How the Rich Invest: Owen Kerr is making huge profits in forex with Pepperstone
Profits at Owen Kerr’s foreign exchange broker Pepperstone have surged in the 2017 financial year, as the company enjoyed a large increase in clients from Asia. Pepperstone’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) surged 99 per cent to a record $96.7 million from $166 million revenue. Net profit for the firm reached $71.2 million after the Melbourne-based company paid about $25 million in tax, documents recently filed with the corporate regulator revealed. The 2017 results were more than double from the previous year, during which Pepperstone had made a net profit of about $34 million from $96 million revenue and EBIT of $48 million. It also means Pepperstone’s valuation could […]
Bitcoin is sliding after bitcoin gold goes live
Bitcoin is trading down 4.5% Wednesday following a split in the cryptocurrency’s blockchain network. Bitcoin gold, the new digital coin formed by the split Tuesday morning, follows the bitcoin-bitcoin cash fork in August. The project website for bitcoin gold is down following a DDoS attack, according to cryptocurrency watcher CoinDesk. The bitcoin community is split over whether forks are good or bad for bitcoin. Bitcoin, the red-hot digital currency up more than 400% this year, was trading down 4.42% Wednesday morning after the blockchain network underpinning the coin split again. As reported by cryptocurrency watcher CoinDesk, bitcoin gold officially split from the bitcoin network Wednesday morning. The new cryptocurrency is a clone of the original bitcoin blockchain, […]
Xinja launches equity crowdfunding with partner Equitise
Crowdfunding is about to become reality with Xinja today unveiling plans that allow everyday Australians to directly join the digital banking revolution through the Equitise crowdfunding platform. Xinja’s full retail crowdfunding round follows the passage of national legislation last month that gave the green light to this form of capital raising. Investors will be able to invest as little as $1,000 in Xinja, with at least $500,000 likely to be injected via crowdfunding into the neobank’s current $10 million-$15 million round. Eric Wilson, the Chief Executive of Xinja, said he is very excited that Australian consumers now have the chance to be ground-floor investors in the digital […]
ASIC licensing crackdowns see uptick in robo-advice demand
While one automated advice provider says the demand for automated advice has been relatively steady since the removal of the accountant’s exemption, there have been some small spikes in demand following various compliance crackdowns by ASIC. Speaking to SMSF Adviser, Plenty Plus founder Greg Einfeld said while there has been continued interest in automated advice since Plenty Plus was launched following the removal of the accountant’s exemption, there has been increased interest following some of the surveillance undertaken by the regulator. “Interest has been reasonably constant, certainly when accountants do see that ASIC is doing something, there is a temporary uptick and there have been a number of occasions when […]
Verrency announces Series A funding round and global expansion Innovative fintech to launch operations in US and Asia
Payments platform Verrency has announced a $US 15 million Series A funding round as it continues to expand internationally. The growth-stage fintech provides payments innovation-as-a-service that enables issuers to deliver the latest payment capabilities, fast and cost effectively, through their existing payments infrastructure. By giving consumers unprecedented flexibility and control over how they pay, Verrency’s cutting edge features ensure that their issuer’s brands are top of wallet and top of mind, driving revenue. The Australian-based startup has recently completed an oversubscribed pre-commercialisation funding round raising $US 4 million and is looking to raise a further $US 15 million to expand into key international markets. Verrency aims to close the […]
Lakeba’s disruption potential attracts global investor
Sydney tech firm Lakeba Group has welcomed a heavyweight global investor to its board. The man responsible for taking global investment manager T. Rowe Price global, Todd Ruppert, is now part of the team. Lakeba has positioned itself as a start-up studio focused on the development and rapid commercialisation of digital solutions and the company’s co-founder and chief executive, Giuseppe Porcelli, said Mr Ruppert’s international experience would be a key asset. “Todd’s real-time global insights and his experience with start-ups around the world in smart securities, on-demand insurance and crowd-funding will be invaluable as Lakeba grows,” he told The Australian. Mr Ruppert, who was chief executive of T. Rowe Price […]
Bitcoin: Tulip bubble or financial market revolution for young Australians?
You are in your late 20s and live in an east coast capital city. You have a stable career and a bit of spare money, but it’s unlikely you will be able to buy a house in an area where you can hold on to your job. Wages are going nowhere. Yours has been falling behind the cost of living. You’d like more money, but you don’t even have enough to start a share portfolio. You know nothing about how to start a small business, but you do understand the internet and you’ve worked out that something is making your friends rich, very quickly. Suddenly Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies like it […]
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 […]
