The Power of Content

Vietnam Financial Advisors Summit (VWAS): The Power of Content

Vietnam Wealth Advisor Summit 2024 (VWAS) has created strong appeal with content closely following market reality, helping investors have a practical and comprehensive view.

The second Vietnam Financial Advisory Summit - 2024 with the theme "Adapting to the changing times"

A boost to the market

Mr. Phan Le Thanh Long, CEO of AFA Group, Co-founder of the Vietnam Financial Advisors Community (VWA), shared that statistics show that 85% of transactions on the Vietnamese stock market belong to individual investors. The need to improve financial literacy in general and enhance the capacity of investors in particular is very important for the healthy and sustainable development of the financial market and the Vietnamese economy . Therefore, the role of financial advisors and asset managers is increasingly important.

The demand has appeared and is increasing, the financial advisory community has also been formed in a potential market like Vietnam. But all is still lacking a push. Customers want to use financial advisory services, but are still hesitant because their capital is small, they cannot access such a high-level service.

That thinking is formed because professional financial advisors are often in the priority customer department of banks and only receive "clients with huge asset size". Meanwhile, on the part of the professionals, the "title" of financial advisor is somewhat undefined and not widely known to the public, easily misunderstood and received with negative prejudice.

This is the reason why in 2023, when VWAS was jointly organized by Investment Newspaper and VWA for the first time, the event immediately caused a big stir. Right from the time of announcement, not only VWA with more than 250,000 members eagerly awaited, but also other market members, including service providers such as banks, securities, fund management companies... and individual investors, all wanted to attend.

In particular, when the Forum is organized by a prestigious name like Investment Newspaper, it will recognize typical financial products and services in the market, affirming the long-term efforts of the service provider. The Forum attracted more than 300 direct attendees who are representatives of state management agencies, prestigious experts, leaders of credit institutions, securities companies, investment funds, listed enterprises, and the investing public.

The forum also attracted a large number of online viewers on the electronic newspapers baodautu.vn, tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn, as well as the social media platforms of Dau Tu Newspaper and the Youtube channel TaichinhKinhdoanhTV of VWA. The success from the first time created motivation for Dau Tu Newspaper and VWA to continue to research and improve the content, as well as further perfect the organization.

Representatives of the VWAS 2024 Organizing Committee awarded certificates to honor businesses for the development of financial services.

"Improvisation in a myriad of changes" - the appeal of the theme

Choosing the theme for the second VWAS Forum was the first task that needed to be done. The team of consultants, together with the Judging Council consisting of leading financial and economic experts, started working 3 months before the event and constantly pondered over the theme in the context of the individual investor community being vulnerable to the volatile economic environment both at home and abroad.

Many scenarios are set out, along with many options to react to fluctuations. Instead of being caught up in the violent fluctuations, the Forum hopes to bring a method for individual investors to calmly face and turn danger into opportunity.

“It is extremely necessary for businesses and investors to clearly identify important variables that affect the economy in order to build a proactive and flexible investment scenario. What investors are always looking for is how to respond to those variables. This is also an opportunity for financial advisors and leading experts to provide useful answers and specific recommendations. That is why VWAS 2024 chose the theme of Responding to Variables,” said Mr. Le Trong Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Dau Tu Newspaper, who also proposed and selected this theme.

VWAS 2024 once again created a fever. More than 350 attendees filled the auditorium, more than 100,000 people watched live on online channels. A series of topics were raised and continued to attract discussion from many market members in the following months. Many close issues were mentioned by experts and are still hot today, such as fluctuations in gold and USD prices.

At the time of the Forum, the market witnessed the VND/USD exchange rate fluctuate up to 5% in just one quarter, putting great pressure on the exchange rate for macroeconomic operators and considered the top risk for businesses, as well as the stock market. At the same time, the gold price continuously climbed, maintaining double-digit growth compared to the beginning of the year. At the Forum, experts concluded that the gold price will not cool down easily, while the USD will decrease in value.

Dr. Truong Van Phuoc, former acting Chairman of the National Financial and Monetary Supervision Committee, said that the USD will depreciate from now until 2027. The USD-Index will trade around 95-105 points - a level that is no longer too high, and the USD interest rate will decrease by 2.75 - 3%/year in the next 3 years. This will help reduce the pressure on VND depreciation. The VND depreciation rate is approximately equal to the CPI rate, the interest rate level needs to revolve around the CPI with a margin of 3 - 4%.

