iFAST Corporation Ltd. (“iFAST Corp”) will be bringing its largest ever contingent, consisting of over 70 employees, wealth advisers and directors, to Oxfam Trailwalker (“Oxfam”), as part of its iWALK Initiative (“iFAST Wealth Advisers Lead Kindness Initiative”).

This year, the contingent of walkers will be trekking either 60km or 100km in Brisbane on 19 June 2016, to raise funds to combat poverty in various parts of the world. Oxfam is a charity event that aims to raise funds to alleviate poverty and injustice, and it is held across different countries each year. The trek is certainly no walk in the park, and requires good mental and physical preparation; the distance of 60km has to be completed within 24 hours while the distance of 100km is to be completed within 48 hours.

Working out a sweat in support of Oxfam’s charity goals is not new to iFAST Corp. While it is the company’s first participation in Brisbane, the company had sent one team to Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker 2011, four teams to Hong Kong Oxfam 2012 and six teams to Sydney Oxfam 2013. This is the first time that wealth advisers from the financial advisory (FA) firms and financial institutions using iFAST Corp’s Business-to-Business platform (“B2B”) will be participating in Oxfam.

Led by iFAST Corp’s CEO and Chairman, Mr Lim Chung Chun, the walkers will be trekking in teams of four members each. Chung Chun had previously taken part in the previous Oxfam editions and felt that preparing for the walk was both challenging and rewarding: “Taking part in sports helped me learn the value of dedication and perseverance for a certain cause. In sports, I learned that while a target may look unattainable at first, upon closer analysis, with determination and hard work, it becomes achievable.”

Oxfam is part of iFAST Corp’s vision of combining its efforts to promote charitable causes with active sports participation from its employees and business partners, including the wealth advisers from the financial institutions. Besides Oxfam, iFAST has been supporting the iFAST Metro Race in Hong Kong, a night orienteering race in Hong Kong’s Central Business District in 2013-2015.

iFAST Corp (stock code: AIY) is an Internet-based investment products distribution platform. Incorporated in the year 2000 in Singapore and listed on the SGX-Mainboard in December 2014, iFAST Corp is also present in Hong Kong, Malaysia and China. The Group provides a comprehensive range of investment products and services, to financial advisory (FA) firms, banks, financial institutions, multinational companies, as well as retail and high net worth (HNW) investors in Asia.

The Group offers access to over 2,500 investment products including funds, bonds and Singapore Government Securities (SGS), Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), as well as insurance products, and services including online discretionary portfolio management services (DPMS), research and investment seminars, financial technology (fintech) solutions, investment administration and transactions services.

iFAST Corp has two main business divisions, namely its Business-to-Consumer (B2C) website, Fundsupermart.com (FSM), targeted at DIY investors; and its Business-to-Business (B2B) platform that caters to the specialised needs of FA companies, banks and financial institutions. Over 5,500 wealth advisers from more than 170 FA companies, banks and financial institutions, use the iFAST B2B platform.

The Group’s mission statement is, “To help investors around the world invest globally and profitably”. The Group won the “Most Transparent Company Award 2015, New Issues Category” at the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2015, as well as the “Best Investor Relations – Merit Award” for First-Year Listed Companies at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2015.

Oxfam is an international confederation of 18 organisations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries. One person in three in the world lives in poverty. Oxfam is determined to change that world by mobilising the power of people against poverty. Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. The more current emergencies Oxfam Trailwalker is looking into include: the Nepal earthquake (more than 8,800 people were killed in the April 2015 earthquake, and thousands of people were displaced); the Syria crisis (over 13.5 people, half of Syria’s pre-war population are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance); and the Ethiopia drought (which has led to the worst food crisis in 30 years). More information can be gleaned from Oxfam here: https://www.oxfam.org.au/what-we-do/emergencies/learn-about-current-emergencies/ (Source: Oxfam)