iFAST

[money]

By Q4 2024 or Q1 2025, iGB should breakeven. We will know soon...

Given today's (9 sep 2024) valuation of about 2b, i will be more interested to know how much profits the entire firm is making in 5 years time.

Even if iGb breaks even and makes small profits, my guess is management will just say pass on most benefits to consumers because it is for the overall ecosystem

Interesting point from Sakura Research in referencing the AR of iGB and EPHL. 

https://sakuraresearch.com/?p=155
"iFast management aims to have a profitable quarter in Q4, 2024 at its UK bank operations. Nevertheless, according to the iGB and Eagle Peak Holdings Limited (EPHL) 2023 annual reports, they do not expect meaningful profitability of iGB bank in the foreseeable future"

Interesting read on the sakura research.

https://sakuraresearch.com/?p=26

i was also reading another article.
i agree with the intense fees competition in every market that IFAST operates. India down. China struggling. HK - little chance of competing successfully. SG and Malaysia - not too sure.

Just wondering...

Could the recent jun 2024 100m raised be used to pump in more capital into the UK bank?

IMO, if the UK bank is a bad buy, perhaps it is better to write it off than to pump in good money after bad?

If the business model is asset light, why the need to raise 100m?

[Curiousparty]

all queries are already answered before in FAQs and Annual Reports... Beyond a certain point, it is quite pointless to engage...haha ....just let be it...haha...waste time for company to engage investors. They should just focus on their own ops....

[Curiousparty]

By Q4 2024 or Q1 2025, iGB should breakeven. We will know soon...

Given today's (9 sep 2024) valuation of about 2b, i will be more interested to know how much profits the entire firm is making in 5 years time.

Even if iGb breaks even and makes small profits, my guess is management will just say pass on most benefits to consumers because it is for the overall ecosystem

Interesting point from Sakura Research in referencing the AR of iGB and EPHL. 

https://sakuraresearch.com/?p=155
"iFast management aims to have a profitable quarter in Q4, 2024 at its UK bank operations. Nevertheless, according to the iGB and Eagle Peak Holdings Limited (EPHL) 2023 annual reports, they do not expect meaningful profitability of iGB bank in the foreseeable future"

Interesting read on the sakura research.

https://sakuraresearch.com/?p=26

i was also reading another article.
i agree with the intense fees competition in every market that IFAST operates. India down. China struggling. HK - little chance of competing successfully. SG and Malaysia - not too sure.

Just wondering...

Could the recent jun 2024 100m raised be used to pump in more capital into the UK bank?

IMO, if the UK bank is a bad buy, perhaps it is better to write it off than to pump in good money after bad?

If the business model is asset light, why the need to raise 100m?

Fully agreed with you that IGB is a bad buy...haha....it is a Goner stock....better dump asap...haha

[Curiousparty]

======= Extract from Annual Report ===========

‌
We are currently near the beginning of our second wave
of substantial improvements in business differentiation.
These improvements include having a digital bank within
our Group's Fintech ecosystem, having a clear strategy
towards achieving a truly global business model, and
adding additional services that are complementary to our
digital banking and wealth management platform such as
payment related services and a bond market place.
We believe that as we make progress in this second wave
of substantial improvements in business differentiations, our
business model will become more scalable and we will be
able to enjoy robust growth rates over the next five to ten
years.

We believe that several years down the line, shareholders
will be able to see that our decision to buy a full-licensed
UK bank in early 2022 has been a transformative move
which substantially raises the Group’s long-term growth
potential. In our view, banking is the least competitive part
of the financial sector, as there tends to be very few new
players in the banking industry in most countries. There are
far more players in fund management, stockbroking and
wealth management distribution and advisory, and many
new players are emerging every year.

We also believe that compared to most banks and big
financial institutions, we have a clear advantage in our
technological capability in terms of speed and costs of
rolling out new technologies. In today’s digital world, this
substantially improves our ability to become a leader in our
business segments.

‌

========================

[Curiousparty]

It seems like there's still quite a bit of misunderstanding about iFAST’s real moat—it’s not trying to compete in the traditional broker space, which is a crowded and highly competitive segment. That’s old news. 

What makes iFAST truly special is its integrated digital banking and wealth management ecosystem—something that few players can replicate.

Here’s the big picture:

iFAST’s Moat Lies in Banking and Platform Synergies:

iFAST Global Bank (iGB) isn’t just about collecting deposits. It’s a strategic play in digital banking, connecting customers across borders with easy access to investment platforms. This ecosystem integration, where personal banking services feed directly into wealth management offerings, is a key differentiator.

Traditional brokers or platforms can’t match the barriers to entry created by iFAST’s global banking license, payments capabilities, and strong deposit base.

Scalable Revenue Streams Beyond Brokerage:

Brokerage revenue is just one part of the puzzle. iFAST is building a multi-layered business with recurring fee income (e.g., trailer fees, platform fees) and net interest income (NIM) from banking deposits.

With the growing ePension business in Hong Kong and iGB scaling globally, iFAST’s value creation will come from these diversified income streams, not just brokerage.
Digital Banking Moat and Cross-Border Appeal:

The real moat is in serving mass affluent clients and retail investors globally—something that traditional banks are not equipped or willing to do. While competitors struggle with limited offerings and fragmented services, iFAST offers a seamless platform combining banking, payments, and investment in one place.

As the AGM discussions highlighted, regulatory complexity limits competition in banking. This makes iGB’s international focus—allowing customers to open accounts abroad and transfer funds seamlessly—a strong edge.

Path to S$10-20 Share Price Uplift

With 1 million customers depositing $10 billion, iFAST’s NIM alone could add $10-20 per share in value over time. This isn’t about fighting for lower brokerage fees—it’s about capturing global flows of money while earning steady spreads and fees.

