For some time it seemed rather academic or nerdy to think about #Bitcoin #scaling. Who cares whether Bitcoin will scale if it is only used by a few people for nefarious activities? Now that one can buy Bitcoin at over 1,000 railway ticket booths that are now also Bitcoin ATMsRead More
Bank Innovation
Die soeben erschiene neue #Schweizer #Fintech Map von #November beinhalted nun 168 Schweizer Fintech Startups. Vier neue sind seit Oktober dazugekommen.
Die Newcomers sind:
Swiss FinTech Startup Map
The post Schweizer Fintech Landkarte &8211; November Update appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
U.K.-based foreign exchange app #Revolut is shutting down its #cards in countries #outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including the U.S., Bank Innovation has learned. The move is said to be temporary. In the past few weeks, Revolut #customers across the world received notifications that their cards will be inactive beginningRead More
Bank Innovation
#Robo-advisors are causing an uproar and the #wealth management industry needs to #adapt to this new #environment, says Morgan Stanley, one of the largest wealth #managers on Wall Street.
According to Michael Cyprys, an equity analyst at the firm: “The rising threat from robo-advice leads financial advisor’s role to evolve: greater focus on financial planning, embracing digital tools such as robos as a means to become more efficient; pairing human and machine.”
&8220;Digital capabilities become increasingly more important as Millennials are more digital savvy than previous generations which is transforming the investment and wealth management landscape; innovative new entrants such as Robos could take share,&8221; Cyprys wrote in a note earlier this year.
A survey conducted by Morgan Stanley found that 58% of Millennials and 50% of Generation X are interested in using robo-advisors.
Robo-advisors, or automated digital wealth management solutions, have attracted about US$ 50 billion in assets, according to Aite Group LLC. These solutions charge fewer fees, are more open to smaller investors, and are more convenient, offering mobile access and sleek, easy to use apps and websites.
Although the figure remains relatively small compared to the US$ 130 trillion in assets currently under management globally, robo-advisors &8220;have a long runway for growth,&8221; Cyprys said.
Addressing the emerging trend, many firms and #banks have created hybrid models such as Charles Schwab and Vanguard, both of which have developed services that allow their advisors to make significant use of algorithms and robo-advisors.
RBC has teamed up with BlackRock&8217;s FutureAdvisor, Wells Fargo is planning to launch its own robo-advisor in 2017, and UBS&8217;s American wealth management division has invested in robo-advisor SigFig earlier this year.
Going further, Royal Bank of Scotland announced in March that it would replace 220 investment staff with robo-advisors. The bank said that in the future, only clients with £250,000 or more to invest will get face-to-face advice.
Despite the growing appetence for robo-advisors, industry observers and experts believe that these solutions will not necessarily displace traditional wealth managers.
&8220;This is not a human vs. robot competition where one will win,&8221; Jon Stein, CEO of Betterment, an American automated investing service, told Bloomberg.
&8220;There will be customers who want an online driven solution and there will be customers who want the in person relationship, but even those people will expect better #technology as part of the relationship.&8221;
Echoing Stein&8217;s statements, Citi analysts wrote in a report released earlier this year:
&8220;We see the advent of robo-advice as an example of automation improving the productivity of traditional investment advisers, and not a situation where there is significant risk of job substitution. Higher net worth or more sophisticated investors will, in our view, always demand face-to-face advice.&8221;
Holger Spielberg, head of digital innovation at Credit Suisse, shares this sentiment. In an interview earlier this year, Spielberg argued that automated investment services bring many benefits and opportunities to both customers and the banking sector.
&8220;At the end of the day, we #need to look not at what it means for banking, but for the user – the recipient of financial services,&8221; he said. &8220;We need to put them at the forefront.&8221;
Technological disruption is inevitable, Spielberg said. However, he also believes that some aspects of the traditional wealth management services will remain relevant, notably human engagement.
&8220;The human element is a crucial aspect of our strategy,&8221; he said. &8220;What isn&8217;t changing, even with all the changes, is the intent in receiving value.&8221;
Rather than creating a faceless and unresponsive automation, robo-advisors may very well add value and efficiency to private wealth management.
In July, former Credit Suisse bankers Bastian Lossen, Giles Keating and Felix Roescheisen announced plans to launch a new robo-advisor service called Werthstein, according to Finews.
Werthstein has created a new approach in digital wealth management. The solution combines a multimedia platform with portfolio management. The platform will provide wealth management services for free. Customers will only pay a subscription fee for video and multimedia content provided through the platform. These will mainly consist of video clips of bankers and experts sharing investment ideas.
