All you need to know to start investing with StashAway Malaysia

Speaking of financial literacy, we all have probably heard the old adage of “In the long run, it’s not just how much money you make that will determine your future prosperity. It’s how much of that money you put to work by saving it and investing it.” But, the real question is how exactly do we do it?

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One of the ways is to build wealth, and more often than not, the first thing that comes to mind is to start an investment. However, to some newbies or even experienced investors, it could sometimes get quite overwhelming.

But wait, what if there is actually a way to invest in an easy, simple and most importantly, effective way?

The answer could be StashAway - a digital wealth management platform that allows you to build an investment portfolio that is tailored to you and your financial goals. It uses an algorithm based robo-advisor that will monitor your investments and do the necessary rebalancing in your account (selling and buying) to suit your investment goals.

Read on as we share more in this StashAway review:

How does StashAway work?

The aptly named StashAway provides a simple investing solution - you stash your money away and invest in a low-cost, risk-managed portfolio of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF). 

ETF allows for an investment in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other assets without the need to pick individual securities. Instead of having to worry about which stock will perform best, an ETF gives you exposure to a broad range of companies or industries, and spreads out your risk. Investing in an ETF also allows for a more passive investment that does not require us to constantly monitor our portfolios.

With the robo-advisor technology, StashAway automates the investment and builds a portfolio that is customized to the investor’s risk profile and subsequently monitors the investment. The platform also allows recurring transfers and keeps investors informed by sending regular updates from its CIO.

With its low and transparent fee structure, it’s pretty much a comfortable place for anyone to start investing.

Who is StashAway suitable for?

StashAway is great for beginners, because it takes out the guesswork and reduces the anxiety that comes with investing for the first time. Nevertheless, it is also still a smart and reliable investment option for anyone with any investment experience level, because it builds a diversified portfolio and manages risk effectively. Nobody needs to be a market expert to get started investing in StashAway. 

How about StashAway fees?

Compared to unit trust funds that typically come with a 5% upfront sales charge and a 2% annual management fee, StashAway fees only range from 0.2% to 0.8% per year.

The annual management fee in StashAway is calculated as a percentage of the total assets under management and is charged monthly on a pro-rated basis. The other fee included is the low fee associated with the ETFs, averaging 0.15% - 0.25%.

Other than that, a currency conversion fee is charged at 0.29% of the transaction amount, which is the fees charged by StashAway vendors, but is a lot better against the higher currency conversion fees charged by commercial/retail banks (1-3% depending on transaction size).

StashAway does not charge for:

• Withdrawals

• Opening an account

• Closing an account

They also provide unlimited and free:

• Withdrawals

• Switching or transfers between portfolios

Whatever costs related to rebalancing, and re-optimisation are already included in the said fees percentage above.

Is StashAway safe?

StashAway is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia, and all investors’ money are held safely by custodian banks, namely Citibank and HSBC. 

They don’t mix up their operation funds with investor’s money, by using an SC licensed trustee, so that also makes it secure. The system adopts a strict withdrawal verification, with a 2-factor identification in place for login.

What type of investments are offered by StashAway?

StashAway provides a few ways to start investment. Depending on what your goals are, you can select from:

1. General investing for the long run

2. Thematic portfolios if you wish to invest in certain technologies

3. Flexible Portfolios where you can pick the asset classes you want, decide their exact allocations, and change them any time

4. Grow cash with StashAway Simple

5. Projected 3.6% return per annum

6. Shariah compliant funds

7. Perfect for saving for retirement, education, or something on your wishlist

Start investing with StashAway

So there it is, we have covered all the essentials that you need to know before starting to invest with StashAway. It could be the best solution if you are looking for a simplified, stress-free and low-risk platform to invest in. It could also be a great place for you to start growing cash for your travel or wishlist sinking fund through StashAway Simple.

Whatever it is, we hope it will help you reach your financial goals in time.

Visit StashAway’s website or download the StashAway app from Google Play Store or Apple Appstore to get started with your investment!

How to to sign up and set up a portfolio on StashAway:

Getting started with StashAway is easy! All you need to do is download the app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store, and just follow the steps outlined below:

Click on the Sign Up button to begin:

Select “Create a New Account” :

Choose your authentication method, whether to use Face ID or PIN:

Enter your details into the form:

Answer questions related to your eligibility:

StashAway will begin a financial assessment to customise your portfolio:

Once done, you can start setting-up your investment portfolio. For this guide, let’s go for General Investing.

Select the “Invest for long-term wealth” option:

Choose the “Hands-off” option to let StashAway manage the investment for you:

Select “General Investing” and then tap on “Explore”:

Here, it’ll show you the details for your portfolio depending on your risk appetite:

You will be asked to select your risk appetite by sliding the button up and down the range:

Name your investment portfolio accordingly so that you can easily manage it later, and select “Create Portfolio”:

Once your portfolio is set up, you’ll be taken to the deposit page. Here, you can choose from three options: direct debit (quick and easy from your bank account), manual deposit (online transfer), or asset transfer (move investments from another portfolio).

Do note that first time deposits will take up to 6 business days to process, according to StashAway’s e-mandate with banks that ensure security.

You will be asked to fill in your personal and account details for deposits.

Then you are given a choice of a one-time deposit or a recurring deposit.

After choosing which type of deposit you want, you can enter the amount to deposit.

Then review your details & deposit, and you’re done!

That’s it! Once everything is completed, you will get a confirmation for your registration and  your account will be up and running within 1-3 business days.

After you’ve deposited, you can look at the performance details of your investment in the ‘General Investing’ tab. Here, it will show you the current value of your investments, and the total returns that you’ve had overtime.

Under the assets tab in ‘General Investing’, you can also browse through the different investments that StashAway has made.

After you’ve completed all the steps, this is what your page will look like. Here you will be able to browse through performance graphs, and the different investments you’ve made!

It’s 2025, a new year for new opportunities! Click the button below if you’re interested in getting started on your investment journey. 👇🏼

Sign Up Here!

And don’t forget to tune into our video where we dive into StashAway’s performance over the years! You’ll be interested to hear what we found 👀