Bitcoin crash gives way to steady growth
The price of bitcoin has crashed in early 2019 but some experts in the field argue that the news is not all bad, with the future for cryptocurrencies looking fairly strong. At the end of January 2019, the price of bitcoin was US$3525, having slumped from a peak of over US$19,000 in late 2017. This is not the first crash in a market known for its volatility, and in previous downswings the price has eventually settled at a point that shows a long-term upwards trend. For example, at the start of 2017 the price was about US$975. The general feeling in the market is that much of the massive movement […]
How to invest on a shoestring
Investing was once thought to be solely a pursuit of the wealthy, but new money tools have made it possible to invest with as little as a few dollars at a time. Despite this, many Australians are still under the misconception that to invest you need to have plenty of money, according to Christian Obrist, who is head of the Australian exchange-traded fund (ETF) business of global fund manager BlackRock. Obrist told Trading Day this means more people are stashing their money in long-term, low-performance saving accounts. “A lot of cash sits idle in bank accounts. And in the last 10 years in Australia specifically, interest rates have come down [and] you […]
Make money while you sleep with technology and automation
Technology and automation are delivering Australians new ways to earn money while they’re sleeping.There has been rapid growth in new savings and investment products that allow people to start building wealth with a few taps of their smartphone or computer keyboard, then let the power of compound interest do its work.Here are four ways to get rich automatically. ROUNDING UP Fast-growing financial technology company Raiz automatically moves its clients’ spare change to an investment portfolio or superannuation. It rounds up every transaction to the nearest dollar, and now manages more than $270 million of people’s funds, up 60 per cent in the past nine months. Raiz managing director George Lucas […]
Fintech gold rush tipped as KPMG finds Australian investment hit $842m in 2018
Big four professional services firm KPMG has tipped even more funding will come for Australian fintech players in the wake of new open banking rules and the banking royal commission, despite a huge rise in deals taking spending to $US600 million ($842 million) in 2018. In new local figures derived from its biannual global Pulse of Fintech study, KPMG said deals in the local sector picked up last year, following a drop-off in 2017, when capital raisings, acquisitions and IPOs had fallen to $US200 million. The report found that globally a record $US111.8 billion was invested in fintech firms in 2018, with Asian funding reached a new high of $US22.7 […]
IRESS CEO Andrew Walsh tips widespread automation of financial advice
Financial services software company IRESS is tipping a burgeoning role for the automation of financial advice in the aftermath of the Hayne royal commission as the sector looks to rebuild trust. The business, which is valued at $2.2 billion, provides a full suite of software services ranging from client relationship management to portfolio tracking for financial advisory and superannuation firms and dominates about 60 per cent of the market in Australia. IRESS chief executive Andrew Walsh said the business was investing in AI and the company had already launched its first automated advice solution with WA Super last October. It lets members set their retirement goals and provides them with […]
Tech puts value of advice in question
Addressing a room of financial advisers at the Portfolio Construction Forum’s 2019 Finology Summit yesterday, US-based financial planner, Michael Kitces, says advisers should turn their attention away from the regulators and towards technology if they want to stay relevant. Kitces said technology has slowly (and silently) been disrupting the financial advice industry since Wall Street brokers traded stocks for non-negotiable fixed prices in the 50s, and, while advisers may think it’s the regulators that are forcing change, Kitces makes the point that regulators are simply reacting to it. “There’s a tendency to solve the last crisis rather than the next one,” he said. But, five industry trends he sees reshaping […]
Five tips for getting the most out of your equity crowdfunding campaign, from founders who have been there
Since equity crowdfunding launched in Australia in 2017, startups in their droves have looked to the public to help take their venture to the next level — albeit some more successfully than others. But from the modest to the multimillion, what is it that made the successful raises successful? These founders have all been there, and they’ve got some advice. Make the most of your community Sonya Stephen, founder of cinema ticket startup Choovie saw equity crowdfunding as a way to turn her “fabulous customers” into investors, giving the community of users a chance to be more involved in the business When business-to-consumer interaction is important to a startup, “crowdfunding […]
ICO Submission to the Australian Treasury – Why ICO should stand for “Illegal Coin Offering”
By Aleksandar Svetski, CEO of Amber Labs Preface This article is an extension to a submission the authors have made to the Australian Treasury during their information-gathering process. We believe it’s critical for people to better understand what really happened during this mania, the skewed incentives that resulted and the ramifications of this blind excess. The ultimate aim is to help ensure something this deranged does not happen in a space with so much promise. Please also note: Rory and myself are both 100% for free markets, choice and people’s right to do what they want — so this is not some request for socialist compensation. This is an exposé. The goal […]
