Page 2 of 2

8 Securities is established in Hong Kong and Japan. Where do you go next?

We are looking at opportunities widely in Asia for 2019. So far Singapore and China appear to be most attractive.

Why did you choose Hong Kong to launch the platform?

As an international financial centre, the city is known for its world-class financial services industry with robust rule of law, regulatory system, market infrastructure and a deep and diversified talent pool.

«It is hard to time the end game»

Hong Kong met our wish to do things right at the inception. In addition to being a regional hub connecting major markets, Hong Kong also enjoys unique language, cultural and geographical proximity to the enormous and underdeveloped market in mainland China, which is highly advantageous to our next stage of growth.

Asia still lags the U.S. in offering robo-advice, when will it be the leader?

There has already been some breakthrough in the market with first movers like Nomura having marched into the robo-advisory space. With more traditional financial institutions embracing robo-advisory, the resulted domino effect is expected to loom even larger and expedite the entire technological transformation in Asia.

«We would like to become a go-to fintech partner for millennial investors»

It is hard to time the end game, but we believe this process has already been triggered in Asia and will proliferate with unprecedented speed, scale and systemic impact just as digital disruption happening in other industries.

Where will 8 Securities be in five years time?

We would like to see 8 Securities become a go-to fintech partner for millennial investors and financial institutions seeking to connect to their millennial clients, and robo advisory become an everyday service offered widely by the financial services industry in Asia.

Mathias Helleu is the co-founder and executive chairman of 8 Securities, a mobile investing service in Hong Kong and Japan. He led E*TRADE's international division for over ten years. This included launching and growing licensed businesses across 14 markets in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to E*TRADE, he held leadership positions at TIR Securities (co-founder) and Bank Paribas Capital Markets.