#PromisePay, an Australia-headquartered #fintech startup that specializes in payments for #online #marketplaces, has raised $ 10 million in fresh capital for growth. Read More
#Small business #finance is a window of opportunity big enough to drive a truck through. Yet despite years of effort by many smart ventures, there has not yet been a breakthrough to mass scale. Many digital loan processing ventures, such as Ondeck and Kabbage have reached significant scale. Yet we are also seeing high Customer…Read more How #blockchain #technology #could #integrate #financial & #physical #supply #chains and #revolutionize small business finance
Bank Innovation
“Global yields lowest in 500 years of recorded history. $10 trillion of negative interest rate bonds. This is a supernova that will explode one day”
-Bill Gross, Co-founder of PIMCO
Legendary bond investor Bill Gross doesn´t mince words here. The coming supernova will destroy the life savings of countless hard working people worldwide. Yet most investors continue sleepwalking toward an impoverished future. Not only is a very large percentage of private savings held in today´s radically overvalued government and corporate bonds, but most public and private pension savings as well are invested in these same markets.
Why do savings continue to pour into government and corporate bonds despite very low or even negative yields and the potential for huge losses when interest rates normalize at some future time? Based on my twenty-five years of experience as an #investment advisor, my guess would be simply momentum, along with a self-serving investment management industry that consistently puts the customer´s interest last. Asset management is a huge industry that continues to turn its wheels as it has for decades, investing a large share of the savings of its customers in government and corporate bonds. The fact that the endless quantitative-easing bond purchasing programs by leading central #banks has distorted the fixed-income capital markets to a very dangerous extent is not sufficient to stop these wheels, especially while billions of dollars in fees and commissions depend on continuing to do “business as usual”.
What is an investor to do? The answer is surprisingly simple. The first step to get out of a hole is to stop digging. Accept Bill Gross´ wake-up call, and invest no further in traditional bonds or bond funds that hold overvalued, often negative yielding fixed income instruments. Rather, take some time, do some research, and educate oneself about the growing alternatives to traditional fixed income that do provide for steady, attractive returns without the risk of being burned in the supernova that Bill Gross predicts. In short, my recommendation is to turn to #marketplace #lending.
Marketplace lending, also known as marketplace finance, is where savers can secure attractive returns by lending funds to individuals and businesses directly without the intervention of banks or purchasing bonds on the public exchanges. These loans can be made directly through any number of online platforms, or through investment in specialized investment vehicles (mutual funds or unit investment trusts) that focus on marketplace finance. At this point, the track-record is sufficiently clear, and the new investment vehicles sufficiently developed for me to make this recommendation to any serious client who is willing to learn new ways of building their savings without accepting the risks of grossly overvalued bonds.
A further advantage of this approach to achieving reasonable returns on savings is that marketplace finance largely focuses on short maturities (as short as 60 to 90 days, and almost never more than 3 years). These short maturities reflect the needs of business and individuals for loans (often secured by assets or insurance policies) for inventory acquisition, trade finance, small business expansion, aircraft leasing, consumer loans, factoring, discounting invoices, or any of a myriad of alternatives that allow investors to earn returns from deploying their savings into the real economy of commerce and trade, rather than the quantitative easing bubble in the public bond markets created by central banks since the 2007 financial meltdown. An important advantage of these short maturities is that they permit “self liquidation”, allowing the investor to recover invested funds if necessary through maturity of the underlying loans, even if secondary markets are disrupted during a financial crisis.
Let´s look at the track-record now. For US investors, the Orchard US Consumer Marketplace Lending Index demonstrates a 6% return in the last twelve months, with notable stability and predictability that will allow even anxious investors to sleep at night.
In case one believes that the US experience is exceptional, let´s look at the UK market, where the Liberum Alfi Returns index tracks investor returns from the leading marketplace lending platforms in Great Britain. Once again, the twelve month lagging return is approximately 6%. It is noteworthy that this index demonstrates that even in the midst of the financial crisis of 2007-2008, investor returns never were lower than 5%.
Finally, for investors who prefer to delegate to professional management rather than lend directly on platforms, I would recommend the pioneering and innovative Luxembourg SICAV-SIF, Synthesis Market-Based Financing Fund. Founder and CEO Spyros Papadopoulos has built an attractive track record of over three years of positive returns month after month through employing a variety of lending strategies moving well beyond #P2P lending, with a particular expertise in trade finance.
