BGL declares war on Australian Super
BGL Corporate Solutions, Australia’s leading supplier of SMSF administration and ASIC corporate compliance solutions, is extremely disappointed with the comments made by Ian Silk the CEO of Australian Super about SMSFs. “Ian like most CEO’s and Directors of Industry and Retail Funds simply don’t get it” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “People move out of large funds because of the lack of transparency, the huge salaries paid to executives, the unrepresentative boards, the hugely wasteful advertising expenditure but most of all the desire to control their own destiny.” “Silk is using data from the Productivity Commission that is simply not correct!” says Lesh. “Industry data over the past 20 […]
Regulatory regime for initial coin offering on the cards
The federal government is considering regulating initial coin offerings, a niche form of private fundraising for the technologically sophisticated developer community, in a move that could give blockchain-based start-ups an alternative to traditional capital raising. With ICOs around the world largely unregulated, they are considered the “wild west” of capital markets where scams and fraud are rife. But a growing list of global regulators and governments consider regulation could bring advantages, including providing a faster, lower-cost form of fundraising – an alternative to initial public offerings, venture capital, crowdfunding or bank loans – for entrepreneurs wanting to retain full equity in their start-ups. Unlike an IPO or venture capital raising, […]
The investment millennials are turning to instead of property
Millennials now make up 29% of all exchange traded fund investors in Australia, compared to 19% five years ago. The number of Australians invested in exchange traded funds (ETFs) continues to rise, with more than 385,000 investors as of October 2018 representing a 20% increase for the year prior. Of these 385,000 Australians invested in ETFs, 29% are millennials which is up from just 19% in 2013. An ETF is an investment product that tracks the performance of an index, for example the ASX200. ETFs are traded on an exchange like regular shares and offer investors instant diversification. “The ETF industry has continued to grow and mature in Australia, and […]
UBank launches world’s first consumer Green Term Deposit certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative
UBank is now offering Australians with a sustainable way to invest with today’s launch of the world’s first Green Term Deposit in the customer space certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). UBank’s Green Term Deposit is matched to a portfolio of renewable energy projects such as wind and solar power, and low carbon transport and buildings. It allows customers to use the savings in their term deposits to support a positive environmental impact, while still enjoying a high return. Certified by CBI, a not-for profit that has developed a standard for investments which address climate change, UBank’s Green Term Deposit is available to all customers with a minimum $1,000 […]
Aussie online investors grow in Q4, despite volatile markets
Despite a relatively volatile market towards the end of 2018, online traders in Australia were not deterred, leading to an uptick in the population of online investors in the second half of 2018, according to the 2018 2H Online Broking Report by Investment Trends. Specifically, for the six months to December of 2018, the population of online investors in the equities and exchange-traded fund (ETF) segments increased by 4.2 per cent from 720,000 up to 750,000, the report said. According to the report, which surveyed more than 8,000 Australian online investors in the broking market, during the final quarter of 2018, which was particularly volatile, many online traders continued to […]
Afterpay rival PayRight targets larger purchases with $30m funds raised
Australia’s booming, but controversial, buy now, pay later market has another major competitor after fintech firm PayRight raised a total of $30 million to expand its operations, which targets consumers making larger purchases than Afterpay allows. The company has largely flown under the radar in the sector, with $4.7 billion-valued ASX-listed Afterpay its most prominent rival. But PayRight is pitching itself as an option for retailers and service providers of bigger ticket items, rather than smaller impulse buys like clothing. Its funding has been compiled through a mix of debt and equity raisings over the last year led by corporate advisory firm Henslow and wealth manager Escala Partners, with the […]
Fintech investment doubled while Australian banks hammered
Investment in financial technology startups more than doubled last year while Australian banks came under intense public scrutiny for their treatment of customers. Globally, fintechs managed to attract US$26.7 billion investments in the 2017-18 year, which was 107 per cent more than the year before, according to Accenture analysis of CB Insights data. The increase could be directly attributed to fintech’s explosive growth in China, where the amount of money that went into the sector stunningly increased nine-fold. Its US$25.5 billion of capital raising in this nation alone almost matched the US$26.7 billion generated in the rest of the world. Australia saw similar growth with US$756.7 million total investment into […]
Raiz starts its international expansion by launching in Indonesia
Following its success in Australia, Raiz is proud to announce its expansion into Southeast Asia with the launch of Raiz Invest in Indonesia. In Indonesia, Raiz Invest will position itself as an aspirational product to improve by hands on learning financial literacy and financial inclusion, similar to Australia. “We are very excited to bring Raiz Invest to Indonesia. We believe that just like in Australia, Raiz will be a game changer on how people invest. Raiz Invest will be the innovative solution for anyone who wants to start investing, but has never really taken the first step,” said George Lucas, CEO. “As outlined in the prospectus last year our growth […]
