Crowdfunding still too costly says Sharesight chief
New crowdfunding rules would still put equity raising online out of the reach of investment app Sharesight, says chief Doug Morris. About 80 per cent of the New Zealand company’s tens of thousands of customers (it won’t disclose exact figures) are Australian, with the rest mainly in NZ and Canada. It “crowdfunded” 75 per cent of NZ$2 million ($1.88 million), or roughly $1.5 million, from them earlier in December, cutting out the need to pay for advisers other than a lawyer. “We did a miniature crowdfund amongst our own clients. Most of our clients are investors,” Mr Morris said. “We surveyed the customer base and asked them would you be […]
Hopes high innovation statement can lift fintech
The financial technology community is eager to see if financial services will be called out in the innovation statement, reflecting the current surge in investment and activity in fintech start-ups and their potential to enhance customer service and reduce costs. The government has set itself a high bar to hurdle as it releases its innovation statement on Monday: the package will be “a complete game-changer for our country”, Assistant Innovation Minister Wyatt Roy has said, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promised it will contain “a very large number of substantial measures”. Tax reform for start-up investors seems likely to receive bipartisan support, after Labor pledged on Friday to give […]
Fintech’s advantages: financial technology revolution is a boon for investors
There are definitely a lot of exciting new opportunities for investors to get involved in FinTech. Whether its investing capital in the products that are offered by new FinTech companies or direct investment in these companies now is the time. We are starting to see more and more articles about the opportunities in main stream media and we must surely be about to reach the tipping point. In my own experience the mention of FinTech is drawing fewer and fewer blank stares today than it was even a few months ago. A ‘Financial Revolution’ is a great way to describe our current position. We would love to hear your thoughts […]
OzForex co-founder’s big winner from Western Union bid
OzForex co-founder Matthew Gilmour expects other bidders to emerge for the company after global payments giant Western Union made a stunning $888 million takeover offer bid for the company. As revealed by Street Talk Online on Wednesday, Western Union has offered to buy the online foreign exchange company for as much as $3.70 a share, which is up to $1.10 above its Wednesday closing share price of $2.60 and its average over the past six months of $2.47. Mr Gilmour stands to reap more than $34 million if Western Union buys it at the top of its offer range of $3.70 a share, which values the company at $888 million.OzForex […]
Why fintech is high on the radar for this London Stock Exchange-listed company
Financial technology, or fintech, is finally getting the recognition it deserves as funding pours in and investors begin to warm up to its risky nature. Solving the technological shortcomings of banking institutions and easing payment processes while increasing consumer protection, companies under the segment have been quite instrumental in improving the quality of financial services for both customers and entrepreneurs. Following the success of Lending Club, WePay and Kabbage, dozens of fintech start-ups have entered the fray, and it didn’t take venture capitalists long to flirt with the idea of betting on them. According to the Economic Times, the industry is now worth US$4.7 trillion (AU$6.6 trillion), and have raked […]
Macquarie targets robo-advice at mass market
Macquarie Group is targeting retail investors and self-managed super funds with a new robo-advice program that will provide detailed recommendations matched to customers’ investment priorities. The bank will next month launch an online tool allowing customers to buy investment advice covering asset classes including shares, exchange traded funds, and managed funds from around the world. Macquarie Wealth Management chief investment officer John O’Connell said the advice would draw on a database of 30,000 investment options globally. OwnersAdvisory is aimed at selling lower-cost investment advice. After gauging customers’ risk profile through an online questionnaire, Mr O’Connell said the program would produce “a written outline of exactly what we would do if […]
Fintech policy reform vital to fend off global tech giants
The federal government risks losing billions of dollars of taxation revenue unless it urgently tweaks laws to enable Australia to become the leading fintech market in the Asian region. That is the warning sent to senior government ministers on Wednesday from 32 financial technology start-ups, investors and incubators, who are calling for the innovation statement to make developing a thriving fintech industry a national priority. The submission highlights the urgency of reform by pointing to poor policy settings in Australia compared with the United Kingdom, United States and Singapore. These include difficulties for start-ups accessing credit data, restrictions on fintech investments receiving tax concessions extended to other areas of the […]
Mutuals looking to fintech: KPMG
Australian mutuals are embracing innovation and fintech start-ups at an elevated pace, with 62 per cent indicating a willingness to invest in new technologies to improve their business, says KPMG. A recent KPMG survey, Mutuals Industry Review 2015: Time to take off, found that 62 per cent of Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks (or ‘mutuals’) are inclined to invest in new technologies. KPMG Australia national mutuals leader Peter Russell said: “Because the price of new technologies has come down dramatically due to the lower costs of starting new businesses, good ideas can be turned into business applications at a fraction of the cost of five years ago.” […]
