Are Exchange-Traded Fund flows creating the mother of all opportunities?
A common excuse given by fee-charging active fund managers that have battled to beat their benchmarks has been the ever-rising popularity of exchange-traded funds. ETFs effectively allow investors to track an index – anything from the S&P 500 to obesity-related stocks – by simply buying a listed security tacking the index or a basket of stocks. The global market has grown from 580 products totalling $US728 billion of assets to more than 5000 funds with more than $US5.6 trillion of assets. But some have argued that this created multibillion-dollar flows of brainless money simply buying and selling stocks based on predetermined rules rather than any thoughtful analysis. This, it has […]
Digital banking and neobanks
If all you’ve ever known is dollarmites and the big four, the idea of an online bank may seem a bit intimidating to you. But as banks roll out new app features and handy online services, the reliability of online banking grows, and makes room for digital banks and neobanks to emerge. If you’re curious about the world of online banks, we’ve answered some frequently asked questions below. What is digital banking and what online-only banks are there in Australia? Digital banks, or online-only banks are exactly what they suggest, banks that operate online through a computer or app on your phone. This means they don’t offer in-branch service like […]
Basiq and Verrency enable banks to drastically improve the quality of their data
Basiq and Verrency have joined forces to enable banks to store clean, categorised and enhanced transaction data – in real-time, at point of purchase. This will uncover new opportunities for banks to offer their customers innovative, and personalised products and experiences. We are all aware of how ‘unclear’ transaction data can be. Think of how often customers call banks with queries – they have no idea what an item on their credit card statement called ‘HT Willis Brook’ is. You may have heard the term ‘garbage in – garbage out’. If a bank stores unclear transaction data when a customer makes a purchase, this data is then passed downstream to […]
ASX gears up for fintech era as data foundation for financial services industry
The Australian Securities Exchange will push ahead with attempts to establish itself as a global technology pioneer, despite criticism of its governance, with its operations boss pledging to balance risk with the flexibility required to thrive in the fintech era of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review following the release of a review by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into its technology practices, ASX chief operating officer Tim Hogben said an ongoing technology improvement program was already bearing fruit and that the exchange was outpacing global peers in opening up its data for customers and startups. The ASIC report had originated from a costly outage in […]
Equity crowdfunding extended to private companies
Businesses wishing to raise money from retail investors will no longer have to convert to an unlisted public company structure, after an amendment to 2017’s equity crowdfunding legislation passed federal Parliament. The legislation, which takes effect in 28 days from Wednesday, allows proprietary companies or unlisted public companies with annual turnover or gross assets of up to $25 million to advertise their business plans on ASIC-licensed crowdfunding portals, and raise up to $5 million a year to carry them out. Investors can put up to $10,000 a year each into an unlimited number of ideas. Australian private companies are typically limited to a maximum of 50 non-employee shareholders. However, under these […]
Lendi named as one of LinkedIn’s top startups
Leading online home loan platform, Lendi, has been recognised in the 2018 LinkedIn Top Startups list, honouring the 25 most sought-after startups in Australia. The LinkedIn Top Startups list celebrates the companies and people making an impact in the professional world. The list is derived from a blended score looking at factors including interest in the company, engagement with employees, job interest and retention, and is informed by the billions of actions taken by more than 575 million professionals on LinkedIn. “At Lendi, we put people at the heart of everything we do. To be featured on Australia’s first LinkedIn Top Startups list is a significant milestone for us. It […]
Fintech enters the dictionary
Finally, after decades of usage, the word fintech has made its way into the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The portmanteau of financial technology was one of 840 new entries recently added to the online dictionary. Merriam-Webster defines fintech as “products and companies that employ newly developed digital and online technologies in the banking and financial services industries”. The word is far from new: the dictionary pinpoints its first known use to 1971, while it has been gracing the pages of Finextra since the early 2000s. However, in recent years the term has taken off thanks to a burgeoning fintech scene in places such as Silicon Valley and London and the rise of […]
