For years, digital wealth platforms in Southeast Asia have focused on helping users do one thing better: invest. They lowered account minimums, simplified portfolios, and made cash management and ETFs available through an app. StashAway now wants to move into a less glamorous but arguably more consequential part of the wealth journey: what happens to that money when its owner dies.
The Singapore-headquartered digital investment platform has acquired MakeGoodwill, a local digital wills platform that lets Singapore residents create a will online in about an hour. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. MakeGoodwill will continue to operate as a standalone brand.
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The acquisition marks StashAway’s first formal move beyond wealth accumulation into legacy planning. Since its launch in 2017, the company has built its business around cash management, managed portfolios, do-it-yourself ETF investing and alternative investments, including private markets. It now operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the UAE and Thailand, and says it manages billions of dollars in assets.
The move comes as consumer fintechs face a more mature market. Robo-advisory and digital investing are no longer as novel as they were five years ago and platforms are looking for ways to deepen relationships with clients beyond portfolio performance. Estate planning, while less headline-grabbing than private credit or AI-driven investing, is one of the clearest adjacent needs.
“Our clients spend years building wealth for a better future, often with their families in mind. Yet many never plan how to protect that wealth and pass it on,” said Michele Ferrario, co-founder and CEO of StashAway. “Bringing MakeGoodwill into StashAway means we can support clients through some of their most important financial decisions, from investing to planning their legacy.”
The will gap
The numbers explain why StashAway is interested. According to a YouGov study cited by the company, only 22 per cent of Singaporeans have a legally drafted will. StashAway’s own survey of 125 clients, conducted in March 2026, found a similar gap among people already building wealth: three in four had no will. Among those who did, more than 40 per cent said their will was out of date.
The survey is small and limited to StashAway clients, but the findings reflect a broader behavioural problem. People know estate planning matters, but they delay it because it feels uncomfortable, complicated or expensive. More than eight in 10 respondents cited barriers such as procrastination, lack of time or uncertainty over what a will should include. At the same time, nine in 10 said they would create a will within three months if the process were simpler.
That gap between intention and action is exactly where digital platforms tend to position themselves. MakeGoodwill uses guided questions in plain language to help users generate a will based on a template developed by Singapore lawyers. Users then need to print and sign the document in the presence of two independent witnesses for it to be legally valid.
The platform has helped create more than 1,100 wills since launch. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, a distinction that matters in estate planning. Its documents are designed to comply with Singapore’s Wills Act 1838, Probate and Administration Act 1934 and relevant case law, but people with complex family structures, cross-border assets, business holdings or disputes may still need legal counsel.
Lowering the cost of basic planning
MakeGoodwill charges S$179 (~US$132) to create a will. The company says traditional law firms typically charge between SGD500 and SGD1,500 for similar services. The platform includes client support at no extra cost, with questions answered within 24 hours on working days.
Each will comes with one year of unlimited edits, secure lifetime access to completed documents, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. After the first year, users can pay SGD35 annually to keep editing their will as their family, assets or circumstances change. Couples can add a second will for SGD89.50.
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That ability to update documents may prove important. A will is not a one-off administrative chore. It can become outdated after marriage, divorce, the birth of children, the purchase of property, changes in beneficiaries or changes in financial assets. The rise of digital investing has also made estates more fragmented, with people holding cash accounts, ETFs, crypto, private market exposure and overseas investments across multiple platforms.
“The best products cut through complexity and make things simple enough to act on,” said Priya Surya, founder of Goodwill, now MakeGoodwill. “We started Goodwill so anyone could create a legally valid estate plan in minutes instead of putting it off for years.”
For StashAway, the acquisition adds a practical layer to its brand promise. Wealth platforms often talk about long-term goals, retirement and family security. A will brings that conversation into sharper focus because it asks clients to specify who receives their assets, rather than leaving the matter to intestacy rules.
A Southeast Asian context
Singapore is a logical starting point for this kind of product. It has high household wealth, rising digital finance adoption and a relatively clear legal framework for wills. It also has a large population of globally mobile professionals who may own assets across jurisdictions, though MakeGoodwill’s current product is designed around Singapore law.
Across Southeast Asia, the legacy-planning gap is likely even wider. In many markets, families still depend on informal arrangements, verbal wishes or assumptions about inheritance. That can create disputes, delays and financial stress when someone dies. The issue becomes more complicated as middle-class households accumulate more financial assets, property and insurance, often across multiple providers.
Digital wills will not solve every estate-planning problem. Inheritance law, religious law, tax considerations and cross-border assets can be complex. Muslim inheritance, for example, may require different planning considerations in markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia. But for straightforward cases, a low-cost digital tool could help more people take a first step rather than avoid the topic entirely.
Rivals and the broader wealth race
StashAway’s closest regional rivals include Endowus and Syfe in Singapore’s digital wealth market, as well as other investment platforms and private banking alternatives competing for affluent retail and mass affluent users. Endowus has leaned heavily into access to funds, CPF and SRS investing, and advisory-led wealth management, while Syfe has built products around managed portfolios, brokerage and cash solutions. Banks such as DBS, OCBC and UOB also compete through increasingly digital wealth offerings, with the advantage of existing customer relationships.
The MakeGoodwill deal gives StashAway a different angle: instead of only adding more investment products, it is extending into financial administration around death, family and asset transfer.
The acquisition also reflects a wider shift in fintech. As customer acquisition becomes more expensive, platforms are trying to increase lifetime value by serving more use cases. For digital wealth players, that may mean retirement income, insurance, tax planning, estate planning or private markets. The winners will not necessarily be those with the longest product menu, but those that can make adjacent services simple without overstepping into areas that require regulated advice.
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StashAway’s challenge will be to integrate legacy planning without making it feel like another upsell inside an investment app. Wills are sensitive. They involve family relationships, mortality and trust. A clumsy user experience could undermine the very simplicity the acquisition is meant to deliver.
Still, the logic is clear. If digital wealth platforms have persuaded users to build portfolios online, the next phase is helping them organise what those portfolios are for. In a region where more people are investing but far fewer have planned how their assets should be passed on, StashAway’s acquisition of MakeGoodwill is a sign that wealthtech is moving from accumulation to continuity.
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