The above “confident” assessment at that time caused heated debate among market members. Up to now, market developments are proving this assessment as gold continues to break peaks, USD has cooled down, reducing pressure on VND.

VWAS 2024 is also a rare occasion for the individual investor community to directly listen to the thoughts and opinions of lawmakers. Mr. Phan Duc Hieu, Standing Member of the National Assembly 's Economic Committee, shared that in 2023, the priority will be to control the macro economy, combining appropriate fiscal and monetary policies, while in 2024, the priority will be to promote economic growth.

Over the past year, many laws were promulgated, of which four important laws are the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15, the Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15, the Law on Real Estate Business No. 29/2023/QH15, the Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15, which will take effect from January 1, 2025 and will be submitted for an early implementation 5 months in advance...

Being updated on changes in the law-making process and having experts thoroughly analyze how those factors affect investment assets made investors attending the Forum very satisfied.

“The forum gathered top speakers, who are experts with rich experience and knowledge in many different fields, so I received very comprehensive, specific and useful information. After attending in person, I watched the video many times. I think that some of the advice given by the experts will stay with me for a long time on my investment path, because it has changed my way of thinking,” said Mr. Pham Minh Duc, an investor in Hanoi who has attended VWAS for 2 consecutive years.

Mr. Duc added that small individual investors like him often look for information on financial and economic information sites such as Investment Newspaper and Securities Investment. But above all, he hopes to have more opportunities to listen and consult directly with leading experts and financial advisors like at VWAS recently.

It can be said that the combination of highly specialized content, practical application, and effective communication has created a strong attraction for VWAS over the years. The number of viewers has more than doubled, many topics have covered investment communities, social networks, etc., making "Adapting to all changes" a hot keyword for a long time.

In 2024, more than 20,000 people voted for organizations with outstanding financial products/services, nearly double the number from the previous year.

Recognizing efforts

The forum is also a place to record feedback - reviews and responses from individual investors on the financial services and products they have used. With the belief that their comments and opinions will be heard, a large number of customers using the service and individual investors have actively voted and participated in the evaluation channels opened by VWAS. In 2024, more than 20,000 people participated in voting for organizations with typical financial products/services, nearly double that of the previous year.

Investment Newspaper is a reliable source of information.
- Mr. Nguyen Duc Hoan, General Director of ACB Securities Company (ACBS):
The role of media is extremely important in the stock market. There is even a famous theory that when all information about assets is fully reflected in the price of the asset, it is an efficient market or perfect market (Efficient-market hypothesis).
The perfect market theory was developed by Professor Eugene Fama, University of Chicago, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics for his theory of market predictability. My view is quite similar to his on this point.
In addition, the media is increasingly developed, people can easily communicate with each other, thereby information is also transmitted more effectively and widely. We are now living in a world of flatter information than ever before. If information is provided quickly and with high accuracy, investors will make the right trading decisions.
However, while information reaches readers more and more quickly, fake news is a burning issue. We can easily grasp information, but making decisions from the information we have is a process, which I temporarily call a rational process. Here I want to mention the concept of digital literacy, which is the ability to use information and digital technology to search, evaluate and create clear information. In general, we must know how to verify and criticize when receiving information through digital media channels.
With many years of experience in following the news, I always choose to use reliable sources of information such as reputable media and press agencies, including Investment Newspaper and Securities Investment Newspaper because I know that the editorial team of Investment Newspaper is always knowledgeable about the market and verifies the news before reporting, so I am very confident about the information published in the Newspaper in recent years.
In short, the investment process must always be associated with the process of receiving and processing information. Therefore, communication activities in the stock market are extremely important. And in order for information to be provided to investors accurately and transparently, the presence of press agencies is indispensable in the stock market.

In addition to the 5 categories of Outstanding Priority Customer Service, Outstanding Financial Brokerage Service, Outstanding Investment Asset Management Service, Outstanding Technology and Digital Transformation Product, Innovative Personal Financial Solution, VWAS 2024 has an additional category of Real Estate Developer with Comprehensive Financial Solution. Accordingly, all units providing financial and investment products and services in the market have the opportunity to be "scored" by customers and evaluated by the Voting Council consisting of leading experts. Here, worthy efforts will be recognized.