Other robo-advisor services in Switzerland include True Wealth, Glarner KB, Swissquote, and InvestGlass.
Featured image: Robot hand by Ociacia via Shutterstock.com.
The post Robo-Advisory: Wealth Managers Need to Adapt to New Environment appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
The #asset #management side of #insurance business is a sleeping beauty that hasn’t awoken to the #Fintech drumming. Apart from the regulatory driven involvement due to Solvency II ( covered here) I have not seen any laser focus from Fintechs in the asset management part of insurance businesses. Naturally, lowRead More
Bank Innovation
S.E.A. Asset Management a boutique fund manager in #Singapore, announced it has listed its UCITS compliant Asian short duration high yield strategy on the Fundbase platform in Switzerland.
Via LinkedIn
The award winning #Swiss #Fintech company Fundbase has developed a database that acts as gateway for investors helping them to find and follow alternative investments that interest them.
Fundbase offers built-in analytics tools as well as the ability to track investment funds via watch lists and collaborate with funds via their user interface.
Alexander Zeeh CEO
“We are proud to cooperate with the leading platform for discovering, analyzing and executing alternative investments” said Alexander Zeeh, CEO of S.E.A. AM. “Fundbase will allow us to increase our exposure and allow us to connect with qualified investors in Switzerland”.
Gallen Tay, CIO of S.E.A. AM is overseeing the company’s fixed income and equity investments out of Singapore.
Dieser Artikel erschien zuerst auf dem Finanzprodukt Blog
The post Singapore Asset Managers Partners with Swiss Fintech appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
#Wirecard has crossed the pond and found the U.S. to still be the land of opportunity. After quietly acquiring Citi #Prepaid #Card Services for an undisclosed amount (in cash) in June, Wirecard is now gearing up for transaction volumes of $ 6 billion as early as 2017. The Aschheim, Germany-based payments processor expects thatRead More
Bank Innovation
A survey conducted by Deutsche Bank and FT Remark, the research arm of the #Financial Times, found that a staggering majority (87%) of financial #market #participants are confident that #blockchain #technology will #disrupt the settlement model for securities.
62% believe that the introduction of distributed ledger technology will produce substantial savings ranging from 11% to 25%. Almost half say that it will help the #industry cope with the risk of system failure and market disruption.
“Blockchain may completely change the settlement model for securities processing, creating a utility around securities processing and cash management,” commented David Rhydderch, Deutsche Bank’s head of alternative fund services.
&8220;The entire back end would become a far more efficient, far less costly, more accurate and less risk-prone function. This has an obvious knock-on effect on the cost of service provision. In the administration space, blockchain may not be quite the disruptor. It’s more in the functional utility elements within the securities processing settlement chain. In that context, it may be totally revolutionary.&8221;
Respondents believe that blockchain technology will be widely used within the next three to six years (75%).
The industry is still struggling to figure out how to implement the technology in the current web of legacy infrastructure, the report says, noting that market participants are trying to determine how it can be deployed in a way that works, given ongoing data protection and security concerns.
The document a previous report released earlier this year by Euroclear and Oliver Wyman which praised the merits of blockchain technology in capital markets and highlighted the potential of the technology to provide a new approach to data management and be a solution to many of the efficiencies afflicting capital markets.
The Deutsche Bank report, titled &8220;Powering the flow of global capital: Capital markets investor insights,&8221; highlights the key findings of a survey of 200 market participants to examine what is driving today&8217;s capital market.
The research found that regulation, new technologies and emerging markets are key issues impacting strategic thinking. These three areas have caused the vast majority of respondents to partially or completely reshape their operating models, buying behavior and capital/fund allocations over the past two years.
&8220;These three themes are fundamentally redefining the securities services landscape and the knock-on effects will impact the business models of many capital markets participants,&8221; according to Satvinder Singh, head of global securities services and head of GTB EMEA ex Germany.
Notably, a majority of market participants are convinced of a revival of emerging markets. 54% believe emerging markets will deliver growth rates close to those seen during the 2001-2011 boom, noting that India and South Asia will likely be the most attractive region (88%).
China, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey in particular are ranked highest for their capital market infrastructure. Respondents said that China and India have made the greatest infrastructure improvements during the last five years.
That being said, investing in emerging markets remains risky and some investors are hesitant.
Respondents ranked regulatory hurdles as their greatest or second greatest challenge (62%) when carrying out securities transactions in emerging markets, followed by political interference (53%) and instability as a challenge, and unreliable capital markets infrastructure (40%).
Featured image: Stock market chart by bluebay via Shutterstock.com.
