From football to finance: Why Ted Richards wants to make investing easier
With 261 first-grade AFL games under his belt, former Sydney Swans defender Ted Richards isn’t your average financial guru – but he’s willing to bet that footy is a lot closer to money management than you think. After retiring from professional football at the end of 2016, Richards moved onto his second love of finance, becoming the Director of Business Development at Robo-advice startup Six Park. It sounds like the high-pressure world of being an Aussie rules superstar is the perfect antonym for the often-stuffy industry of finance management, but Richards says in many ways the two are the same. “Finance is a lot like footy in that while the […]
Myprosperity partners with $6.2bn platform
Myprosperity has partnered with an ASX-listed investment and superannuation platform provider to give clients whole-of-wealth solutions. Clients can now access HUB24 assets via myprosperity. HUB24 director of strategic development Jason Entwistle said by opening up the HUB24 platform and sharing data, it provides advisers and accountants the freedom to choose the technology solutions that provide the best experience for them and their clients. Former Xero Australia managing director and Myprosperity chief executive, Chris Ridd, said centralising clients’ wealth in one place creates massive opportunities for advisers. “By minimising time spent on administrative tasks, and providing their clients a bespoke wealth portal powered by live data feeds, advisers can grow their […]
Bitcoin’s rollercoaster ride: $50 billion wiped off before cryptocurrency bounces back
Bitcoin is proving that investing in digital currencies isn’t for the faint of heart. After plunging as much as 29 per cent from a record high following the cancellation of a technology upgrade on November 8, the largest cryptocurrency came roaring back in early trading Monday before fluctuating between gains and losses. “Crypto trading is not for the novice investor,” said John Spallanzani, chief macro strategist at GFI Securities in New York. While multiple reasons are being cited for the price volatility, one of the more viable is that some investors are switching to alternative coins. Bitcoin cash, an offshoot of bitcoin that includes many of the technical upgrades being […]
SMSFs in rugby legend’s sights as licensing numbers stagnate
In light of the limited take-up of the AFSL regime for accountants, one fintech and robo-advice oriented firm is ramping up its efforts as a referral partner to accountants looking to provide investment advice, including to SMSFs. Stirling Mortlock, Wallabies captain from 2006-2009, moved from a consulting role at NAB to Stockspot in July this year, with a view to boost distribution to professional intermediaries. The ‘Partners Program’ is now in full swing, and the company is eyeing accountants to secure the business of SMSF clients in particular, in light of the accountants’ exemption phase-out and the extremely low take-up of AFSLs among accountants. “We feel as though it’s a […]
IPO Wealth to facilitate foreign ASX listings
Fintech start-up IPO Wealth has raised $10 million in growth capital that it will use to help overseas companies list on the ASX. Since March 2017, high net wealth investors have invested $10 million in the IPO Wealth Fund, which aims to help overseas companies list on the ASX and has funded the growth capital of 10 investments across eight countries. IPO Wealth chief executive James Mawhinney said in a statement that the capital raised within the first half-year of the fund demonstrated that investors were looking for opportunities outside of traditional means, “which are often eroded by inflation”. “This represents a significant opportunity to provide IPO Wealth’s investors with […]
We auction our home, clothes, art, cars – so why not auction our own money?
Fintech startup Lodex is a new competitive, auction-style loans and deposits marketplace that puts the power into the hands of the consumer. The world’s first auction-style platform allows the consumer to choose the winning lender or broker. Lodex is set to disrupt the way Australians borrow and save money by having lenders and brokers compete for their business. The auction-style platform allows consumers to anonymously share their Credit Score and the Australian-first, optional Social Score, to the marketplace and set up an auction from their smartphone in 10 minutes & watch ‘bids’ come in. This is a paradigm shift putting the consumers in the driver’s seat. Lodex, free for consumers, […]
Aussie fintech startup Stake makes buying US shares easier than buying shoes
Aussies now have simple, pain-free access to the US share market thanks to fintech startup Stake, a revolutionary platform that makes making shopping for shares as easy as buying shoes online. Stake operates more like an eCommerce site than a financial services platform, and is breaking down the current barriers limiting Aussies to local investments, cutting out the middleman and providing simple, user-friendly tools to buy, sell and gift global shares with $0 brokerage. From Apple to Atlassian, Aussie investors now have access to US shares at their fingertips. Stake’s CEO, Matthew Leibowitz is well versed in investing in global markets, having previously spent a decade at global trading firm […]
Why SpotJobs co-founder Lewis Romano has switched into fintech and is looking to raise $10 million for Credit Clear
An Aussie fintech company co-founded by Lewis Romano of SpotJobs fame has launched a $10 million Series A fundraising round to help expand the business overseas. Credit Clear was founded in 18 months ago by Romano and prominent property developer Mark Casey to act as an online, on-demand debt payment service for individuals and businesses. The company has not raised a seed round and to date has been largely funded initially by Casey. Romano co-founded SpotJobs — one of Australia’s largest job board websites — in 2012 with Jake Williams, before exiting the business in October last year. A switch into fintech from the recruitment industry might not seem intuitive […]