Mr. Truong Thai Dat, Director of Analysis at DSC Securities Company, said: “VWAS 2024 is a professional competition between organizations and companies operating in the fields of finance - securities - banking. The award ceremony creates value for both organizations and individual investors. The awards are regardless of scale, focusing only on the quality of products and services, along with the practical values ​​brought to society and the community. Accordingly, VWAS can be seen as a door that brings opportunities to affirm the position and positive values ​​for companies today.

“We believe that being honored at VWAS 2024 is an important milestone affirming the efforts and endeavors of the Company's staff. Moreover, the award is also an affirmation of the true values ​​that the Company has been bringing to corporate/individual customers and especially the trust, support and companionship of partners and customers for the Company over the past time. On the other hand, through this award, we will have more advantages in orienting business development, expanding the scope of operations, as well as better approaching customers, partners and investors,” said Mr. Dat.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Trieu Phat, Director of Securities Investment Consulting, Kafi Securities Company, said that Kafi was honored with 2 awards for Outstanding Financial Brokerage Service and Outstanding Technology and Digital Transformation Product at VWAS 2024, affirming Kafi's outstanding stature and reputation in the financial market.

“These awards are not only a recognition of the Company's continuous efforts in providing high-quality financial services, but also demonstrate professionalism in investment consulting and the ability to apply modern technology to create breakthrough products, meeting the maximum needs of customers. This is a solid foundation for Kafi to continue to grow, aiming to become a typical and trustworthy unit in the securities finance industry in Vietnam,” Mr. Phat affirmed.

After 2 years, the popularity of VWAS thanks to the attraction of the discussion topics, speakers and the program's brand has been widely recognized by the investor community and financial market members. The forum will continue to be an annual event that the public looks forward to in the following years.

VWAS is held annually with the sole purpose of focusing on the interests of investors, especially individual investors in Vietnam. Through two editions, the event has affirmed its pioneering role in providing transparent and reliable information and emphasizing the importance of independent analysis, tested financial products and improving financial literacy.

VWAS has become a leading address for the community of investors and financial advisors in Vietnam, units in the financial industry in providing in-depth knowledge, core values, bringing long-term benefits to investors.

One of the core values ​​that VWAS has always pursued is independent analysis. In the increasingly complex and constantly changing financial markets, investors need objective information to make accurate decisions. Independent analysis helps to minimize the risk of being influenced by biased views or conflicts of interest, while providing investors with a comprehensive and accurate view of market trends.

At VWAS seminars, leading Vietnamese experts shared detailed analysis, based on real data and thorough research, presenting market-friendly, neutral and valuable scenarios. This helps investors grasp the trends, providing them with tools to make confident decisions.

The reports and analyses presented at the event all followed standard principles, committed to honesty and transparency, affirmed their value through practice each year, and received hundreds of thousands of views and thanks from investors.

In addition to providing information, VWAS also focuses on introducing and evaluating financial products. A financial product is only truly valuable when it has been thoroughly tested for safety and effectiveness.

With 6 award categories, VWAS has selected from hundreds of financial service providers in Vietnam, with tens of thousands of votes from investors, through qualitative and quantitative criteria with high standards of the Jury, to select products that suit individual needs, while minimizing risks when investing in unproven products, ensuring that they bring optimal benefits to investors.

One of the biggest goals of VWAS is to raise financial awareness among the community. Through discussions, seminars and knowledge sharing, VWAS has created conditions for investors, especially new ones, to better understand financial structures, investment tools, and risk management strategies.

Improving financial literacy is not only about providing theoretical knowledge, but also about helping investors know how to apply that knowledge in practice. VWAS encourages continuous learning, helping investors to constantly improve their qualifications and skills, helping them achieve better profits, and at the same time building a smarter, more sustainable investment community.

VWAS has been bringing important values ​​to investors in Vietnam. Through independent analysis, providing proven financial products and committing to improve financial literacy, VWAS is not only a conference, but also an educational platform supporting the long-term development of the investment community.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/dien-dan-cap-cao-co-van-tai-chinh-viet-nam-vwas-suc-manh-cua-noi-dung-d226007.html