As per the warning from Bill Gross, there is a clear and present danger in the bond markets today that could have catastrophic consequences for savers, as well as wiping out their public and private pension plans. The good news is that there are alternatives available for investors who are willing to face the facts and make the effort now to learn about the attractive and low volatility returns that marketplace finance can provide.
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslevy01″ connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”James Levy”] is Partner at Clearwater Private Investment and this post was originally published on linkedin.
The rise of the digital economy has changed the way businesses deliver services, interact with clients and market their products. As social networks have become an important component of our daily lives, asset managers and #investment #firms need to have a #clear #online #strategy in order to stay in the game.
In a new report, PwC Luxembourg and #CACEIS explore the state of asset management’s use of social media and the leading players in this area. The document, the second paper of the series #SocialMediaStudies, aims at highlighting the growing importance of social media in the industry.
“Three years on, social media usage in our industry has evolved rapidly, and the factors driving that change have also intensified,” Joe Saliba, CACEIS Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said in a media statement.
Since the previous study in 2013, asset managers have increased their presence on social media, increasing thus their interactions with clients and followers.
&8220;Something clear emerged from our analysis: the asset management community is increasingly betting on social media, and asset managers with no clear strategy on how to take advantage of social media as communications and sales channels will be left behind,&8221; said Dariush Yazdani, partner and Market Research Centre Leader at PwC Luxembourg. &8220;Social channels could unlock new opportunities for investment firms.&8221;
The report, entitled ‘Asset Management in the social era,&8217; suggests that social media continues to thrive and is now a global phenomenon in all countries. Today, the total number of active users exceeds 2.3 billion, representing over 30% of the global population.
Facebook is the leader in the field with 1.6 billion of active accounts in 2015. The giant is followed by YouTube with over 1 billion users, LinkedIn with 414 million, and Twitter with 305 million.
Social media channels have been gradually integrated into companies&8217; #marketing mix paradigms and the share of marketing budgets spent on social media is expected to more than double over the next five years, the document claims.
Corporates are increasing their presence on social media, a trend fuelled by changing customer expectations, notably among younger generations. 62% of millennials say that if a brand engages with them on social media, they are more likely to become loyal customers. Moreover, 33% of them rely mainly on blogs to get informed on purchase decisions.
Since 2013, the presence of asset managers on social media has increased consistently. Asset managers are using these channels as instruments to enhance brand and reputation, as well as to provide information and support to a diversified array of interlocutors, the report says.
It suggests that 89% of asset managers are present on social media today, up from 60% in 2013. Moreover, the use of social media has increased significantly within the hedge fund industry in recent years. Today, 90% of hedge funds are using social media.
&8220;Social media is also becoming an important source of information for institutional investors. They are increasingly augmenting traditional financial news media with social media in order to make investment decisions,&8221; the report says.
A research conducted by Greenwich Associates found that in 2014, one third of institutional investors made an investment decision based on information collected from social media platforms. Respondents are turning to social media mainly to read timely news or industry updates (48%), research specific industries information (47%) and seek opinions or commentary on markets and/or events (44%).
US-based brands still dominate the social media realm with Blackrock/iShares, Vanguard Group, Charles Schwab Investment, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton Investment and T.Rowe Price ranking at the top of the list. However, European players are progressing. In 2016, the top ten asset managers include three European firms: Schroders, Robeco and Aberdeen AM.
Featured image: Social media apps by Twin Design, via Shutterstock.com.
The post PwC &038; CACEIS Advise Investment Firms to Have a Clear Online Marketing Strategy appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
A survey of #global #infrastructure leaders defines the challenges to the industry—and how to address them.
fintech techcrunch
The #payments news from Apple seemed sparse compared to other flashier offerings at today’s Worldwide Developers Conference, but #significant new payment platforms within the iOS were quietly announced. Ben Brown of the bank consultancy First Annapolis tweeted: WWDC payments news in a tweet: Apple Pay in/coming to 9 markets, comingRead More
Bank Innovation
PwC is sponsoring new research into the #blockchain‘s #potential in the #insurance industry, as well as the creation of a proof-of-concept prototype.
CoinDesk
San Francisco startup #Ripple has become the #second #blockchain firm to receive a #BitLicense in New #York.
CoinDesk
#Blockchain #interest and awareness are increasing on #Capitol #Hill, spurred by a series of recent high-profile events.
fintech techcrunch
Die #FinTech-Schmiede #FinLeap setzt ihren Wachstumskurs konsequent fort: Nur drei #Monate #nach dem erfolgreichen Launch der solarisBank und einem halben Jahr nach der Ausweitung der Aktivitäten auf die Schweiz, folgt nun der nächste Meilenstein.
