Reviews

deVere Catalyst Review

deVere Catalyst is platform app that simplifies investment for expats and international workers and aims to take away the hard work of managing investments for busy people.

The app takes several managed funds offered by deVere and lets investors plug in to the platform through their accounts to buy, sell and trade. Investors get to choose how much to save, when to invest and the risk they are ready to withstand without tying up their money over a fixed time.

Another benefit of Catalyst is that in return for flexible saving, investors are offered a discount on set up and management costs from fund managers and a 0.75% a year admin charge for using the app.

Who are deVere?

deVere Group is more than just one of the world’s leading independent financial advice firms for expats. deVere has more than 80,000 clients in over 100 countries while expanding to include banking, investment and cryptocurrency services.

CEO and founder Nigel Green is recognised as an investment authority worldwide.

What is deVere Catalyst?

deVere Catalyst is a fintech app that lines up alongside two other deVere apps  – Crypto and Vault.

Catalyst gives access to investment funds offered by deVere Asset Management (dVAM) and is backed by deVere Investment, which is licensed by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission (MFSC).

The blurb about deVere Catalyst sums up the app’s aim: “It allows you to invest any extra cash in dVAM funds at lower costs, without committing to an investment period.”

So what do the other deVere apps do?

deVere Crypto is an electronic wallet that allows investors and traders to buy, store and exchange cryptocurrency.

deVere Vault is a spending and currency exchange app for expats and international workers that switches money at a low-cost between 27 currencies.

Investing through deVere Catalyst

The key drivers behind deVere Catalyst are ease of access, flexibility and low costs.

Simplicity comes with a selected range of funds from leading asset managers like Guinness Asset Management Ltd, GAM Investment Management and Fulcrum Asset Management.

Sitting between fund managers and investors is dVAM, a team of finance professionals handling strategy, research and analysis so customers do not have to worry about putting the hard yards into their investments.

deVere explains the company can demand exclusive deals from product providers and negotiate lower charges for investors through economies of scale because the firm has a customer base of around 100,000 to call on worldwide.

Investors can expect to choose your funds according to your attitude to risk and diversify your money across markets and assets.

But don’t expect to drill down to buy and sell shares in individual companies.

deVere Catalyst is also worth a look for investors worried about locking their money away for a fixed term.

Providing a minimum 2% of fund value is kept in cash, the app has no fixed investment term to cover running costs.

Get the app

deVere Catalyst comes for Apple and Android – available on Apple’s App Store and GooglePlay.

Just download, register and log in like any other financial app.

First time of loading, you will be prompted for ‘know your customer’ information which only takes a moment or two to complete.

deVere Catalyst offers real time fund performance and account data and a facility to withdraw your investment at any time without any penalties or delays.

The app also comes with 24/7 help for questions about to get the best from the technology.

How safe is your money?

deVere contracts security experts to put sophisticated measures in place to protect customer money and data, as you would expect from any reputable financial firm with more than $10 billion under management for customers.

What’s your score as an investor?

One of the most important decisions you must make at the outset of saving with deVere Catalyst is what type of investor you are.

The app tries to make this easy by offering a scale of one to five – with one the most cautious investor and five the investor most open to taking risks with their money.

So what kind of investor are you? Here’s a look at how deVere Catalyst ranks risk:

Defensive

Defensive investors tend to target capital preservation. Their investments will typically be deposit-based but with some exposure to risk assets in order to provide the potential for maintaining capital at or above inflation.

Cautious

Cautious investors tend to target a modest level of growth via a portfolio of mixed assets. Their portfolios will primarily be invested in fixed interest assets but also defensive equity and property to achieve relatively stable long-term returns. In the short term, they typically expect some volatility.

Balanced

Balanced investors tend to target longer-term capital growth. Their investments will be mainly in fixed interest, equities and some ‘alternative’ asset classes. They typically expect some volatility in return for the possibility of higher long-term returns

Moderate Growth

Moderate Growth investors tend to target a return using a portfolio with a higher equity content and a wider geographical spread. Their investments will be predominantly in equities, with an exposure to fixed interest and property in order to provide growth orientated diversification. They typically accept some volatility in return for the possibility of higher long-term returns

Growth

Growth investors tend to target long-term capital growth by adopting a higher risk level. Their investments will typically be equities, but also some ‘alternative’ asset classes, for the purpose of achieving long-term capital appreciation.

Do I manage my investments?

Don’t expect to get investment advice from deVere Catalyst.

deVere Catalyst is execution-only, which means research and data is published to help customers, but customer service staff will only help with how to use the app and will not offer financial or investment advice.

Savings can be switched to deVere Catalyst at any time, it’s the customer’s choice to make an upfront, regular savings or a mix of both. Savings can also be topped up at any time.

A nifty investment calculator asks how much you want to stake upfront, your monthly saving goals and how long you want to invest for, and gives a projected investment value.

For example, $1,000 upfront and adding $200 a month for 10 years gives a forecast of a $18,676 growth to $43,676 on investing $25,000.

Opting for a riskier investment could net growth of $34,484, while a more conservative approach would still collect $7,703.

How much does investing with deVere Catalyst cost?

Customers will be glad to know that the deVere Catalyst annual fees are below industry averages, but that doesn’t mean that the service is free.

Everyone pays a 0.75% fund administration fee every year.

Investment houses also charge a fee for managing investments. The amount varies between funds but is always notified to be fair and transparent to investors.

What the Nigel Green says about deVere Catalyst

“I’m delighted to announce the launch of deVere Catalyst,” said deVere CEO and founder Nigel Green.

“Catalyst is an app that allows investors to save money wherever they are in the world.

“It’s easy to get started, download the app, take two or three minutes to load your KYC and that gives you access to some fantastic funds

“You have the equity fund managed by Guinness that has performed so well, and some high yield stock which we believe is particularly good now.

“The app also has GAM – a multi-asset fund that allows investors to spread their money by investing various asset classes or you have a liquid asset fund managed by Fulcrum that looks at cash plus 4%, which seems a very good return.”

Besides investing, deVere Catalyst also links to deVere Vault, which has been downloaded thousands of times.

“You can connect your Catalyst app to deVere Vault, which gives a virtual MasterCard to use online. You can also use Vault to send money inexpensively around the world compared with the cost of banks,” Green added.

“You can also exchange money from one currency to another so you can use it for FX transactions at a super low cost.

“deVere advisers are available to talk you through the app, but Catalysts is an execution only app and you make the decision about which funds you want to invest in.

“The app is super flexible and can be used anywhere you can get a smartphone connection.

“I use the app myself. I absolutely love it. The app is super slick and deVere is the first company in the international sector to produce this low cost app.

“There’s a charge going into the investment then a charge on the app of 0.75%, less than 1% a year. At all times you need 2% of your investment held as cash to give enough money to cover your charges and give some liquidity should you need it.”

Summary

deVere Catalyst is a smartphone app that lets the backroom boys do the heavy lifting by managing the day-to-day funds and shares. If you are on the move between countries but need somewhere static to keep your savings, then Catalyst is worth a look. You can access your money 24/7 wherever you are in the world and link to other deVere apps like Crypto, to buy sell and trade digital currencies, and Vault to spend or switch you cash between 27 leading world currencies. deVere also promises low costs compared to banks and other financial providers. The design is slick and intuitive and the app comes for the iPhone or Android. There’s not a better choice on the market for expats.

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