‘Collaboration’ key to seeing full potential of AI
New calls have been issued for the finance industry to change its mindset and embrace “greater collaboration” to leverage the full potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. Education provider Kaplan Professional and regtech company Red Marker issued the call after noting that the financial advice industry had been looking for automated compliance solutions given that new reforms require financial advisers to be covered by a compliance scheme by 1 January 2020. However, before an artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning solution is put in place, the automated solutions are not a panacea for all compliance needs, Kaplan Professional and Red Marker suggested. According to the two bodies, financial […]
More investors taking on smart beta ETFs
Research from VanEck reveals that investors are increasing their allocation towards smart beta ETFs, as opposed to market capitalisation and active strategies. Smart beta cumulative net flows as a percentage of total flows has grown from 11.7 per cent to 21.7 per cent between 2016 and 2018, according to VanEck’s ETF IQ Scorecard for December 2018. “By strategy, smart beta ETFs are gaining in popularity, now accounting for about one-quarter of all inflows at $1.6 billion over the year to date, as investors seek targeted investment outcomes and wealth-building strategies not offered by traditional ETFs, which track market capitalisation indices,” VanEck said. Meanwhile, net flow allocation to active exchange-traded products […]
ANZ Bank buys into online mortgage broker Lendi
ANZ Banking Group has taken a strategic stake in online home loans platform Lendi. Street Talk understands ANZ paid close to $40 million for a minority stake, to become Lendi’s second largest strategic shareholder behind fellow Australian financial services giant Macquarie Group. Importantly for Lendi, which has 37 banks and lenders on its open home loans platform, the business will continue to be run independently and at arms length to its strategic investors. ANZ will not be given a board seat, as consistent with Lendi’s treatment of Macquarie and other strategic investors including Pepper. It is understood ANZ agreed to write the cheque after spending much of last year talking […]
HSBC used blockchain to settle $250B worth of trades
HSBC has settled $250 billion worth of forex trades using blockchain in the last year, it said on Monday, suggesting the heavily hyped technology is gaining traction in a sector until now hesitant to embrace it. The bank has settled over three million forex trades and made over 150,000 payments since February using blockchain, it said in a statement. HSBC would not give data on forex trades settled by traditional processes, saying only that those settled by blockchain represented a “small” proportion. Still, the data marks a significant milestone in the use of blockchain by mainstream finance, which has until now been reluctant to start using the technology at any […]
Don’t miss out on Moneytech’s Coding For Payments workshop
Building tailored payments workflows is often difficult. But as people increasingly are expecting seamless movement of funds as part of their app/product/service experience, coding for payments is becoming more important. Simply adding a credit-card gateway might not be enough. This workshop is about exactly that: how do we build tailored API-driven payments workflows. From “receive” through “manage” to “pay”. The Moneytech workshop will cover the following: Non-technical overview of payment landscape and what NPP and Open Banking means High-level compliance considerations The “building blocks” of Australian payments – direct entry, BPAY, credit cards, NPP, virtual accounts, tokens etc – and things to think about for each of them Practical code […]
Research shows that budgeting and cashflow management the top advice priority for younger Australians
Younger people overwhelmingly rank budgeting and cashflow management as the most valuable type of financial advice they can receive, according to a recent ING and Rice Warner survey of more than 1000 Australians. Gen Z (66 per cent), Gen Y (60 per cent) and Gen X (40 per cent) all cited budgeting and cashflow management as more valuable than holistic advice and retirement planning advice, according to the report. Baby Boomers understandably rated retirement planning as their most valued advice service (more than 45%), however almost 30 per cent said budgeting and cashflow management services was most valuable. Source: ING My Generation report, which surveyed 1040 Australians between the ages […]
Xinja launches second equity crowdfunding campaign on Equitise platform
Pioneer Australian neobank Xinja today gives everyday Australians another chance to join the digital banking revolution by purchasing shares through leading equity crowdfunding platform Equitise. The raise – opened early to existing investors, customers and people who had registered interest – has passed the minimum of $500,000 in less than 9 hours. Xinja, a digital neobank designed entirely for mobile, last month received unprecedented expressions of interest when its second equity crowdfund to begin in early 2019 was announced on Equitise. With shares available from today on the Equitise platform, Xinja Chief Executive and founder Eric Wilson said he’s confident there will be early and consistent interest from investors who […]
Robo-advice growth a worldwide trend
A new survey reveals the robo-advisory is increasing in competition across both the Asia-Pacific and European markets. Research from data and analytics company GlobalData’s Wealth Managers Survey found that the robo-advisory market is increasing in competition globally, with more start-ups entering the wealth management industry year by year. According to GlobalData wealth management analyst Sergel Woldemichael, traditional wealth managers across the globe in previous years had a widespread level of agreement that robo-advice would seize market share. “However, as of 2018, the level of agreement that Asian-Pacific and European wealth managers will lose market share to robo-advisors is beginning to align,” Mr Woldemicheal said. To read more, please click […]
