Australia a target for international fintechs
Australia’s wealth management industry is an attractive prospect for foreign technology firms and will likely see international players enter the market in coming years, a Microsoft report has found. The Moving Past Prosperity report, which the tech giant conducted in conjunction with Harvard Business Review, said that while payments and lending dominate the Australian fintech landscape, wealth management technology is growing rapidly, according to KPMG data. “Australia hosts the world’s sixth largest pool of funds under management, substantially filled by its compulsory superannuation scheme,” the report said. “With its potential for scale and cost savings through robo-advice, wealth management is expected to attract many international entrants.” Added to this is […]
Bitcoin breaks US$100 Billion in value, soars to over US$6000 for the first time
Bitcoin, which is unarguably the world’s most prominent digital currency, just broke through one of the most important milestones ever, vaulting to over US$6000 and over US$100 billion in value. Welcome to a new kind of currency, or rather, welcome to a new kind of financial system. Today, for the first time ever, Bitcoin surpassed the $6000 barrier, proving that cryptocurrency is, in all likeliness, here to stay. Bitfinex, which has the highest volume BTC/USD exchange, broke the $6,000 barrier initially. Now, the same can be said for all of the other major exchanges. It has only been a little over a week since the price of bitcoin soared passed […]
Robo-advisers to expand into retirement advice
While automated advice providers currently cater for a lot of basic SMSF advice needs, one provider believes retirement adequacy will be the next frontier for automated advice. ASAP chief executive Jim Hennington said he expects the scope of advice that’s provided by automated advice providers to SMSFs will further expand over the next year. “At the moment, [it’s] very much focused on the transactions that accountants tend to get deeply involved with such as establishing an SMSF, purchasing property and LRBAs, and setting up SMSF pensions,” said Mr Hennington. He expects that automated advice will soon expand beyond this, however, into services such as retirement advice. “Over time automated advice […]
Praemium expands SMA model options
Platform provider Praemium has added 16 new multi-asset model portfolios to its separately managed account offering, expanding the investment options available to users. The listed fintech company announced today that it has struck deals with a number of investment managers, including the introduction of eight new models from Shaw and Partners, four from Joseph Palmer & Sons, three from State Street and one from Evans and Partners. An additional 27 managed funds and 14 exchanged-traded products have also been added to the SMA, bringing the total number of managed funds available to 301. “The addition of these new models and managed funds to the Praemium SMA is part of our […]
Are fintech companies changing the industry for the better?
FinTech is most commonly known as the abbreviation for the term “financial technology” and the name given to an emerging and rapidly growing financial services sector. Financial technology is often used to describe any technological innovations within the financial industry, ranging from banking and investments, all the way through to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With new technologies come new businesses, and so financial technology companies were born. The question is, however, whether these businesses and the technologies on offer through them are changing the industry for the better, or are they simply a disruption to an already functioning economy? How are fintech companies changing the financial industry? One of the […]
Moneysoft launches Round-ups, allowing people to invest spare change into their super and investment funds
Superannuation and investment funds have a new way to boost the engagement of their members and clients with the launch of Moneysoft’s latest digital solution, Round-ups. Round-ups lets people make small, regular contributions to their investment or superannuation account by automatically investing the spare change from their everyday transactions. Whether offered as a stand-alone application or integrated with existing digital platforms, Round-ups is highly customisable for each institution’s individual needs and brand. It’s a turn-key solution that uses enterprise-grade technology and is designed for an optimal mobile experience on smartphones and tablets. “Round-ups is available to superannuation funds, and investment platforms, to help them grow customer engagement and encourage wealth […]
‘We’re getting between 100 and 200 new users every day’: Aussie money boosts Bitcoin’s $7000 surge
Australian money is pouring into Bitcoin, which hit another record high on Friday, swelling the market capitalisation to $US160 billion. The cryptocurrency was fetching $7044 ($US5452) on Friday afternoon, up 75 per cent in under 30 days. The extreme price recovery has emerged in the face of powerful headwinds; China recently banned Initial Coin Offerings [ICO] – a type of internet crowdfunding, Russia pledged to ban Bitcoin exchanges and there is another impending Bitcoin fork. But a key theme underpinning the extreme price action is the widespread adoption by mainstream investors, curious at the blockchain innovation and seduced by the recent price surge. Local exchanges are finding new customers are […]
Bitcoin Gold: The world’s biggest cryptocurrency looks set to split again
Another bitcoin split is in the works, as a group of developers plans to establish an offshoot called Bitcoin Gold (BTG). According to bitcoin developer Jimmy Song, the aim is for BTG to become “a better gold than bitcoin”. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency is commonly compared to the precious metal, as investors debate its merit as a safe-haven store of value. Back in August, analysts at Morgan Stanley made an interesting appraisal of the similarities and differences between the two assets. Bitcoin Gold developers are planning to establish a hard-fork on October 25 and the new version of the currency is scheduled to be in operation by the start of […]
