Malaysia: The Rise of FinTech – Innovation and Disruption
MALAYSIA: THE RISE OF FinTech Innovation and Disruption Date: 15-16 March 2016 Location: Auditorium Connexion@ Nexus Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), in partnership with the New South Wales Trade and Investment, invites you to join our exclusive dialogue revealing Malaysia’s burgeoning financial technologies (FinTech) ecosystem and innovation agenda. Why Malaysia In 2015, Malaysia became the first Asia Pacific nation to regulate for equity crowdfunding in its drive to develop the FinTech agenda. Moreover, Malaysia recorded the highest innovation performance amongst middle income countries. With FinTech no longer limited to traditional centres like Silicon Valley and London, and global oil prices at an all-time low, Malaysia’s […]
Infocus to launch robo-advice solution
Non-institutionally-aligned firm Infocus Wealth Management has announced it will launch a new direct-to-consumer robo-advice solution, which will give clients the option to manage their own investments online. The new solution, to be launched in May, will incorporate the Morningstar Wealth Forecasting Engine as well as investment management services from Morningstar’s Ibbotson Associates Australia. Speaking to ifa, Infocus managing director Rod Bristow said the robo-advice service will not compete with the firm’s existing advisers. “We’ve been talking to our advisers for some months about this. What we’ve been saying is robo-advice is something that will come into the Australian market and will make a difference in terms of helping consumers understand […]
Greg Medcraft urges innovation on blockchain technology
Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has called on market regulators around the world to “start thinking about” the challenges of blockchain, the technology behind cyber-currency bitcoin. Mr Medcraft, who is also chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissioners, urged regulators to consider the potential challenges of blockchain at a recent meeting in Madrid. In an interview with The Australian, Mr Medcraft said the broader commercial use of the blockchain technology was “on the horizon” with industry claims that it could “save billions of dollars if they can make it work”. He said it also had the potential to “improve liquidity” in some financial instruments, “which is […]
Target market for robo-advisers to grow with net usage
Robo-advice does not work well in complex situations but suits people in their 30s and 40s who are already using the internet to manage their finances and are starting to save serious money toward retirement. Robos work very well where the investor’s situation is not complex and a person neatly fits into one of several predetermined categories. For example, the small but relatively focused subset of people in their 30s and 40s who are starting to save serious money toward retirement are perfect for robos. They may have already looked at negative gearing and margin lending to grow their savings but feel disinclined to take on the added risk in […]
Signal Ventures hunts Australian early stage tech startups with $10m fund
Early stage Australian tech startups will soon have a fresh option for seeking funding with the formation of a new $10 million venture capital fund backed by US and Australian investors. The fund is to be run by Signal Ventures, which has been founded by Melbourne-based startup industry backer Atlanta Daniel and experienced US-based tech investor Niel Robertson. It is in the midst of raising a $10 million warchest, and expects to have closed its funding round by the end of April. The fund will target so-called seed investing rounds, or the first external funding round for up and coming startups, and is likely to inject around $150,000 to $250,000 […]
SocietyOne sees potential to work with banks
The new chief executive of SocietyOne, Jason Yetton, says there is potential for the peer-to-peer lender to work with a big bank such as Westpac, his former employer, as it tries to distribute loans to a wider range of customers. SocietyOne is one of the emerging group of “marketplace lenders”, which are eyeing off the profits that banks make from unsecured lending, by using online platforms to allow investors to lend directly to borrowers. P2P lenders typically promote themselves as a lower-cost option for borrowers, prompting banks to consider their defences against the new online threat. Mr Yetton, who previously ran Westpac’s retail and business bank, will also use his […]
Robo-advice not ’biased’ during volatility
Human advice may be outperformed by robo-advice during times of market volatility, considering automated tools are not subject to behavioural bias, says BetaSmartz. BetaSmartz chief executive John James said eliminating behavioural bias means that robo-advisers will accurately manage risk, and “will always have an advantage over humans”. Mr James argued that robos are not subject to a domestic or “home bias” to the extent that human advisers are. “This [domestic] bias can limit diversification and, in a volatile environment, completely exposing an investor to just one market may not be the optimal way to meet their goal,” he said. He explained that robo-advisers can easily navigate volatility because they have […]
DomaCom to crowdfund gay retirement village
Property investor DomaCom is using its crowdfunding platform to raise capital to fund a $25 million gay and lesbian retirement village, proposed near Ballan in central Victoria. In what may well be a world first, the crowdfunding model has been harnessed to drive the staged development of a 120-dwelling estate on 30-acre block, 80 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. “It will be the world’s first retirement village through crowdfunding,” said DomaCom chief executive Arthur Naoumidis. “Let alone being a gay, lesbian, bi and transgender, intersex retirement village: that’s definitely a world first. It’s great. It shows the versatility of our platform.” Already DomaCom is nearing the close of the first $1.5 […]
