iFAST Galloping into the Fire Horse Year. Price Doubling in 5 Years?

My team’s three heavyweight attackers — iFAST Corporation (AIY), Arista Networks (ANET), and Shopify (SHOP) — did not disappoint with their latest quarterly earnings.

The trio continued their impressive form from earlier quarters and ended FY 2025 with a screamer!

Entering the high-octane Year of the Fire Horse, these three show no signs of slowing down.

I will focus on iFAST in this post and follow up on Arista and Shopify in the next.

iFAST: A Blazing 4Q 2025

The fourth-quarter numbers are nothing short of amazing. Revenue surged 45.7% YoY to S$152 million, while earnings per share (EPS) rocketed by a whopping 67.2% to S$0.1082.

This wasn’t just a “good quarter”; it was a definitive demonstration of the group’s business scalability.

Impressive Growth at Home

While there is no surprise from the Hong Kong market, where iFAST delivered exactly as guided, the Singapore market’s 40% YoY jump in gross profits for the quarter is a pleasant surprise.

Zooming out to the full year, the AUA growth across its three divisions —B2B (25.2%), iGM (23.5%), and B2C (33.6%) — is a testament to its expanding local footprint.

iFAST has capitalised on the increased activity within a thriving Singapore financial hub.

As Asia’s premier wealth management engine, Singapore is witnessing a massive rotation of “sidelined cash” back into active, fee-generating investments.

iFAST is perfectly positioned to take advantage of these inflows.

Expanding Presence in HK & Macau Pensions

With the bulk of onboarding completed, the most high-pressure phases of the eMPF project are now largely behind iFAST.

Manpower is expected to peak in the coming months, paving the way for significant operational efficiency gains starting in 2H 2026.

Beyond immediate profits, the eMPF project has served as a strategic launchpad into the broader regional pension market.

Using this experience, iFAST has made successful inroads into the HK ORSO and Macau pension schemes.

These sticky, long-term assets will be critical drivers for iFAST’s ambition of S$100 billion AUA by 2030.

ORSO will begin contributing in the second half of this year, while Macau has already started its contribution with substantial growth expected.

iFAST Global Bank (iGB): The Emerging Growth Driver

After turning profitable this year, the stage is set for iGB to drive the next growth phase.

I was pleasantly surprised by the profit jump to over S$1 million in the latest quarter, reversing the slight decline seen in the previous two.

A key driver here is the recognition of Deferred Tax Assets from the bank’s initial startup losses.

Because iGB is now consistently profitable, it can “unlock” these credits to reduce its tax burden.

With S$10 million in credits still available, iFAST has a significant “tax coupon” to bolster the bank’s bottom line over the coming quarters as it scales the following services:

• BACS Integration: The new BACS and Faster Payments capability allows customers to use iGB for monthly salary credits and automated payments (similar to GIRO).
  
• Spend Anywhere: iFAST is refining a “One Account” system, allowing users to spend globally from a single iGB balance. More details on this “borderless” spending are expected in the next two months.

Chairman and Group CEO Lim Chung Chun shared that payments as a standalone business is not easy due to intense competition.

But for iFAST, integrating payments with digital banking and wealth management creates a high-retention ecosystem that elevates the entire Group’s revenue potential.

A Truly Global Business Model

The success of iGB in attracting international customers prompted management to expand this vision into a formal “Truly Global Business Model.”

This is more than a slogan; it is a strategic pivot to target global wealth from three of the world’s top financial centres: Singapore, Hong Kong, and London.

The rebranding of FSMOne (HK and SG) to FSM Global is the first step in this repositioning.

It allows iFAST to capture a “Global Wealth” segment that prizes the safety of Singapore/HK regulation combined with the digital flexibility of a UK bank.

While it might appear to be a simple “paper exercise,” a well-defined and executed vision will energise the Group and unlock opportunities that were previously invisible under a localised mindset.

Potential Doubling of Price: The Asymmetric Bet

The market still seems to be pricing iFAST as a traditional brokerage, but the numbers suggest something far more potent: a high-scale fintech platform.

The Road to S$100 Billion AUA

iFAST remains confident that with disciplined execution, it can compound its AUA by 25% annually over the next five years to achieve its S$100 billion goal by 2030.

But here is the real kicker for conservative investors: you don’t even need the “moonshot” to win.

• The Conservative Path: Even if you assume a more modest 15% AUA growth (lower than its 5-year historical average of 17.2%), the group’s massive operational leverage means EPS could still easily compound at 25%.
  
• The Math: Under this conservative projection, EPS would exceed S$1.00 by 2030. At a PE ratio of just 20x (well below its historical average), the share price would more than double from last Friday’s close of S$9.39.

And if iFAST actually hits its target…?

The Reality Check

Of course, the primary risk is execution.

Scaling a global bank while migrating thousands of pension accounts is no small feat.

However, with more than 80% recurring revenue, a battle-tested operational track record, and multiple growth engines now firing simultaneously, the odds are heavily in favour of the patient investor.

Disclaimer

This content is for informational only. I am not a financial advisor, tax professional, or legal expert, and the information shared here does not constitute personalised financial advice, nor is it a solicitation to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments.

All opinions and commentary reflect my personal views and are based on general market commentary.

You are solely responsible for your own financial decisions. Investing involves risk, and any action you take based on the information provided on this blog or channel is strictly at your own risk.

Always conduct your own research and due diligence and consult with a qualified, licensed financial professional, tax professional, or legal advisor before making any investment or financial decision.