Mutual Fund Industry Is Believed To Continue To Grow In 2021 Thanks To Agents Such As Seeds, Bareksa, Or Tanamduit

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Presidium Board of the Association of Mutual Fund & Investment Actors Prihatmo Hari Mulyanto believes the growth of the mutual fund industry will continue to grow positively in 2021 in line with the national economic conditions that began to recover from the crisis caused by the pandemic.

According to Prihatmo, digital mutual fund selling agents (Aperd) will continue to play an important role in spurring the growth of the mutual fund industry. The existence of digital Aperd is considered successful in encouraging young people, millennials, and digital savvy to start investing in the last two years.

"The increasing profile of investors moving to a young age and the increasing data on the sale of investment products through fintech agents, is evidence of digitalization in the capital market taking place very massively and has a significant impact," Prihatmo said through a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday, May 10.

Data shows more than 50 percent of investors have an investment account in Selling Agent Fintech. Interestingly, the number of investors under the age of 30 or up to 40 years has reached more than 70 percent.

The number of mutual fund investors in 2020 has grown 78 percent to 3.2 million compared to the end of December 2019. As of March 2021, the number has increased again to 3.5 million.

The increase in the number of retail investors during the pandemic may be due to the shifting behavior of millennials in spending their money. The travel ban encourages young people to allocate budgets to investment accounts.

"In addition to being triggered by technology and changes in consumer behavior, other factors are increasing public literacy related to financial products, especially investments. This is realized thanks to educational programs conducted jointly by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Self Regulatory Organizations (SRO), actors, and associations," prihatmo said.

Online or digital mutual fund selling agents have started to mushroom in recent years. Some of the names that steal the attention include Bibit.id or Bibit, Bareksa, E-mas and Tanamduit.

Bibit CEO Sigit Kouwagam said, the company always strives to be observant in setting market targets, business model selection and time or timing of the plunge into the business.

"We are targeting novice investors, millennials who are used to the use of digital technology and have a desire to have investments. We want these beginners to be able to invest properly," said Sigit.

Investing correctly, continued Sigit, means that investors can achieve optimal investment returns but still take into account risks.

"We strive to familiarize investors to balance between target return and risk tolerance and consistently diversify assets. We believe that a good investment is an investment for the long term and is done consistently," said Sigit.

Because it targets novice investors, Bibit creates attractiveness by allowing its users to invest in very small amounts. In fact, with Rp10,000 in money, users can buy mutual funds at Bibit.

"So, mutual fund investment is not expensive. On the Bibit platform, anyone can buy and get the same return and the same service. We want to democratize the capital market and make investment an inclusive one," he said.

Regarding the time, Bibit felt that entering the online mutual fund business at the right time. The main trigger is the regulator's move to allow electronic know your customer (e-KYC) for the customer registration process.

"The impact is very significant because it provides tremendous convenience in the acquisition of customers," said Sigit.