KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Islamic Bhd aims to achieve 100,000 customer base by 2025 that will comprise mixed age groups for its Islamic wealth management (IMW) unit, driven by increased awareness and accessibility for its products and services.
To date, the division has garnered around 60,000 customers since its inception in July 2021, with 41 per cent of its current customers being 56 years old and older.
Head of Maybank Islamic IWM and business development Ahmad Shareza Abdul Rahman said that despite the high number of customers within the older generation, Maybank is noticing an increase in awareness among the younger generation in their 30s.
"What we want to focus on right now is estate planning, which consists of different components such as will planning (wasiat), hibah, matrimonial property and more.
"Although the wealth planning segment is the most common and popular among Malaysians, IWM is trying to highlight the whole range of Islamic wealth planning," he told The New Straits Times.
IWM's solution covers five pillars: wealth creation, accumulation, protection, purification and distribution.
According to Ahmad Shareza, since the launch of IWM in 2021, the overall growth of assets under management (AUM) is approximately 20 to 30 per cent.
The IWM product penetration rate falls under the category of wealth creation, where it garnered 90 per cent for deposits and 37 per cent for financing.
As for wealth accumulation, 19 per cent has been recorded for investment and 30 per cent for wealth preservation, such as takaful.
"Estate planning is not the primary driver in the business growth, but rather a component that makes our offering under IWM more comprehensive.
"We are also noticing that not many banks offer estate planning as part of their services, so we are probably one of the few banks that include estate planning as part of our solution," he added.
Ahmad Shareza said what distinguishes IWM's offering from other services is the simplification, where customers do not have to deal with multiple parties, and the comprehensive product offering with a single point contact with full financial servicing, especially for existing Maybank customers.
Ahmad Shareza also mentioned that IWM is seeking to transform and digitise the whole process to increase accessibility and simplify the entire estate planning process.
He said that as awareness of estate planning increases, IWM projects that digitisation and easy access to available products and services will help ignite customer conversations.
"Estate planning is a sensitive topic in our community, but once one starts having conversations about it, the whole process becomes easier, especially with the digital option being available," added Ahmad Shareza.
In terms of wealth management, he said IWM offers a full range of services, and customers will be assisted by a trustee from the bank that will sort out the details as long as customers have declared every accumulated wealth.
He said IWM offers shariah advisory services for its customers who seek clarifications on certain aspects of estate planning, especially regarding the ruling within the shariah component.
"Our relationship managers are Islamic financial planner (IFP) certified, a certification unique to Malaysia.
"Maybank Islamic is one of the biggest financial institutions with the highest IFP-certified personnel.
"At the moment, we have about 121 personnel who are IFP certified, and this number made up of 10 per cent of IFP certified personnel in the country and probably in the world since only Malaysia have this certification," he said.
Ahmad Shareza also revealed that IWM is working on two or three new products in the pipeline, and one product is expected to be launched this year.
"Our next move is to focus on hibah, even though we already have two products available to our customers that address the challenges that many face upon signing up for the product," he said.