[Review] Aqumon: Open an account and earn rewards!

Aqumon is the first US ETF robo-advisor (automated investment consultant) in Hong Kong. You tell them some information about yourself and your risk appetite, they build an investment portfolio and basically do everything (buying, selling) for you. In 2021, the company launched its new SmartStock Portfolios series, which uses big data and algorithms to help investors dynamically select high quality thematic stock portfolios with an average annualized return of up to 25%.

The Planto team has done a deep-dive into Aqumon’s pricing, account opening process and past performance benchmarks to help you decide if they’re right for you.

Background

Aqumon was incubated in HKUST and are fully licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for Type 1, 4 and 9. They’ve partnered with 60+ financial institutions including CMB Wing Lung Bank, ChinaAMC and BOCI so they have a strong track record as well.

How it works

The account opening process is end-to-end online and can be done either via mobile or on a computer. It can feel a bit longer than opening an account with a securities broker but, ultimately, it only took us about 10 minutes to open our account and then another day for the money to be transferred in.

Once you’ve opened your account, you answer a few questions about your risk tolerance and Aqumon will start building your portfolio. All you need to do is tell them whether you would like your portfolio to have more stocks (higher risk, higher return) or bonds (lower risk, lower return) and a new portfolio is created just for you!

Past Performance

AQUMON ‘s investment products are mainly divided into 13 types, including:

Portfolio	Investment Scope	Annual Return	Summary
High Dividends	30 HK Stocks	27.56%	The stocks in this portfolio are known for their low volatility and high-yields including CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, CK Asset Holdings Ltd and COSCO Shipping Energy Transprtatn Co Ltd.
Chinese Tech Stars	30 HK Stocks	76.55%	Invest in Chinese technology stocks listed in Hong Kong to capture China’s huge consumer base and technological development opportunities.  Quantitative indicators include total market value, operating income growth rate, asset-liability ratio and the accounts receivable turnover.
Profit Makers	30 U.S. Stocks	56.03%	5 large-scale indicators are used for this portfolio including price-to-earning ratio, cash profit, gross profit, gross profit margin and operating cash flow.
Global Tech Giants	30 U.S. Stocks	101.61%	Invest in high-tech companies with highly innovative capabilities, which are analyzed using indicators such as return on equity, return on equity growth, revenue growth, and R&D investments.
Business Winners	10 to 20 U.S. stocks with stable earnings growth	46.05%	Invest in companies with healthy financials and continuous profit growth. Quantitative indicators include leverage, long-term liability ratio, current ratio, and gross profit stability.
Property Moguls	10 HK stocks	6.69%	Companies with top real estate projects in Hong Kong and abroad including Spring Real Estate Investment Trust and China Merchants Coml Rl Etate Invt Trust.
U.S. Market Leaders	30 US Stocks	45.77%	Companies with large market capitalisation and considerable revenue and profits, eclipsing those of their industry peers including APPLE, AbbVie Inc and Abbott Laboratories.
Health is Wealth	30 US Stocks	43.22%	Invests in leading biotech and medical companies including ABIOMED Inc, Align Technology Inc and Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
A Better World	30 US Stocks	41.02%	Companies with high ESG scores which supports sustainable development including Allegion plc, ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES and Aptiv PLC.
H.K. Market Leaders	30 HK Stocks	37.48%	Companies with large market capitalisation and have substantial influence on market trends including China Shenhua Energy Company Limited, Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited and Yihai International Holding Ltd.
SmartGlobal	6 to 9 Hong Kong stock ETFs	13.78%	Based on the Nobel-Prize winning strategies of long-term and diversified investing, this portfolio gives you access to worldwide economic growth, covering more than 15,000 stocks, bonds, and alternative assets
SmartGlobal Max	4 to 14 U.S. listed ETFs	112.51%	Based on the Nobel-Prize winning strategies of long-term and diversified investing, this portfolio gives you access to worldwide economic growth, covering more than 20,000 stocks, bonds, and alternative assets.
Safe Haven	4 US stock ETFs	2.49%	Using idle funds to generate stable income, the goal is to obtain higher returns than savings and money market funds, suitable for investors with low risk tolerance or who want to temporarily hedge.

This is where Aqumon truly shines among the robo-advisors. They are very transparent about their performance and give monthly updates on how their portfolios are doing.

Minimum Investment Amount

You can now start investing in Aqumon at as low as 10USD with their Safe Haven portfolio. They have also lowered their threshold for other thematic portfolios, starting at as little as HKD10,000, making it easy for even begginer investors to get access.

Summary

In all, Aqumon is transparent about their performance, which (historically, at least) has been quite strong. With the new SmartStock Portfolios, they are great for people who are looking for high growth but want a completely hands-off process.

_{^{Important information: Investment involves risks. This information is intended to be educational and is not tailored to the investment needs of any specific investor. This information does not constitute investment advice and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision nor should it be treated as a recommendation for any investment or action. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may not get back what you invest.}}