Industry fund contract under works at Link
Link is in advanced stages of negotiating a contract with an industry fund, the administrator said in its FY18 earnings report. It remains in advanced stages of negotiating a long-term contract with Rest, the company said. The Rest contract has been rolling on a monthly basis.Link also said it has a good organic pipeline of opportunities across the business combining with good momentum already from client wins in 2018, buoyed by Link Asset Services (LAS). New client wins for the year have included the Wales Pension Partnership (LGPS pooling). It expects LAS integration benefits to start flowing from FY19. “Steps are being already being taken to refocus the LAS business […]
The key to investor confidence in cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency markets plummeted this week with the market capital of the entire cryptocurrency market falling below $200 billion USD for the first time this year. This comes off the back of a barren 6 months for the cryptocurrency market which has seen that market capital more than halve in that time, a far cry from the stratospheric heights it reached at the end of 2017. Much of the recent negative market sentiment has been attributed to persistent reluctance by the US Securities & Exchange Commission to approve a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with the most recent decision by the SEC to delay a decision expected this week to the […]
Blockchain to bring clarity, liquidity: academic
Blockchain technology will radically transform the economy around us and the Australian Securities Exchange’s switch to it is just the tip of the iceberg, academic Chris Berg says. Blockchain – the technology that makes bitcoin possible – has “a large number of applications across the economy for much more than things like cryptocurrencies”, he says. Berg is a senior research fellow at the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, an adjunct fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, and an academic fellow with the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance. He says blockchain offers almost limitless possibilities, in contrast to Bitcoin, which he argues is less of a sure thing for the future. “I’m obviously […]
Praemium doubles profit, SMA hits $5.6bn
Australian and UK domiciled SMA provider Praemium has posted a net profit after tax of $1.4 million, up 106 per cent on 2016-17 figure of $688,000. The company’s core service, namely SMA administration, has grown well in the past year. Praemium’s Australian SMA is up 45 per cent to $5.61 billion, and the international SMA is up 20 per cent to $2.68 billion. Praemium has also added 23 new fund managers and a further 88 model portfolios, for a total of 72 managers and 336 managed models. The company recorded gross asset inflows of $3 billion, an increase of 50 per cent on the previous financial year. Overall funds under […]
After CBA scandal, Australia’s regtech sector is ready for take-off
The local regtech scene is ready for take-off. There were two indications last week that regulatory technology’s engines are revving up. One was the corporate regulator securing an extra $6 million in funding from the federal government to market Australia as a global centre of regtech excellence. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman James Shipton is on board with the potential for new technology to help regulated entities meet their complex legal obligations. The second was the filing of a prospectus by a promising Sydney-based regtech start-up known as Identitii. Based in a terrace house in Potts Point, Identitii plans to list on the ASX in September, with the […]
Meet the brains behind Raiz Invest research and insights
Raiz Invest Limited, the mobile-first micro investing platform, improving financial confidence for over 164,000 Australians, is strategically using research and insights to continuously garner understanding and awareness of their customer needs, with the help of Dr. Jake An, Raiz Invest Research Phd and in conjunction with major Sydney Universities. Dr. Jake An applies his PhD theories to Raiz customers to improve the user experience and is now the brains behind the continuing research program of Raiz. His role is to merge his two passions, academia and research applying them to real world of financial literacy and behaviour. Working with Raiz since 2016, Jake identifies business problems and works directly with […]
Can Afterpay’s magic run continue?
As Elon Musk and Tesla have shown us, when dizzy valuations and high short interest collide, the results can be spectacular. If the Australian stock market has a battleground stock to rival Tesla it is the buy now, pay later juggernaut Afterpay, which has doubled to a market capitalisation of over $3 billion in just six weeks. In that time, the shorts have been decimated as Afterpay successfully kicked off its US adventure. As it stands, Afterpay which closed on Friday at $14.57 is now valued at 100 times forward earnings and at 50 times based on fiscal 2020 earnings forecasts. So is the run done? Not even close, if […]
UNSW team launching the ‘Spotify of the fintech world’
Investors daunted by the stockmarket will soon be able to choose investment options in the same way as songlists, says a UNSW team of entrepreneurs. It could be music to many young investors’ ears to hear that two UNSW students have co-founded ‘the Spotify of the fintech world’ – making the stock market accessible to aspiring investors.’ Recent UNSW graduate Hayden Smith (B. Computer Science) and current final year student Kurt Walkom, along with Nick Nicolaides, are the brains behind Pearler Investments. The investing platform is essentially an app that suggests investment opportunities in ready-made portfolios, in the same way that Spotify playlists suggest music. The trio at the company […]
