Raiz Malaysia Investment App – Great Idea, But Not for Me
Raiz app is yet another investing app that helps you invest every time you spend with your Maybank debit card.
I wanted to try investing with Raiz, but I did not feel comfortable at all linking my Maybank debit card to this app.
Thus, this article will share my opinion of the Raiz app based on what I read on their website.
What is the Raiz App?
Raiz is an app that connects to your debit card, it will automatically round up your purchases on your debit card and invest the change in ASNB’s unit trust investments.
Besides the auto-roundup on your debit card purchases, you can also invest a lump-sump amount and set a periodical contribution that is channeled into your investment account (just like the robo-advisors).
Who is the Raiz App for?
From my POV of this app, the main selling point of the Raiz app is that it helps you invest small amounts every time you spend using your debit card.
Because of this, I think the main target is for people who might have difficulties saving up and investing voluntarily.
What Are the Raiz App’s Fees
If your investment portfolio with Raiz app is less than RM6,000 in total, your debit card will be charged RM1.50 per month as their management fee.
If your investment portfolio with Raiz is more than RM6,000, you’ll be charged 0.3% per year of your portfolio’s value.
Pretty high management fees if you ask me.
What are the Pros of the Raiz App?
HELPING PEOPLE SAVE:
A noble idea that helps people who find it hard to set aside money for investments voluntarily.
TRANSPARENCY & FLEXIBILITY:
Just like Robo-Advisors, you can choose your portfolio risk profile and withdraw your investments, anytime you want through the app.
INVESTING ON FULL-AUTO:
Your auto-round ups from your debit card purchases are invested in ASNB unit trusts.
Unit trusts are made up of a portfolio of multiple investments that are actively managed by their account managers. Therefore, you can’t pick what to invest in.
I put this as a pro because the Raiz app’s target audience is for people who might be new to investing. So not having to pick what to invest in is fitting for this audience.
What are the Cons of the Raiz App?
LIMITED DEBIT CARD COMPATIBILITY:
Raiz’s auto-round up investing feature only works with Maybank debit cards at the moment, credit cards and debit cards from other banks are not yet compatible.
PRIVACY RISK:
The #1 reason I don’t trust Raiz is because now they are connected to my debit card, where they would have a record of my spending habits. There is a risk that my spending data will be sold off to advertisers in the future.
Raiz is passing off the security responsibilities to a third-party company to handle all card information. But do you trust this company? I don’t.
SMALL VOLUME:
It only rounds up the changes on your debit card purchases. With this, how long does it take to invest a respectable amount for your future? But for some people, this is better than nothing.
Example 1: If you spend RM3.60, Raiz will round it up to RM4 and invest the RM 0.40 change.
Example 2: If you spend RM5.00, Raiz will round-up to RM 6 & invest RM1
NOT FOR EVERYONE:
If you have the will or the discipline to set aside money to invest regularly, I find this app pointless.
DOUBLE EDGED SWORD:
Raiz app is targeting people who are new to investing, and want them to start small, but this round up on each debit card purchase feature in some way can encourage the target audience to spend more.
NOT SHARIAH COMPLIANT:
Raiz puts your money into ASNB unit trusts that are not officially Shariah-compliant. So if that means a lot to you, this app might not be for you.
Raiz Vs Wahed Invest Vs StashAway
Here is my opinion on the key differences between the 3 investing apps:
| Criteria | Raiz | Wahed | StashAway |
| Invests In (Read the difference) | Unit Trusts: Actively managed portfolio by a manager | ETF: Indices traded on the stock market (e.g: S&P 500) | ETF: Indices traded on the stock market (e.g: S&P 500) |
| Shariah Compliant | Not Official | Yes | Not Official |
| Auto-Invest for each debit card expenditure | Yes | No | No |
| Management Fee | RM 1.5 per month for portfolios below RM6,000 0.3% per year for portfolios above RM6,000 | Starts at 0.79% annually, & goes down with the increase of your portfolio size | Starts at 0.8% annually, & charged lower with the increase of your portfolio size |
| Target Audience (my opinion) | People who find it hard invest themselves | Shariah Compliant seeking investor, with most allocation into US halal stocks | Diversified investments worldwide |
What do I think of the Raiz App?
I don’t think the Raiz app is for me due to the following reasons:
- I don’t like to link my debit card to some company, and they can charge whatever they want.
- I can’t remember the last time I used my debit card.
- I have the self-discipline to save money each month, I would prefer to pick my own investments.
However, if you are new to investing, and find it hard to set aside money to invest, the Raiz app might be a good solution to dip your toes into the investing pool and get you warmed up.
Let me know what you think about Raiz invest in the comments below:
I love Raiz! Instead of linking my Maybank debit card to Raiz, I link it to my MAE debit card (which I only use for small purchases from Foodpanda, Grab, Shopee, etc. after topping up a small amount, usually under RM 300 a month). In my opinion, Raiz is just the modern way of saving up your pennies into a digital “tabung”. The return is not great but still better than nothing.
Good to hear that you’re loving Raiz 🙂
I have the same exact though, it’s a modern day ‘tabung’ that they will eventually invest somewhere else. It’s a quite good idea tbh like we can totally forget about those money we saved and sometimes check it out on the app, it’s good for long-time investment imo.
Raiz partnered up with PNB, which is quite a secure place. I would love to be surprised once I checked my balance once in a while. We can also topup the investment for better return.
But I hope they can diversify the ‘spending account’, not just Maybank.
Thank you for the review. It helps me to making decision in this investment app.
Glad it was helpful!