To sum up: iFAST isn’t just another brokerage. It’s becoming a global digital-first bank and wealth management powerhouse—something many still misunderstand. It only makes iFAST's real value clearer to those of us who see it!

[Curiousparty]

When iFAST acquired the UK bank (now renamed as iFAST Global bank), I was a short and long term pessimist. The short term turned out to be right (normally it does, because of the way the capital cycle works). But Chairman/CEO/Founder Lim is calling out my long term pessimism as well. He will probably be more right than me as he has schooled me that "banking is the least competitive part of the finance sector".

We believe that several years down the line, shareholders will be able to see that our decision to buy a full-licensed UK bank in early 2022 has been a transformative move which substantially raises the Group’s long-term growth potential. In our view, banking is the least competitive part of the financial sector, as there tends to be very few new players in the banking industry in most countries. There are far more players in fund management, stockbroking and wealth management distribution and advisory, and many new players are emerging every year.

IFAST AR23:
https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/iFASTCorp...eID=794401

i have benefited a lot from holding iFast since $1...nothing much to complain about... only time will tell if his words came true... The first BIG event will be the breakeven of iGB segment by Q4 2024....which is just 9 months away....Need about $1Bil cash deposit to generate about $10mil NI income ($1bil x 1%) to offset the expenses for the IGB segment. Doable?  Cash deposit in Q4 2023 came in at around $150mil. So we just need about $200mil for 4 more quarters...Hopefully optimistic...

Customers' deposit was $358.62mil (as of end Q4 2023)....


Every $1bil of customer deposit will contribute to about $10mil revenue or ~$1 valuation ( $10mil x PE 30/295mil shares).
iFast's strategy is to onboard 1 mil new clients, with each bringing about $10 to $20k over the next few years.

Assuming 15K per client, that will be $15bil new customer deposit or $15 valuation from IGB alone. 
- not forgetting that iFast still has the e-pension business, generating about $80mil to $100mil net profit at steady state & 
- the core wealth management business ( $1bil AUA margin = 0.7%; iFast target is $100bil by 2030)



====

https://fintechnews.my/40964/ai/ifast-in...t-5-years/
As part of its expansion, iFAST Global Hub.ai plans to invest over RM 150 million and hire 400 digital talents over the next five years.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/events-...come-truly
Lim noted that the cash market for retail investors is not properly developed, and iFast is aiming to get more clients from Asia on board.
“That kind of ease of use, and then good interest rate ... that’s something that most banks don’t want to provide,” he said. “Just being able to provide a simple service and then giving a decent rate for the simplest product. That’s a starting point ... From there, some of that will flow to other investment products.”
The way Lim sees it, getting one million clients for the bank in five years is a reasonable target.
“If on average, each of them just put S$10,000-S$20,000, that’s already S$10-20 billion,” he said.

iFast is living up to its earlier commitment. 

iFAST Corp - Results Press Release


iGB has shown encouraging progress over the quarter, where customer deposit amounts grew 24.6% QoQ to S$805.63 million as at 30 September 2024, an increase of 124.6% year-to-date. This contributed to a 139.9% YoY growth in gross revenue to S$13.87 million in 3Q2024, while net revenue increased 82.0% YoY to S$6.0 million. Losses declined 61.0% YoY to S$0.82 million. 


The Digital Personal Banking (DPB) division is the key contributor to growth in customer deposits, and is taking the lead in the Group’s development of its truly global business model. iGB continues to adopt a conservative stance in terms of its balance sheet strategy, with the vast majority of the client deposits being held as cash with the Bank of England and with other banks, as well as in short duration sovereign bonds and investment grade bonds (average duration of 0.88 years). 

The Group has started to disclose the regulatory ratios for iGB since 1Q2023. As at 30 September 2024, the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (“LCR”), Net Stable Funding Ratio (“NSFR”) and Total Capital Ratio are at 1,048%, 272% and 34% respectively, exceeding the minimum regulatory requirement. iGB intends to maintain capital and liquidity ratios that are well above minimum regulatory requirements. Despite this, in the years ahead, the Group expects to be able to target for very healthy levels of return on equity as the revenues derived from the core platform business and the ePension division are essentially fee-based income. 

With iGB as part of its global Fintech Ecosystem, iFAST Group is steadily increasing our capability and presence as a global digital banking and wealth management group. The ePension division in Hong Kong will be an important growth driver in 2024 and 2025, while the overall wealth management platform is expected to continue to show healthy progress. 

The Group expects iGB to become an important growth driver in 2025 and beyond. On an overall basis and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Group expects 2024 to see robust growth rates in revenues and profitability compared to 2023.

[Curiousparty]

https://www.ifastcorp.com/ifastcorp/arti...AR2023.pdf

We are currently near the beginning of our second wave of substantial improvements in business differentiation. These improvements include having a digital bank within our Group’s Fintech ecosystem, having a clear strategy towards achieving a truly global business model, and adding additional services that are complementary to our digital banking and wealth management platform such as payment related services and a bond marketplace.

We believe that as we make progress in this second wave of substantial improvements in business differentiations, our business model will become more scalable, and we will be able to enjoy robust growth rates over the next five to ten years.

We believe that several years down the line, shareholders will be able to see that our decision to buy a full-licensed UK bank in early 2022 has been a transformative move which substantially raises the Group’s long-term growth potential. In our view, banking is the least competitive part of the financial sector, as there tends to be very few new players in the banking industry in most countries. There are far more players in fund management, stockbroking and wealth management distribution and advisory, and many new players are emerging every year.

We also believe that compared to most banks and big financial institutions, we have a clear advantage in our technological capability in terms of speed and costs of rolling out new technologies. In today’s digital world, this substantially improves our ability to become a leader in our business segments.