Investment platform Stake opens the US floodgates for self-managed super accounts
Stake, the fintech platform redesigning investing for Australians, today announced the beta launch of Stake Premium, which gives self-managed superannuation funds direct access to commission-free US share trading for the first time.
Stake has also appointed Matthew Rady, a global financial markets expert and former IRESS executive, as Head of Business Development to help expand Stake into new services and offerings for investors and prospective partners.
Stake Premium takes the features already available to Stake members — zero brokerage, paperless sign-up and a powerful dashboard to discover and buy US shares at any amount — and makes it available to the $700 billion SMSF market in Australia to help diversify their portfolio.
According to data from the Financial Services Council of Australia*, just 0.6 per cent of self-managed super assets are invested in overseas shares, compared to 26.7 per cent of industry super funds, causing them to be over-exposed to the Australian stock market and property. The ability of SMSF accounts to diversify globally has been hindered by major barriers to entry, with month-long processes to open a US trading account, and tax reporting burdens.
Stake Premium was launched to remove those barriers and give SMSF account holders access to US shares in a way not previously feasible. Under beta testing with hundreds of SMSF accounts from this week, Stake Premium provides zero brokerage, paperless sign-up and automated US tax forms, cutting up to a month from the sign-up process and eradicating the $65 per trade fee levied by many international trade platforms.
“It’s astounding self-managed super funds have been allowed to over-expose themselves to Australian equities and property,” said Matt Leibowitz, Stake co-founder and CEO. “We want to help get investors out of their own backyard and give them access to global markets, enabling them to balance their portfolios and invest directly in the companies that affect their daily lives, from Apple to Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway to Baidu.”
Matthew Rady joins Stake to bolster financial expertise
Stake also welcomed Matthew Rady, bringing more than 25 years of experience in global financial markets in London, Sydney and Toronto, in senior roles at companies including IRESS, Macquarie Group, Credit Suisse and EY. In that time, Rady has built and run technology and financial markets businesses spanning Asia, North America, Europe and Africa.
At Stake, Rady will help expand the company’s services into new areas, and develop new products for investors and prospective partners, as the company gears up for high-growth in Australia.
Rady joins an existing stable of global financial and technology expertise including Leibowitz, a former senior partner at Optiver Trading, Dan Silver, an operations guru with experience at Wesfarmers and Mercer, and Jon Abitz, a serial entrepreneur and CTO.
“Investors have lost touch with the local market, yet there are no simple, low-cost ways to get access to the global markets for Australian retail investors,” Rady said. “It’s vital that investors are given the opportunity and cost effective access to diversify their investment portfolio and invest in the global companies that will matter most in the future. After seeing what Stake is doing, and its potential, I loved the solution the team has built and got involved immediately.”
*State of the Industry 2017 Report, Financial Services Council and UBS Asset Management