The post 87% of Financial Market Participants Say Blockchain Will Disrupt The Industry appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
In October of this year the New #Zealand Government’s Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) released an issues paper outlining the current state of the country’s retail payment systems. The paper is part of a broader conversation about payments, #technology and banking efficiency that many governments are starting toRead More
Bank Innovation
Investors continued to take a much more cautious approach to #fintech investments this year. #Venture capital (VC)-backed #global fintech deal activity fell for the second consecutive quarter, marking its lowest level since Q2’14, according to the Pulse of Fintech, the quarterly report on global fintech VC trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights.
VC-backed fintech in Q3 2016
VC-backed fintech #funding dropped 17% to US$ 2.4B, while deal activity fell 12% to 178 deals in #Q3’16 compared to the previous quarter. Asia was the only continent to see a fintech funding increase on a quarterly basis in Q3’16, while North America and Europe fintech funding declined. All three continents covered in the report saw fintech deal count drop.
Chia Tek Yew
“Asian investors are seeing the potential of fintech amidst global uncertainty in an environment of moderating growth,” said Chia Tek Yew, Head of Financial Services Advisory, KPMG in Singapore. “As businesses continue to embark on the journey of transformation, interest and investment in Asia’s fintech sector will continue to be strong, particularly in areas like payments #technology, insurance technology and regulatory or risk technology.”
Mr Chia added: “Singapore is a leading fintech hub, being one of the first countries in the world to put in place a regulatory fintech sandbox. There are also plans by the authorities to explore ways to attract more VC funds, which bodes well for the overall funding ecosystem.”
Asia quarterly fintech funding tops US: US$ 1.2B across 35 deals in Q3’16. While the number of VC-backed fintech deals dropped to a five-quarter low in Asia, funding increased 50% on a quarter-over-quarter basis to reach US$ 1.2B. Year-to-date results of US$ 4.7B suggest Asia-based fintech investment for 2016 could top last year’s peak investment results of US$ 4.8B. Corporates continue to be highly active in Asia’s fintech investment environment, participating in more than half of all deals to VC-backed fintech startups in Q3’16.
North America sees fintech funding fall below US$ 1B. North America saw both fintech funding and the number of deals fall on a quarter-over-quarter basis, as VC-backed startups raised just US$ 0.9B across 96 deals, a drop of 5% in deals from Q2’16 Funding in Q3’16 to VC-backed fintech companies in North America fell 68% compared to the same quarter last year, which saw US$ 100M+ financings to the likes of Sofi, Avant and Kabbage. #KPMG and the KPMG logo are registered trademarks of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity.
Deal Count and Investment by Continent
Europe fintech funding on pace to drop below 2015 levels. Q3’16 saw European fintech deals fall 17% quarter-over-quarter as fintech funding in Europe dropped 43% over the same time period to US$ 233M. Germany outpaced the UK in terms of fintech funding for the second consecutive quarter, with 35% more funding raised by German- based VC-backed fintech companies than those in the UK.
Corporates stay active in fintech. Corporates participated in 30% of global VC-backed fintech deals for the second consecutive quarter in Q3’16, driving a significant amount of fintech deals activity globally. Citigroup, Banco Santander and Goldman Sachs have made over 20+ fintech investments in total over the past five quarters, while a host of insurers have launched corporate venture arms.
Other key highlights from the Pulse of Fintech:
The Pulse of Fintech
Global fintech mega-rounds fell to a new low in Q3’16. Asia saw US$ 50M+ fintech rounds stay level for the fourth straight quarter, while Europe has not registered a single US$ 50M+ round to a VC-backed fintech company so far in 2016.
The median late-stage deal size in fintech globally fell to US$ 23M in Q3’16. This is significantly smaller than the same quarter last year, when median late-stage fintech deal size hit US$ 50.2M globally.
Total year-to-date funding to VC-backed InsurTech companies reached US$ 1.36B at the end of Q3’16. InsurTech-focused VC-backed deal activity topped 20 deals during three of the past five quarters.
Next-gen payments has attracted US$ 1.2B+ in 2016 VC-backed funding (year-to-date). The top 20 deals, including Affirm, Mobikwik and One97, raked in 67% of the total funding to payments technology companies in the first three quarters.
Anand Sanwal
Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights, adds: “While we continue to see significant investment into fintech companies globally, the euphoria for mega-deals that we saw into the latter half of 2015 has waned. Total investments to key areas like marketplace lending and #blockchain technology have both seen #declines heading into the tail-end of 2016.”
The post Global Venture Capital-backed Fintech Funding Declines In Q3’16: KPMG And CB Insights appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
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