BlackRock mulling Aussie robo-advice launch
BlackRock acquired FutureAdvisor in August 2015 and rolled out the platform to financial institutions as a business-to-business service. BlackRock Australia’s head of iShares Jon Howie told InvestorDaily he believes Australia needs FutureAdvisor now. “As always with a large organisation we have to be conscious about how thinly we spread ourselves and so at the moment the focus is on getting the US application of that opportunity right,” Mr Howie said. “I can tell you that internally everyone around the world is putting their hand up and saying, ‘We can make this work in our market’. “BlackRock Australia needs the platform immediately, because it will take some time to tweak the […]
NAB enlists venture capitalists to invest in start-ups
National Australia Bank is turning to the venture capital sector to run its $50 million fund that will invest in fintech start-ups, a plan aimed at boosting innovation across the lender. The bank has appointed Todd Forest, an entrepreneur, angel investor and digital media executive, to run NAB Ventures, which expects to make its first investment in the next month or so. Alongside Mr Forest, NAB has hired Melissa Widner, one of the most senior women in Australian venture capital, who has also worked in the United States, as general partner. A co-founder of leading Australian fund Blackbird Ventures, Bill Bartee, will also work with the NAB fund as an […]
Decimal to roll out robo-advice for instos
Decimal has announced today it will launch two robo-advice packages designed to help big businesses break into the emerging automated advice market sooner. In a statement, the company said Eqilize is a solution geared towards superannuation and financial institutions that want to offer clients robo-advice but do not have the resources to build their own. At the same time Decimal introduced Tentalon, a “fully customisable technology stack” that allows businesses to create purpose-built solutions. Eqilize will be presented to the industry at an event on 28 April, while Tentalon will be rolled out for major banks in early May, the statement said. Decimal chief executive Nic Pollock said the two […]
Global regulators move closer to regulating fintech
Global regulators have moved closer to regulating the fledgling fintech sector, which includes blockchain technology that supports bitcoin, to ensure the industry’s rapid growth does not pose any risks to the financial system. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which met in Tokyo on Thursday, has agreed on a framework for categorising different components of fintech and assessing their potential risks. The FSB, made up of central bankers, regulators and finance ministry officials from the Group of 20 economies, is looking at fintech partly in response to uncertainty over whether it will “disrupt” traditional banking. Some big investment banks, including Goldman Sachs , are already investing heavily in fintech to avoid […]
Fintech threat to banks at tipping point: Citi
Many bank customers can’t even reel off the name of a financial technology company. But the threat from fintech companies is set to get very real for banks and their workers in the next decade as 30 per cent of jobs are cut to slice costs, according to a major report by US giant Citi. “Fintech is changing the world of finance. In the US and Europe, we are at a tipping point, especially in consumer banking,” the global report said. It noted that fintech companies in China had already surpassed banks and had both scale and innovation. “To remain competitive, banks need to get innovation before the fintech companies […]
LendIt USA Conference – San Francisco – 11-12 April 2016
Australian FinTech is excited to be a Media Partner for the upcoming LendIt USA conference taking place in San Francisco on April 11-12. LendIt USA is the world’s largest annual gathering of the online lending community where established and emerging platforms, investors and technology providers from around the world come to learn, network and do business. Now in its fourth year, the 2016 event will be the largest online lending expo in history with 4000 attendees. This is your chance to share ideas with innovators and leaders in marketplace lending. Confirmed speakers include: Renaud Laplanche, Founder & CEO, Lending Club Ron Suber, President, Prosper Marketplace Peter Thiel, Entrepreneur & Investor John […]
Can robots terminate the human adviser?
Financial planners and advisers would scoff at the idea of an automated system, or a robot, providing financial advice to clients based on answers to a few questions and the click of a button. Moreover, advisers are apprehensive of consumers embracing the do-it-yourself approach to investing, arguing that it is impossible for consumers to navigate complex investment choices and the myriad of financial products without guidance from trained advisers. Financial planning dealer group, Wealth Today’s managing director, Greg Pennells, recently labelled robo-advice a ‘cop-out’, and called on the corporate regulator to ban the technology. He said technology is useful for transactional services like buying and selling shares, stockbroking, mortgages, or […]
Fintech company unveils major rebrand
Peer-to-peer invoice financer, The Invoice Market (tim), has unveiled its new branding, new website and a significant upgrade to its online client and funder platform. The chief executive of tim, Angus Sedgwick, said he believes alternative finance and fintech companies will invariably disrupt the financial services market, however, more work needs to be done in awareness – which drove his decision to rebrand tim. “The simple availability of a platform will not create business flow. Much work needs to be done at the coal face to educate businesses about this source of funding,” he said. “Since establishing tim, we’ve invested considerable time in ensuring clients and potential clients appreciate the […]
