Nexus FrontierTech and APS Asset Management are jointly developing a platform for ESG data analysis on companies with principal offices or significant business activities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Singapore that issue equity and equity-related securities.

The project was awarded the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof of Concept (POC) grant on 28 June 2022. The FSTI POC grant provides funding support for experimentation, development, and dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services sector.

Nexus FrontierTech, in collaboration with APS Asset Management sought to resolve multiple data-related challenges in sustainable investment implementation for the asset management sector, such as low data availability, poor data quality and lack of harmonised or interoperable ESG disclosure standards and frameworks.

To address these challenges, Nexus FrontierTech and APS Asset Management are conducting a Proof-of-Concept (“PoC”) to demonstrate the technical feasibility and potential business value of combining AI with APS’ unique, fundamental-based Four Alpha-Hats® investing approach, designed and built on an ESG platform that is underpinned by an integrated, scalable, cloud-based technology stack.

With a modular, API-ready infrastructure and AI-native capabilities, the ESG Platform has the potential to scale to cover additional markets, integrate with various data providers, such as the Greenprint ESG Registry, and serve as a data aggregator for asset management end-users.

The successful automation of various manually tedious research workflows is expected to increase the productivity of investment analysts by 50-70%, freeing up more time for them to concentrate on higher value tasks and functions, such as fundamental analysis.

Wong Kok Hoi, CIO at APS Asset Management said, “We are pleased to partner with Nexus in developing China’s first real-time AI-Fundamental ESG system. We believe that it is a powerful system developed by combining Nexus AI expertise and APS’ multi-decade experience in fundamental analysis of Chinese companies.”

Danny Goh, CEO of Nexus FrontierTech added, “The solution will connect international ESG reporting standards, disclosure practices in developing countries like China, and investment management approaches in Singapore, adding to Singapore’s growing pool of intellectual capital and capabilities as a global centre for Sustainable Finance.”

The ESG Platform was also recognised at the Global Fintech Hackcelerator 2021, winning a top ten Finalist position in the Local Programme.

Nexus FrontierTech and APS Asset Management continue to develop the ESG platform collaboratively, scaling it to expand the total addressable market data, and building a new ESG data research management repository.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Leanne Teo

Marketing & Communications Director
Nexus FrontierTech
[email protected]
+65 9188-8228

Yan Weiren

Senior Vice President
APS Asset Management
[email protected]
+65 6303-4560

About Nexus FrontierTech

Nexus FrontierTech accelerates decision-making processes by enabling modular plug-and-play automation solutions on our proprietary AI engine. We bring visibility, traceability and usability to enterprise data in real-time, empowering the financial services industry to efficiently develop structured processes for compliance, risk management, and innovation purposes.

Since 2015, Nexus has successfully partnered with financial, governmental and other organisations to streamline operations and optimise performance. With a global team of more than 100 AI researchers, analysts and business leaders, Nexus has developed three key financial data processing products, targeting workflows in ESG analysis, financial modelling, and risk management.

Nexus envisages a digital world transformation that maximises human potential and sustainable value creation.

About APS Asset Management

APS Asset Management was founded in 1995 by our Chief Investment Officer, Wong Kok Hoi, to specialize in public equity investments, employ investigative research and independent thinking, and serve global institutional, long-term capital allocators. Headquartered in Singapore with three offices in China, we are one of the few home-grown, independent, China-focused boutiques with a track record spanning multiple decades. APS’ longevity through several market cycles has strengthened our investment memory and organizational robustness which has helped to better manoeuvre clients’ investments in various and challenging market environments.

Our approach of utilizing deep fundamental, forensic and investigative analysis to construct alpha-diversified portfolios is executed in long-only and long-short China public equity offerings. Emphasizing the importance of alignment of interests, APS is internally owned and firm and employee capital constitute a considerable portion of assets under management. Our covenant to clients and core values have never wavered – differentiated China research, conviction in our ideas, and the endless pursuit of sustainable alpha.

APS is regulated by authorities around the world including the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Ontario Securities Commission. Our global client base comprises pension plan sponsors, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, and other institutional long-term minded allocators.