According to research by JP Morgan Asset Management and Platforum only 3 percent of advisers offer automated wealth management services; the main reasons were cost of implementing, clients not interested and concerns about security. Source.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika spoke about the online lending industry, discussing the potential of companies taking deposits and seeking banking charters; he shared,"One way a maturing industry adapts to changing market conditions is to diversify its funding sources and expand into other sources that offer greater stability. As the industry matured, companies have found a balance that includes selling loans to retail and wholesale investors, securitizing loans, and even exploring the potential for deposits." American provides more on his remarks in their article. Source
Andy Rachleff, the CEO of Wealthfront argues that managed real estate funds perform poorly compared to low cost ETFs like Vanguard's REIT Index Fund; Fundrise's CEO Benjamin Miller responded in a blog post, writing "Less competitive, inefficient markets mean an investor can generally buy comparable assets at lower prices than efficient markets. With Shiller price-to-earnings (PE) ratios at all-time historic highs only seen in 1929 and 2001, more than ever investors need to find ways to invest at a reasonable cost basis."; Miller also argues that long term investors are paying a premium for the liquidity that ETFs offer, something that these investors don't need. Source
deBanked reports that Wold Business Lenders (WBL) has purchased several assets from Bizfi including the brand, marketplace, the Next Level Funding renewal book and other pieces of the company; WBL, a small business lender will lend on the platform; Stephen Sheinbaum, founder of Biz joined WBL as a managing director in July; several other Bizfi staff have joined WBL. Source
Until now little has been known about the hedge fund that invests in cryptocurrencies; it is backed by big names including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Union Square Ventures, Founders Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners; the firm owns about a dozen cryptocurrencies, taking a value investing approach; Fortune shares more details about how the fund operates and the eye popping returns the fund has returned to date. Source
Last week Prosper closed their Series G, raising $50 million from an investment fund co-managed by FinEx Asia and LPG Capital based in Hong Kong; sources say the post money valuation was $550 million, approximately a 70% drop from their high in 2015; Peter Renton reflects on the investment and the current state of the market. Source
The CEO and co-founder of AutoGravity talks about how they are bringing the car buying and financing experience into the 21st century. Source
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Sam Altman, who leads the Y Combinator stated, "We are interested in how companies like Y Combinator can use the blockchain to democratize access to investing We should try to figure that out.”; TechCrunch reports that sources say YC is further along in the process of making this a reality; Altman also provides his opinion on ICOs in the interview. Source
The complaint was filed on Thursday with the story echoing similar stories that have been published in the last few weeks; the lawsuit is one of at least three filed against the company. Source
The WSJ reports that the hack actually occurred in March instead of May; the breach wasn’t discovered until July 29th and it was announced to the public on September 7th. Source