive, Moderately Aggressive, Moderate, Moderate Conservative, and Very Conservative. Each level allocate differently where Very Aggressive more into Global Stocks when Very Conservative into Sukuk.
5. Deposit & Withdrawal
It gives you an option to put your cash with FPX or WireTransfer. It will take about a day for them to receive your cash and 1-2 days to complete the buy. Besides that, they also give you option set up auto debit that will deduct from your bank account. As for withdrawal, according to Wahed (since I did not do any withdrawal yet), it will take 7-8 business day and you can choose to do partially or in full.
6. Market Commentary
I find market commentary rather important. Fortunately, Wahed does market commentary in the event that affect the market. Take for example with COVID-19, how it is affecting the market, investors need to know how they should react with their investment. People will start panic selling and realising the loss because they do not have information on how they should react.
7. Support Channels
There are limited channels to communicate with Wahed support. You can contact Wahed through Email and Calls. They did put Whatsapp though as part of their support channel, but it is not available for Malaysia users (yet).
8. At what time can I see my fund get updated?
I wasn’t able capture the exact time, but the update seems to happen between 2am-6am when I realized my fund got updated after I woke up from bed. Wahed will release a detail statement every month so you don’t have to check your fund every day.
9. How is it performing?
Long story short, it is performing OK, which is good. I did not put high hope in investing to this platform. And I start investing to Wahed when COVID-19 about to start. And there you know it, the market plunge. It was a roller coaster ride. Yet I’m doing what investor should be doing which is in this soon-to-be bear-market; keep on doing Dollar Cost Average(DCA) every single week or month. I am still at loss though. Dow Jones is not doing well. Malaysia isn’t doing well. The world isn’t doing well. It would be weird to earn a lot of gain with how badly the market is right now.
Should YOU invest in this platform?
If you are ready to invest for long term and aware the risk of investing, then yes. Furthermore, with how badly the market is right now, you should be ready emotionally if theres a chance when the market hit rock bottom and still be able to hold and not sell. The platform (or any platform) is not for season investors.
When thing does not go to your liking, it might be the reason your risk levels does not match your appetite, you need to edit your portfolio and adjust your risk levels.
