LendingRobot has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating its plans for a pooled investment fund; the investing platform currently provides investment accounts that allow customers to invest in marketplace loans from direct lenders through the platform; the new fund provides a pooled fund investment option for investors; the minimum investment is $100,000. Source
First Trust has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a pooled fund that will include marketplace lending securities under the name First Trust Marketplace Lending Partners, L.P.; minimum investment in the fund is $50,000; firm offers a range of investment funds including many funds with an income focused investment strategy. Source
The Ranger Direct Lending Fund has reported plans for share issuance totaling 200 million British pounds through 2017; the Fund currently has a 40 million British pound issuance planned for December; it also raised 30 million British pounds in July and 23.2 million British pounds in November of 2016; according to a statement from Ranger Direct Lending, "The company believes that debt instruments originated or issued by direct lending platforms are an attractive and growing asset class that have the potential to provide higher returns for investors than other, more widely available, fixed income products."; growth from the asset class and potential returns are factors driving the new issuances. Source
Stripe, the most valuable fintech startup, has raised another $150 million and is now valued at $9.2 billion; the new round is being co-led by CapitalG, an investing arm of Alphabet Inc., and General Catalyst Partners; Sequoia Capital is also reported to be participating; Stripe is used by businesses to accept and track digital payments. Source
Alibaba-backed Ant Financial sold $578 million worth of securities backed against small loans granted to consumers on "Double 11" day, the festival to celebrate singlehood and the world's largest online shopping day; Chongqing Alibaba Small Loan provided the underlying loans for the asset-backed security through an online consumer credit portal, Ant Check Later ("Huabei" in Chinese); the Shanghai Stock Exchange approved the offering and allowed it to be privately placed last Monday to qualified institutional investors. Source
Loose credit and consumers who are no longer averse to loans have contributed to the rise in household debt as a share of GDP; numbers have risen from 28% to 40% in the last five years; the share of household loans to overall lending hit 67.5% in the third quarter of 2016, more than twice the share of the year before; China's household debt as a share of GDP is half of what it is in the US, though if the current pace continues it will come close to equaling the US percentage in a few short years. Source
The insurtech industry is expected to grow significantly in 2017; insurtech startups are increasingly seeking to take advantage of a $4.5 trillion industry through new offerings and technological innovation; big data, Internet of Things, mobile technology, artificial intelligence, social networking and blockchain are some of the technologies driving startups in insurtech; Let's Talk Payments provides a list of 101 insurtech companies currently evolving in the insurtech business. Source
Two of Europe's largest incumbent insurance companies, Munich Re and Allianz SE, have begun investing in insurance startups; the deals show that insurance giants are beginning to see how technology is affecting their industry and they want to get in early; currently the focus has been on small investments into many companies; the startups focus on different areas of the market like insuring mobile phones or small electronics; similar to banks, it is worth keeping an eye on how insurance companies handle disruption and innovation. Source
In its annual Autumn Statement, the UK Treasury reported investment of 2.4 billion British pounds for research and development in financial innovation; 2 billion British pounds will be allocated to an innovation fund and 400 million British pounds will go to a venture capital investment fund managed by British Business Bank; in comments regarding the Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond said the investment was to help the UK continue "leading the world in disruptive technology." Source
Challenger bank, Masthaven, launched to offer savings and lending products that they say traditional lenders have ignored; they are the UK's first owner-owned bank where 80% of employees own the bank; the bank uses "smart technology" to help customers meet certain savings goals or decide on loan products they feel would be right for them; Masthaven has been around since 2004 as a specialty lender and will also break into the mortgage market in 2017. Source
