Money for millennials: six popular investment options
Millennials have been locked out of the housing market, so are there other avenues of investment open to them? Certainly, the finance industry is working hard on creating products for younger people, but where to turn? The plan for young Aussies has always been: work hard, save your money, buy a house, start a family, then worry about the rest later. Now that the average 20 per cent deposit in Sydney and Melbourne sits at $156,000 and $115,200, respectively, part three (buy a home) in that classic four-point plan is changing. Claire Mackay, a director at Quantum Financial, says that whatever investment choice is made by a millennial investor, the […]
Can robots beat humans as financial advisers?
Jason Lim wants to save enough for a deposit on an apartment but was earning next to nothing by having his money with his bank. He wanted to get some advice on where to invest his money, but a traditional adviser was not for him. “I wanted to earn more than I could get with the bank but was not confident about the level of professionalism in financial advice,” Lim says. The 24-year-old from Melbourne opted for “robo-advice” instead. Robo-advice, or automated advice, is provided online as well as usually on smartphones and iPads. Investors answer a series of questions about themselves and, in response, they receive an investment recommendation. […]
InPayTech Limited Initial Public Offer opens today
Integrated Payment Technologies Limited (InPayTech) has today formally opened its Initial Public Offer (IPO). InPayTech is an Australian financial technology company that has created a unique payments process in support of Australia’s banking, wealth management and superannuation sectors. The Prospectus offers a total of up to 25,000,000 Shares in the Company at a price of 20 cents per Share (the Offer). The Offer seeks to raise a minimum of $3,000,000 and a maximum of $5,000,000. The company would have cash of $2,300,000 under the minimum subscription and $4,173,000 under the maximum subscription, and be debt free. InPayTech’s offer period is expected to close on 18 November, 2016. Brokers to the […]
Statewide Super to offer robo-advice
Robo-advice provider Decimal has announced its Eqilize software has been chosen by Statewide Super to provide members with digital financial advice. The South Australia-based industry superannuation fund will roll the software out as part of “a broader system upgrade and expansion project” due to begin in November 2016, Decimal said. “One of our drivers was to integrate digital advice with phone as well as internal and third party face-to-face advisory services, which are areas in which other Decimal clients have had success,” said Statewide Super head of member experience Tony D’Alessandro. “That omni-channel approach is important for Statewide Super to enable us to provide members with services that suit their […]
H2Ocean pulls float, but commits to raising new private fund
The listing of what was set to be Australia’s first public venture capital company, H2Ocean, has been pulled, but the firm intends to proceed with raising a private fund. As revealed by Street Talk, the company – the brain child of H2 Ventures founders Ben and Toby Heap – was unable to raise enough capital. H2Ocean had been trying to raise between $27.5 million and $55 million to establish a portfolio of 15 to 50 fintech start-ups, but Ben Heap told The Australian Financial Review the firm had fallen just short of its target. Rather than persist with a lower amount, Mr Heap said it was better to withdraw the […]
Link Group invests in technology solutions provider Moneysoft
Link Group (ASX: LNK), a global provider of fund administration, share registry, shareholder management, analytics and services, today announced an investment in Australian technology solutions company, Moneysoft. Moneysoft is a provider of Personal Financial Management (PFM) tools that incorporate real-time data, budgeting, reporting capabilities and more, to assist financial advisers and their clients to better manage their money and reach their financial goals. The strategic partnership with Moneysoft will augment Link Group’s offering to both superannuation funds and listed company clients as the two parties join forces and explore opportunities to collaborate on new products and innovations. Initially, Link and Moneysoft will release a number of products designed to help […]
Blockchain report: Where are we now, and where are we going?
A report by international law firm Allens investigates the use cases for blockchain and where the technology is now. International law firm Allens, which has offices in Australia and Asia, has released a detailed report investigating the attributes, problems and possible use cases for blockchain. The report’s lead authors say blockchain first got on Allens’ radar in 2012 due to a junior lawyer’s penchant for blockchain, and the fascination stemmed from there. “We’ve seen distributed ledger technology move out of the lab and onto the C-suite agenda of our clients, from startups to multinational giants with centuries of transactions behind them,” they said. While perspectives are many and varied, the […]
Property crowdfunding start-up CrowdfundUP closes funding round and eyes China
Property crowdfunding platform CrowdfundUP has closed a $2.1 million capital raise to build its team and grow its market presence locally and in China. The funding comes as the property sector faces disruption from increasing numbers of new entrants with disruptive business models such as Purplebricks Australia, PropertyNow and BRICKX. The investment in CrowdfundUP has been led by asset development and management firm Positive Investment Enterprise, which has a focus on property development, venture capital and funds management throughout Australia, China and the US.Professional services firm BDO also participated. CrowdfundUP founder and managing director, Jack Quigley, said the business would expand rapidly in the next year, with plans in place […]
