How one financial planner’s cultural change is helping tackle Australia’s debt problem
Financial planners are helping to tackle Australia’s escalating debt problem as the industry shifts from selling products to providing holistic advice with money management at its core. Australia’s household debt-to-income ratio has risen sharply in recent years and now ranks as one of the highest in the world at about 190 per cent, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Meanwhile, more than one in six (18.5 per cent) consumers are struggling under a mountain of credit card debt, according to a report by the corporate regulator, ASIC. Yet only a minority of financial planners offer money management or budgeting advice, citing concerns about the time it takes to offer […]
Women shun financial advisers in favour of money advice from robots
Robo-advisers are reporting a substantial spike in the number of female investors, citing a “perfect storm” of the fallout from the banking royal commission and the empowerment of the #Metoo movement. Six Park reveals that accounts held solely by women have more than doubled in recent months to sit at 40 per cent, up from 20 per cent in January. The firm delivers financial advice online using algorithms and technology in place of a human financial adviser. The greatest number of Six Park accounts are held by 26-35-year-olds and 35-50-year-olds. Average account sizes are $31,761 and $43,342 respectively. Across all ages, the average amount invested by females is almost $55,000. […]
2018 AFR Young Rich List: Emily Skye backs Millennial bank start-up
Fitness star and Young Rich Lister Emily Skye may have built a small fortune but that doesn’t mean she’s good with money. “I’ve never really known what’s going on with money, I mean I love to spend it but I’m not able to track it and really be responsible for it,” Ms Skye said. Ms Skye rockets up the 2018 Financial Review Young Rich List with an estimated worth of $36 million, reflecting growth in her online fitness business that attracted an undisclosed investment from Quadrant Private Equity this year. As she continues to build the fitness business, including releasing the first app for her FIT program this year, Ms […]
Melbourne Fintech to disrupt the way young Australians travel
Melbourne Fintech Pelikin is on the cusp of disrupting the Australian travel money market with its mobile-only multi-currency account and prepaid Visa card. The young team is on a mission to make “travel brighter” for young Australians by providing them with valuable travel and money services that have been built with their best interests first. At its core, the Pelikin app and card will allow users to hold up to five different currencies at once and spend in over 200 countries across the world in an easy, affordable way. Last month, Pelikin released its prepaid card and with a unique vertical and neon yellow design, it’s a far cry from […]
DriveWealth partners with Verrency to offer consumers access to a new savings and investing strategy
Digital brokerage solution provider DriveWealth has joined forces with Australian global payments innovator Verrency. The partnership will enable DriveWealth to deliver its ground-breaking fractional share investment platform to a new segment of consumers. As a result of the agreement between the two companies signed today at Money20/20 in Las Vegas, shoppers who have a debit or credit card will have the opportunity to seamlessly invest in companies from which they purchase goods and services. For example, if you buy shoes from the Nike store, you can elect to round up or put a percentage of the purchase price towards buying shares, or a fraction of a share, in the company. […]
Irish FinTech company PerfectCard confirms its sale to Australia’s EML for €6m
Irish FinTech company PerfectCard has been sold to Australian payment solutions provider EML Payments in a €6m (A$9.5m) deal. PerfectCard provides incentive and corporate expense solutions including PerfectIncentive and the recently-launched Pecan Expense. The acquisition will result in the expansion of PerfectCard in Ireland, with plans to increase the number of full-time employees over the next few years, the company said. Under the deal EML has acquired 75pc of PerfectCard, having received Central Bank approval for the transaction in the past two weeks. Commenting on the announcement, Nikki Evans, CEO of PerfectCard, described it as an important move for both companies. “It allows EML to self-issue regulated payment products across […]
Raiz partners with Swiss RE to develop tailored service offering
Raiz Invest Limited has reached an agreement with Swiss Re to work exclusively with Swiss Re to jointly research and develop tailored and personalised superannuation insurance products using machine learning algorithms. This will initially be for its Raiz Invest Super product. The research and development process will use predictive modelling technology, powered by machine learning developed by Swiss Re. This will include co-developing a predictive underwriting model which aims to deliver a simpler underwriting experience for customers. The aim is to develop a risk product inside superannuation that allows customers to have a personalised product, which is simple to apply for online. Predictive modelling will give Raiz Invest Super the […]
ASIC tightening regulation on ICOs is a positive move for the industry
ASIC recently announced that it has shut down several Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) for misleading or deceptive statements in their marketing and operation of unlicensed managed investment schemes. This once again casts the spotlight on the unregulated nature of the Cryptocurrency industry and the need for investor protection. Cryptocurrencies and, by association with the larger category of digital assets that they enable and are often confused with, continue to be viewed with suspicion by much of the mainstream public. This is despite, or in some cases as a result of, their explosion into the public consciousness in the last year. The reasons for this are varied. The early association with nefarious activity […]
