Equity crowd-funding up and running to open new investment doors
FROM gin distillers to energy-boosting mouth strips, opportunities are popping up for investors to grab stakes in start-up Australian businesses with as little as $50. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission last month licensed seven online platforms that let anyone pump money into emerging businesses, and despite a slow start there is expected to be a surge in opportunities online soon. It’s equity crowd-funding, where individuals buy shares in businesses well before they list on the stock exchange. This early-stage investment potentially delivers them the biggest profits but also carries the greatest risks. One of the seven licensed companies, Equitise, is currently raising money for Xinja, Australia’s first independent digital […]
Australians essentially are trading with one hand behind their back
The CEO of a fintech start-up has said Australian traders need to consider exposure to international markets, arguing that those who do so are “several steps ahead”. Speaking to Nest Egg, the CEO of the self-described “shop for shares”, Stake’s Matt Leibowitz, said while it always comes down to strategy, Australian investors who limit themselves to local opportunities tend to be “playing with one hand tied behind your back”. Reflecting on this week’s markets volatility, he said traders need to have the tools to be able to profit from opportunities like down-turns, whether traders predict such down-turns to be a fluctuation or a trend. “Whether you want to trade long, […]
Liberty buys MoneyPlace in personal loan push
Non-bank lender Liberty has purchased MoneyPlace, in a deal that will provide the marketplace lender with funding flexibility to target rivals SocietyOne and RateSetter along with the personal loan books of the big four banks. The acquisition suggests brokers, which currently facilitate half of all mortgages, will play a more influential role selling personal loans given Liberty’s deep broking relationships. It also suggests risk-based pricing of personal lending will become more common, given MoneyPlace and the other P2P lenders are willing to undercut bank interest rates for high quality borrowers. Liberty and MoneyPlace have not disclosed the price tag for the Melbourne-based platform, which has been operating for 18 months […]
Aussie parents worried about kids in cashless economy
As Australian families prepare for the holidays to come to an end, new research* into attitudes towards money and financial education, reveals that 43 per cent of parents believe their children don’t learn enough about money at school. Spriggy, a financial education app, commissioned the national survey of parents with kids between the ages of 8-17 years, and found that more than a third (39 per cent) of those surveyed are ‘worried’ about their children’s understanding of digital money, with Queenslanders the most concerned. Despite this, three quarters (78 per cent) of Aussie mums and dads continue to provide pocket money using physical cash. Aussie parents are big believers in pocket […]
Equity crowdfunding plugs the bank gap for Revvies Energy Strips
Revvies Energy Strips is one of the first cabs off the rank to try the new equity crowdfunding rules. The rules allow public companies – which are not necessarily listed companies, although they can be – to raise money. Equity crowdfunding also allows many small investors to take an interest in an early stage investment. John Nolan-Neylan is the co-founder and managing director of Revvies Energy Strips. He decided to raise funds for his business, which has developed caffeine strips athletes use to enhance their performance, to cement relationships with customers. “It’s a way to get them involved in the brand and they get a piece of the pie and, […]
What a blockchain-powered ASX should mean
The ASX decision to replace CHESS with a blockchain solution will benefit investors as long as all parties are granted fair access, writes Sharesight’s Doug Morris. On 7 December 2017, the ASX announced it will be replacing its settlement system, known as CHESS, with a “blockchain-inspired technology.” Those of us investment nerds with an interest in financial plumbing have been keeping a close eye on this for years. I think this is a smart business move aimed at reducing operating costs and hopefully a step towards more efficient markets. In fact, CHESS was one of the world’s first electronic settlement systems, and the ASX has long been recognised as a […]
ATO creates specialist task force to tackle cryptocurrency tax evasion
The Australian Taxation Office is putting together a taskforce of tax experts, lawyers, technology specialists, bankers and financial advisers to help it identify and track cryptocurrency transactions to ensure all taxes are being paid. A top team of industry specialists will work with the tax officials to work out strategies for “following the money” involving transactions using the digital “distributed” ledgers that have no central data storage, which make it difficult to trace and track. The ATO is also believed to be also working closely with banks, Austrac, state revenue offices, which collect revenues, particularly for property transactions, and officials involved with the Black Economy Taskforce, which has been identifying […]
Local FinTech Jacaranda Finance commits to providing positive credit reporting data
Following the Australian Government’s announcement of the introduction of comprehensive credit reporting (CCR), many lenders and other financial institutions are following suit with the aim of creating a more accommodating platform for consumers. This platform will allow for consumers to get a better deal from lenders based on a more accurate representation of their own financial circumstances. The foundation of financial lending is built on the concept of helping those in need. However, it is common practice for lenders to enforce a different criteria for consumers with bad credit, as a negative history may lead lenders to question the reliability of the client. In line with responsible lending obligations, […]
