Assetfort: Introducing Asian Investors to the West
By Sophie Lo
CEO Assetfort Holdings
Though there are plenty of non-stop flights between Shanghai and San Francisco, the voyage of private investment capital from East to West is marked by delays, twists and turns. In the wealth-management industry, as in life, there is no way to predict the future or clear it of potential surprises. My name is Sophie Lo, and in my case, what I thought was retirement instead became a cross-border investment business that’s redefining the wealth-management industry: Assetfort.
When high net-worth transactions involve multiple continents, the forward-looking picture can get very convoluted. But as it happens, I have always had intuition about how to find clarity in the midst of chaos. I can discover needs people don’t know they have, and turn those needs into viable profit-generating investments. In my early career, I was able to facilitate business creation, development and expansion by connecting innovators with corporate leaders, cutting-edge technology and other innovators.
Now I’m combining my experience and insight with a team of financial savants to open the West to eager Asian investors.
While living in China in 2016, many of my friends were privy to my intuition and would follow my lead, often making investments in companies I believed in. I was a successful entrepreneur and angel investor, and more than once I was asked to take the lead in building or raising funds for growing companies. I was asked to do this because my colleagues knew I would make smart choices, and my friends knew that I would fight for my investors. I’ve raised funds for exceptional companies like CDH and Velo Payments, among others, and my radar is always on alert for new opportunities.
When I moved back to the US from China in 2017, my thoughts weren’t focused on the investment business at all. My return to the States was personal— I wanted the best for my child— the very reason so many of us invest. Still, business followed me. Asians wanted to invest like Americans do, and they knew I had access to the West.
Reluctant to start something new, I turned down partnership offers, refused deals, and steered a steady stream of inquiries and interest toward my partner and CFO Daniel Kufeld. Still, I couldn’t deny my own intuition to create and negotiate global investment opportunities for those I had helped in Asia from my home in Silicon Valley, the innovation ‘center of the world.’
Because client trust is important to me, my business strategy has always been to first invest in companies before advising friends and clients to do the same. This way I get to know the projects and the people, building relationships and products that I can feel good about before recommending. I can also ensure compliance, a key to succeeding in this business. There can be no grey area and no room for speculation.
Then my team and I begin the important process of negotiation. This takes time, as the process of properly positioning money in the ever-changing and sometimes volatile financial landscape is complicated. Because of this, I value and appreciate my clients’ trust.
As I put the US market in sharp focus for clients in Asia, my network of amazing investors introduced me to Ben Choo and Ram Marimuther, two of the brightest lights in the already glowing investment capital of Singapore. They joined the Assetfort team and we were able to obtain licensing to make real the opportunities I’d imagined offering to investors all over Asia. It was then that I could see the next horizon:
The name itself signifies safety, trust, and allegiance— the very qualities we strive to meet in every business transaction. Our clients trust that their money will be protected as it grows, and they know my team and I are dedicated to strengthening their portfolio through new and exciting opportunities.
Our company is built on a careful framework. We have selected our team, secured our licensing, and determined our objectives for HNW Asian investors . In Silicon Valley— the Mecca for Real Estate, for Private Equity, and for IPOs — possibility is everywhere. It’s happening. It’s tangible.
I have the knowledge. I have the network. And I have the team.
The World is Now Within Reach. And with Assetfort, it’s a non-stop flight.