Sexiest Job of the 21st Century: Data Scientist
Data miner? Web analyst? Information wrangler? Harvard Business Review[1] labelled it the “sexiest job of the 21st Century” and the opportunities are exploding and salaries rocketing for astute professionals choosing “data science” as their career. As industries and governments worldwide race into the era of Big Data, James Cook University (JCU) is giving its students a head start with a fast, fully online and keenly priced Master of Data Science that offers students a potentially rapid return on their investment. Graduates will enjoy up-to-the-minute skills in the scientific methods, systems and processes used to unlock the secrets hidden in data. This ability to deliver insights and solutions by analysing data will give graduates an edge […]
IRESS invests in leading Australian RegTech Lucsan
Australian technology leaders, IRESS and Lucsan, today announced a partnership that will accelerate the application of RegTech in the financial services landscape. IRESS is making an equity investment in Lucsan: an established, Australian-owned RegTech and data analytics company providing leading technology solutions to a wide range of companies, including Australia’s major banks. Lucsan’s vision is to help financial institutions proactively reduce the ongoing cost of compliance and implement improved practices with its RegTech solutions. The minority equity position will support Lucsan’s own growth strategy as it focuses on expanding its business in Australia and more broadly into international markets. Equity investments by IRESS IRESS was founded in Melbourne in […]
Acorns Australia chief George Lucas on the challenges facing Aussie fintechs, and the future of the industry
Since launching its fintech offerings early last year, Acorns Australia has been embraced by consumers looking for alternatives to traditional financial institutions, but its chief executive and director George Lucas says Australia still has a way to go to improve innovation and support for startups in the space. Acorns is an app that allows users to invest their spare change in five diversified investment portfolios by automatically ’rounding up’ leftovers from small transactions like daily coffee purchases, incrementally investing these roundups and allowing users to track the performance of their portfolios. Acorns Australia was founded in 2015 as a joint venture with Lucas’ company, Instreet Investment Limited and US fintech […]
Reimagining wealth management for the digital age
David Levi looks at why responding to the digital challenge is not just about defence but about shaping a new era of wealth management. As consumer needs and the financial landscape evolve, major banks are being forced to reconsider their approach to wealth management services. Colonial First State, for example, has predicted that the retirement of Baby Boomers would result in unprecedented transfers of wealth. Similarly, Citigroup announced its plans to triple the size of its wealth management business in Australia by 2020, as it targets customers with more than $1 million to invest. While the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) reports that private sector forecasts superannuation assets […]
IDC names top 10 fastest growing fintech companies in A/NZ
IDC Financial Insights has unveiled a list of 10 fast-growing fintechs in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) as part of the broader FinTech 101 list for Asia/Pacific. “IDC’s FinTech Fast 101” refers to the fast-growing fintech players in Asia/Pacific based on extensive on-ground analysis of the dominant fintech players within the region. 10 Fastest Growing FinTechs in Australia and New Zealand Afterpay Touch Group Airwallex CoinJar Data Republic Harmoney HashChing identitii Prospa SocietyOne Xero Note: List is arranged alphabetically, Source IDC, 2017 IDC’s fintech list makes a reference to the Financial Insights’ Triple U framework — ubiquity, utility, and usability. This is a framework that evaluates fintech data across key metrics such as addressable […]
Regulated Bitcoin banking will disrupt Aussie finance sector says DigitalX
The launch of regulated, global bank trading in digital currencies such as Bitcoin will be a disruptive game-changer, says Australian digital currency consultancy, DigitalX. DigitalX (ASX:DCC) was the corporate advisor to Europe-based Bankera, which recently closed an “initial coin offering” after raising €25 million ($37 million). An initial coin offering is an unregulated means of crowdfunding using digital currency. Bankera expects to have a banking licence within the next two years and will operate as a global, regulated bank offering traditional banking and investment services to the blockchain marketplace, including payments, loans, deposits and investments. Blockchain is a technology that provides a public ledger of digital currency transactions. Each “block” […]
‘Robo-advice’ reference turning SMSF investors away
Some SMSF trustees are ignoring automated advice services on the false assumption that none of these services involve any human overlay, says an automated advice provider. Speaking to SMSF Adviser, Six Park chief executive Pat Garrett said SMSF trustees often hear the word robo-advice and are off put because they think everything with the service is automated. “There are parts of the service that should be automated such as the admin, because that’s how the costs come down. A lot of the processes associated with opening an account, assessing the client’s risk profile and their needs can be automated,” said Mr Garrett. On the investment front, however, across some of […]
Australia’s Alternative Finance Future goes from strength to strength
Australia is emerging as a regional leader in the $300bn global Alt-Fi market. Alternative finance (or Alt-Fi) is a catch-all phrase used to describe emerging, digital financial services models such as peer-to-peer and marketplace lending (business and consumer finance), crowdfunding and invoice lending. However, for Australia to stay ahead greater consumer and business awareness is needed as well as policy and regulatory settings that continue to evolve with the development of this nascent sector. Globally this market is expanding quickly, up 100 percent year-on-year, with China the dominant world market (in terms of absolute volume), accounting for 85 percent of the total market. A staggering US$243.28 billion was raised through […]