Insgesamt 21 #Millionen Euro Eigenkapital sammelt FinLeap von bestehenden und neuen Gesellschaftern ein. Dies ist aussergewöhnlich und wohl #einmalig in #Europa, da diese Finanzierung nur 18 Monaten nach der Gründung erfolgt!
FinLeap schliesst erfolgreich eine Finanzierungsrunde ab. Neben dem Gründungsgesellschafter, der Berliner HitFox-Gruppe, beteiligten sich auch neue institutionelle Investoren aus der Versicherungsbranche. Einer davon ist die Hannover Rück, die mit einer Bruttoprämie von rund 17 Milliarden Euro der drittgrößte Rückversicherer weltweit ist.
FinLeap ist ein Company Builder, der sich auf die Gründung und den Aufbau digitaler Unternehmen in der Finanzbranche spezialisiert hat. FinLeap investiert typischerweise gemeinsam mit weiteren Investoren und plant zusammen mit diesen in den nächsten zwölf Monaten mindestens 50 Millionen Euro in das Fintech-Ökosystem zu investieren.
FinLeap-Mitgründer und Geschäftsführer Ramin Niroumand: „Wir haben in den letzten 20 Monaten neun neue Unternehmen aufgebaut und typischerweise zwischen 500.000 und 5 Millionen Euro investiert. Die ersten Firmen werden in diesem Jahr profitabel. Wir freuen uns darauf, von Berlin aus die Digitalisierung des europäischen Finanzmarktes weiter voranzutreiben.”
Die Mittel aus der Finanzierungsrunde sollen vor allem in den Ausbau der Company Building Plattform sowie das Wachstum bestehender und die Gründung neuer Unternehmen fließen.
Jan Beckers, CEO der HitFox Group und Chairman von FinLeap kommentiert:
“FinLeap hat sich spätestens mit dem Aufbau der solarisBank als einer der wichtigsten FinTech-Akteure in Europa etabliert und wird mit seinem Portfolio deutlich schneller als der Markt wachsen. Wir freuen uns darauf diese starke Stellung auch weiterhin als sehr aktiver Investor auszubauen.”
Gerald Segler, Chief Investment Officer der Hannover Rück: “In den nächsten Jahren werden mehrere Milliarden an Umsätzen technologiegetriebener Finanzdienstleister erwartet. Wir haben uns verschiedene Unternehmen dieser Branche angeschaut; FinLeap hat uns vor allem mit seinem Team und seiner schnellen Umsetzung überzeugt.“
Die FinLeap GmbH …
… wurde im Sommer 2014 von der HitFox Group, Ramin Niroumand und Hendrik Krawinkel in Berlin gegründet – als auf FinTechs spezialisierte Unternehmen-Schmiede. FinLeap entwickelt FinTech-Unternehmen in Serie, stellt mit seiner starken Infrastruktur die Weichen auf Erfolgskurs und begleitet sie beim Wachstum.
Heute hat FinLeap bereits neun Ventures auf dem Markt, darunter den Online-Versicherungsmakler Clark, Savedo, den Marktplatz #für Anlageprodukte, das Software-Unternehmen FinReach, das für Banken u.a. den Online-Kontowechsel realisiert, Valendo für das Sachwert-Darlehen, Pair Finance fürs Online-Inkasso, die solarisBank mit Vollbanklizenz sowie zinsbaustein.de, eine digitale Plattform für Immobilien-Investment. Weitere Ventures, u.a. aus dem Bereich Finanzmanagement und Vermögensverwaltung, sind in Vorbereitung.
Jedes Venture steht fest auf dem FinLeap-Fundament: Darüber gibt es direkten Zugang zu 0,5 bis 5 Millionen Euro Startkapital, einem starken Investoren-Netzwerk, erfahrenen Unternehmern, zu Kunden und Top-Talenten, einer integrierten Technologieplattform sowie hocheffizienten Prozessen. FinLeap und die neun Ventures beschäftigen insgesamt über 250 Mitarbeiter aus mehr als 30 Nationen. Firmensitz ist Berlin und seit Ende 2015 hat FinLeap auch Aktivitäten in der Schweiz.
Zum FinLeap Investorenkreis gehören u.a. die HitFox-Gruppe, Hannover Rück sowie Family Offices und Top-Manager aus der Finanzwelt.
The post 21 Millionen für FinLeap / Nur 18 Monate nach Gründung/ Einmalig in Europa! appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
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