Dean (Viet) Nguyen On How Vietinvest.au Makes Investing Simple For Everyone

Founded in 2024, Vietinvest.au is an innovative investment platform designed to make wealth management accessible to everyday investors. By leveraging quantitative finance, AI-driven strategies, and automated investing, Vietinvest.au offers cost-effective, self-directed investment solutions tailored to different risk profiles.

At the helm is Dean (Viet) Nguyen, a seasoned financial expert with over a decade of experience in investment management. Starting his career in 2014, Dean became one of Australia’s youngest financial advisors in 2018 and later founded Infinite Zephyr, a financial planning firm. With an aspiration to help as many people as possible, he created Vietinvest.au with the mission of delivering innovative investment solutions to investors.

In this interview, Dean shares the journey behind Vietinvest.au, key investment insights, and why financial literacy is crucial for long-term success.

How did you and Minh Le CFA, come to work together at Vietinvest.au, and what inspired the creation of Vietinvest.au?

Minh and I met through networking, and are both passionate about quantitative finance, a specific branch of investment management that employs mathematical and statistical methods to analyze investment opportunities across different asset classes. We both began our financial careers in Sydney, one of the financial hubs of the Asia-Pacific region.

There is significant global demand for investment guidance. Evidence suggests that making wise investment decisions from the beginning of an investor’s journey can greatly enhance their financial status over time.

Vietinvest.au was created to address this challenge by offering an online platform with four distinct investment portfolios, designed around modern investment themes to suit the needs of everyday investors.

Why did you choose to focus on the Vietnamese community in Australia?

Both Minh and I are Vietnamese, living and working in Sydney. My father calls me Viet (my legal name), and in October 2022, when I thought I had lost him, I created Vietinvest.au as a dedication to him.

There are approximately 300,000 - 400,000 Vietnamese people in Australia. However, many of those are still working in the 60s, living paycheck to paycheck. One of the reasons is they didn’t get appropriate financial advice or there weren’t many cost-effective solutions. Appropriate guidance was the missing key. My goal is to change that, so each investor who comes to Vietinvest.au doesn’t have to work in their 60s.

While our brand name reflects our heritage, our portfolios are designed for all investors with different financial goals and from different backgrounds, not limited to the Vietnamese audience.

What distinguishes Vietinvest.au from other wealth management platforms in Australia?

After 10 years in the industry, I noticed a gap in the market. Traditional financial advice is beyond the reach of many Australians, due to increased costs of advice. Vietinvest.au was created to serve a wider audience, offering affordable, self-selected investment options online. I believe our points of difference are our unique portfolios and auto-investing feature.

We offer four distinct investment portfolios tailored to different risk profiles, including the ElectricFAI Portfolio which focuses on Future, Electric, and Artificial Intelligence, seeking to generate optimal returns by investing in the next big things.

Meanwhile, our High Growth Portfolio (Quant) is possibly one of Australia’s first model portfolios to focus on Quantitative Investing methods, an investing approach that uses mathematical, statistical, multi-factors, machine learning, and computational techniques to provide investors with a unique way to generate investment returns.

Aside from these portfolio offerings, what other benefits could Vietinvest.au provide to your clients?

Vietinvest.au provides auto-investing, allowing investors to automate their contributions on a weekly or monthly basis. Clients also receive regular updates, free educational insights, and investment reports. Additionally, the investment team co-invests in all four portfolios, ensuring their interests align with those of their clients.

Another key benefit is that when clients sign up to our portal, they get regular updates, free education, and insights from us the investment team.

We are confident that our solutions are suitable for young investors, professional investors, trusts or company investors, as well as pre-retirees and what sets us apart from other investment wealth management providers in Australia.

What were the biggest challenges in launching Vietinvest.au?

I underestimated how long the paperwork would take. What I expected to take six months ended up taking over a year, with the official launch in September 2024.

Another challenge was building the right infrastructure. In fintech, infrastructure is everything—if you don’t have the right foundation, you’ll hit roadblocks. Finding the right ‘builders’ for my infrastructure was crucial, and I was fortunate to work with people who shared my vision.

Vietinvest.au focuses on wealth building, while also supporting social and environmental causes through initiatives like tree planting and book donations. What inspires you to include programs as part of your business model?

When I came to Australia as a teenager, my family struggled financially. My father worked at a restaurant on weekends, earning less than $10 per hour to support a family of six. I was fortunate to receive support from The Smith Family, a charity that provided me with books to get through school and university.

Because of that, once I started working, I began sponsoring a child through the same charity. Donating books was an easy decision—without those books, I might not have made it to where I am today.
Planting trees was an even easier decision, as sustainability is becoming increasingly important, with many countries committing to net-zero emissions by 2050. I enjoy outdoor activities, and this is my way of giving back.

How have clients responded to these initiatives?

Clients love it. They know that beyond investing in their financial future, they’re also contributing to a better planet and supporting disadvantaged children. It’s a way to “hit three birds with one stone.”

What trends do you see will shape the future of investment platforms like Vietinvest.au?

AI and Web3 technologies, especially blockchain and tokenization, will transform financial services. Blockchain can improve speed and efficiency, helping platforms like ours serve more clients at lower costs—potentially eliminating middlemen in some cases.
Adapting is key. As the saying goes, “It’s not the strongest or the smartest that survive, but the most adaptive.”

What is a common misconception about investing in Vietnam you have encountered?

Many underestimate the importance of local knowledge. Just because something works in Australia or the US doesn’t mean it will work in Vietnam. Every economy has unique advantages and challenges, and understanding the local market is crucial.

For example, while I speak and understand Vietnamese, I still rely on local experts in law, tax, and accounting to make informed investment decisions. Investing in Vietnam requires both international and local expertise.

On the retail side, many investors overestimate short-term profits, assuming that Vietnam’s fast-growing economy guarantees high returns. In reality, investing is a long-term game.

What advice would you give to a beginner in investing?

For those new to investing, getting started with the right knowledge and strategy is essential. Vietinvest.au provides free education, updates, and insights to help investors navigate the market with confidence. Seeking professional advice is equally important (check out infinitezephyr.com) —just as Lionel Messi had Pep Guardiola and Ronaldinho as mentors, having the right guidance early on can make a significant difference.

Starting as early as possible allows investors to take full advantage of compounding returns. Even a $1,000 investment growing at 7.2% per year could exceed $1M in 100 years, proving that consistency over time is more impactful than chasing quick profits.

However, it’s also important to understand your risk tolerance and diversify—overconfidence can lead to costly mistakes. Using dollar-cost averaging, where you invest small amounts regularly, can smooth out market fluctuations and reduce risk.

In 2025, many stars in the solar system such as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up in a rare celestial harmony, visible in the same section of the Sky. So, if you are reading this article in 2025, our stars are aligned. Invest now, invest with us, and invest for your future via Vietinvest.au.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions at info@vietinvest.au