WU: Let’s talk a little more on Rockstead, is there a story for when it all first started?
LT: We started as a PE fund, investing in Pre-IPO instruments. We believe in not being a passive investor, but instead a value-adding one. With the PE fund, we were heavily involved in the listing process of our investee companies; assisting to float on various exchanges around the world, including Singapore, HK, Australia, Germany & China.
WU: Is PE fund still a huge objective, or has that changed for this year?
LT: We have since departed from the PE market as listing opportunities become far and few in between. Since 2016, we have diversified into hedge fund products as we believe liquidity is key to a good investment campaign.
We wanted to develop an investment strategy that can limit risk and provide a stable stream of income for our clients. We wanted a product that can rival off-the-shelves banking products, which are often clouded with hidden costs and disclaimers drafted in nothing less than Times New Roman Font size 2.
Our Rockstead Fixed Income fund was subsequently hatched, offering investors a capital-protected monthly fixed return, while providing them options to enter and exit on a monthly basis. The Fund has been profitable for the entire 2019 – and all of 2020 – and the assets under management (AUM) stands at S$170m as of May 2020.