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Fintech

·Jan. 26, 2017

Chart: SeedInvest Posts Two of Equity Crowdfunding’s Top Ten Investments

A New York Times article featuring Ryan Feit of SeedInvest identifies some of the high risks involved with equity crowdfund investing; Feit provides some insight on his platform's due diligence process for listing equity crowdfunding campaigns; noted in the chart below, SeedInvest has posted two of the market's top ten investments; according to NextGen, Wefunder has been the source for the equity crowdfunding market's most successful campaigns. Source

NY Times Equity Crowdfunding Chart

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Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 26, 2017

VCs Hot on Insurance

At a panel at The Economist Finance Disrupted conference held in London, three out of four venture capitalists mentioned insurance as an area of most interest to them according to Business Insider; Timo Dreger, managing director at Apeiron Investment Group stated: "Right now we are looking at insurtech. It's for sure the hottest thing in 2016 and for sure the hottest thing this year too. The answer is pretty easy why. In the whole insurance industry, there's a lack of innovation and the user experience is pretty horrible."; while there has been a lot of innovation in the US, there are several notable insurtech startups across Europe; in the US, Oscar, an online health insurance company has raised $700 million. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 26, 2017

Lend Academy Article: The Top 8 Fintech Podcasts

Lend Academy provides a list of the top eight podcasts providing insight on the fintech market; these podcasts can provide a wealth of information on new companies, industry announcements and regulations; Lend Academy lists Breaking Banks as its top fintech podcast; the Breaking Banks podcast is hosted by industry expert Brett King every Thursday at 3:00 PM EST. Source

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Fintech News Roundup North America

·Jan. 26, 2017

First Foreign Robo Advisor Serving US Clients Set to Launch

Wealthsimple is a Canadian firm backed by Montreal-based Power Financial and they are looking to launch their robo advisory solution to US clients soon; in accordance with US securities law, Wealthsimple received approval to operate as an investment advisor by the SEC in October 2016; there is no account minimums for their product and the first $10,000 invested will be fee free, anything above $10,000 will be subject to a management fee of 0.5%. Source

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Europe Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 26, 2017

Bank of England on Disruption of Traditional Bank Model

On Wednesday, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that fintech could signal an end to the traditional bank model; this could also increase herding risks, adding "As those risks emerge, authorities can be expected to pursue a more intense focus on the regulatory perimeter, more dynamic settings of prudential requirements, a broader commitment to resolution regimes, and a more disciplined management of operational and cyber risks."; Mark Carney is also chairman of the Financial Stability Board which will report to the G20 in July on risks and rewards in fintech. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 26, 2017

Bank Comparison Startup Raisin Raises $32mn

Raisin allows customers to compare accounts at banks across Europe; Thrive Capital led the latest round with participation from previous investors Ribbit Capital and Index Ventures; funding now totals $64 million; the company has tripled the amount of funds transacted on the platform last year; it now has 27 bank partners and expanded from Germany and Austria to a total of 31 countries. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 26, 2017

Software Trading Business Raises $1.75mn

Financial trading startup Alpaca has raised $1.75 million from private market venture capitalists; company is using artificial intelligence and database technology to develop software as a service for investment market traders; current products include AlpacaAlgo with over 25,000 user built trading algorithms; platform has executed over $100 million in transactions. Source

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Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 25, 2017

JPMorgan and Intuit Agree on New Data Sharing Standards

In a positive announcement for consumer data sharing, JPMorgan has agreed to allow Intuit customers to access bank data without sharing their passwords; the agreement will provide added convenience for JPMorgan customers using Intuit's Mint.com, TurboTax Online and QuickBooks Online; the elimination of passwords is expected to improve security and real-time access of account data. Source

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Fintech News Roundup USA

·Jan. 25, 2017

Investor Concerns Arise in Equity-Based Crowdfunding

While the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 helped to spur crowdfunding into an exciting industry, questions have continued surrounding investor protections and the legitimacy of companies using this method to raise capital; SeedInvest CEO Ryan Feit recently told the New York Times: "I'm legitimately concerned that a lot of people are going to be losing money; investing in startups is really risky, and it's very different than buying a used couch. We definitely do not think you should treat it like Craigslist."; investors don't necessarily understand the investment and companies are not following the rules fully, causing many in the industry to legitimately worry about the way forward. Source

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Asia/Pac Fintech News Roundup

·Jan. 25, 2017

Alibaba Affiliate Koubei Raises $1.1bn

Koubei was founded in 2015 with investment from Alibaba and Ant Financial; the firm offers online e-commerce services for merchants and is part of a diversified group of Alibaba affiliates; in January the firm reported new capital of $1.1 billion from external investors; investors now supporting the firm include Silver Lake, CDH Investments, Yunfeng Capital and Primavera Capital. Source

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