The best, and worst, performing Australian ETFs for 2018
Exchange-traded funds (ETF) under management in Australia grew 33% over the past year to $36.2 billion, according to the annual ETF Report by robo-advice fintech Stockspot. The best performer was UBS IQ MSCI Asia APEX 50 Ethical ETF, which generated a return of 30.1%. The biggest loser was BetaShares Australian Dividend Harvester Fund which lost 16.2%. This fund invests in large ASX shares that are about to pay dividends while also selling futures contracts as a form of hedging to reduce risk. Chris Brycki, CEO and founder of Stockspot, says this year’s findings signal the ongoing disruption to the asset management industry by ETFs and indexing. “The investment industry is […]
Online lender Prospa delays float 30 minutes to listing
The sharemarket float of online lender Prospa has been postponed about half an hour before the planned listing, after the corporate watchdog wanted further details of its small business loan contracts. Prospa and its joint lead managers – investment banks UBS and Macquarie – said the 48-hour delay was because it was “seeking to clarify queries raised by ASIC yesterday in relation to Prospa’s small business loan terms,” as part of a wider review. “Prospa was first contacted yesterday by ASIC in relation to its industry-wide review of small business lending – bank and non-bank. The review covers a range of topics,” a Prospa spokeswoman said. “We take our legal […]
Fintech stocks to win from booming market of independent financial advice
Listed investment platforms that benefit from the move towards independent financial advice are among the few winners from the Financial Services Royal Commission. The Commission’s shocking revelations on bank culture and financial-advice standards will surely strengthen the move towards independent financial advice – a trend that has been underway since 2013 Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms. More financial advisers will move away from bank-aligned distribution channels or large wealth-management firms and work for themselves. More customers, concerned about bank ethics, will favour financial advisers who demonstrate genuine independence. Also, advisers will need to look for new ways to grow their business through technology. They’ll need tools that help them […]
Stockbrokers embrace Fintech
Something quite extraordinary happened at this year’s Annual Stockbrokers (SAFAA) Conference in Melbourne May 22-24, which culminated in blockchain based cryptocurrency broker, Caleb and Brown taking first place honours in the inaugural “Stockbroker Fintech Start-up of 2018” award. Six weeks ago Caleb and Brown and the 9 other local and international fintech firms had no plans to be taking part in the conference in any shape or form. Speaking after the prize giving award at the conference founder and CEO of Caleb and Brown, Dr. Prash P said “Our business is on a significant growth trajectory and being able to meet and partner with the stockbroking community in a meaningful […]
OnMarket forges partnership with Listcorp
IPO and equity crowdfunding portal OnMarket have teamed together with investor relations platform Listcorp to assist newly listed ASX companies with the ongoing challenge of communicating and promoting themselves to investors. OnMarket CEO Ben Bucknell said “OnMarket has now helped over 70 companies list on the ASX. We are pleased to announce that we’ve recently entered into an agreement with Listcorp to help these companies better communicate with investors throughout Australia. “The fundamental benefit that both Listcorp and OnMarket are providing to Australia’s retail investors is access. OnMarket provides retail investors direct access to IPO and equity crowdfunding opportunities, and Listcorp provides retail investors access to much needed information about […]
Prospa float reveals a new world of online business financing
Online small business lender Prospa is set to hit the ASX on June 6 with a market capitalisation of $576 million. It’s a lofty valuation for a relatively new business lender with a net loan book of $200 million and a statutory net profit in the 2017 financial year of just $1.2 million. But the number – settled after an institutional book build for Prospa shares last Thursday – points to the aggressive growth aspirations for the Sydney-based group, which is raising $146 million in an initial public offering fully-underwritten by Macquarie Capital and UBS. In its prospectus filed with the corporate regulator on Monday morning, Prospa said it expects to originate […]
Prospa books open, offer size reduced
Macquarie and UBS’s equities desks have started beating the drum for ASX-aspirant Prospa. The brokers opened Prospa’s IPO bookbuild on Thursday morning, with news the offer size had been reduced. Some of the online small business lender’s existing shareholders have cut the size of their selldown. Prospa is now seeking to raise $141 million to $147 million, according to terms sent to fund managers. The first $100 million is pegged for the company while $41 million to $47 million represents the shareholder selldown. It had initially been targeting up to $60 million for the selldown. The price was retained at $3.04 to $3.83 a share, as was the targeted market capitalisation […]
Raiz Invest to list on ASX with a $120m valuation
Raiz Invest, the micro-investment fintech, has lodged a prospectus with the corporate regulator for a June float in a deal that will value the start-up at around $120 million. As flagged by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column last week, the initial public offering for Raiz, formerly known as Acorns Grow Australia, will raise just over $15 million. The shares, which have an offer price of $1.80, are due to begin trading on the ASX on June 21. The offer has been fully underwritten by Bell Potter and is understood to be two times oversubscribed with strong support from institutions in Hong Kong. Raiz has plans to expand in […]
