Old Mutual’s i-INVEST Aiming At 1 Million Clients By End Of Year | Who Doesn’t Love Quick Bucks Anyway?

Launched June 2012, Old Mutual’s i-Invest is aiming at having one million users by year end.

The service which allows for one to invest as little as Ksh 1000 via a mobile has become popular with the youth between 25 years and 35 making up 52 percent of its users.

Speaking at Mobile Web East Africa, Isaac Maluki says i-INVEST is becoming popular as it offers investors a platform to register and manage a unit trust account from the convenience of their mobile phones.

Maluki added that i-INVEST works on Safaricom line and costs KShs 10 everytime you dial *480# and a simple registration process follows. After dialing *480#, one can register, invest, withdraw, switch between selected funds and change their biodata information on the phone.

For one to sign up, they should enter their full names, national ID or Passport number, date of birth, email address and their occupation. Then they will receive an SMS confirmation showing approval.

After receiving the SMS confirmation, one dials *480# again, then they enter their postal address, physical address and  then they get another SMS. Users are then asked to submit a copy of their ID/Passport to Old Mutual via email, post office or any Old Mutual Branch across the country.

The firm verifies their ID and they receive an SMS containing a computer-generated PIN which they are to enter into  *480# again to fully access the old Mutual Mobile Menu.

There are over over 30 million mobile subscribers in the country whom i-INVEST  can target as market most of whom spent the whole day on their phones and have no time to visit physical investment centres.

 Mobile users can invest in four unit trust funds namely Old Mutual Equity Fund ideal for high risk and long-term  (5-7 years) investors. The second is the Old Mutual Bond Fund mostly for government and corporate bonds for 3-5 years. Old Mutual Balanced Fund  for selected bonds and equities and ideal for medium risk appetite and a medium–term horizon (3-5 years) investors.

The last Old Mutual Money Market Fund is in money instruments and ideal for investors with low risk appetite and a short-term periods (6-12 months).

Old Mutual’s minimum initial investment amount is KShs 1,000, minimum top-up amount is KShs 480, minimum withdrawal amount is KShs 480 and minimum switch amount is KShs 480.