Online real estate lending platform PeerStreet has partnered with Wealthfront; PeerStreet will integrate with Wealthfront's Path offering; the integration has been facilitated by Quovo and will allow PeerStreet customers to view their PeerStreet investments holistically within their entire Wealthfront investment portfolio. Source
Lending Club and Prosper allow for tax efficient investing on their platforms through an IRA; Lend Academy provides details on opening an IRA with Lending Club or Prosper and explains why investing in P2P lending is best done through an IRA. Source
Raleigh-based HCG has raised $5.4 million from 12 investors for a fintech fund; firm specializes in digital finance investments and has previously invested in online lenders including Lending Club; firm is led by Chief Executive Officer Hadi Habal and Chief Investment Officer Jose Penabad. Source
Peer-to-peer loan investing is growing as an investment category and capturing a greater share of the loan market from banks; as interest rates remain low across the globe and in the US, it continues to be a viable alternative to fixed income investing; Simon Moore discusses some of the current considerations for investing in P2P loans including availability, default risks, lending standards, interest rates, liquidity and tax efficiency. Source
Firm is currently launching a new C share to broaden its investment offering and increase assets under management which are currently at approximately 167 million British pounds ($206.25 million); this is one of the market's most recently launched closed end funds with a diversified portfolio of P2P business loans; in its initial launch it raised 150 million British pounds ($185.25 million); the fund has no management or performance fees and targets an annual total return of 8% to 9%. Source
Lending Club and Prosper were the first and for a long time the only online lending platforms available to retail investors; recently companies have leveraged Regulation A+ in order to open offerings across real estate and small business lending to retail investors; Lend Academy outlines additional companies open to retail investors including: Fundrise, RealtyMogul.com, Groundfloor and StreetShares. Source
CB Insights has charted a market map of investment and wealth management companies; the market map includes 90 companies in seven main categories with subcategories for client group; for 2016, the firm reports a new high of 74 deals in wealth tech totaling $657 million; Betterment reported the top investment deal in 2016 with a $100 million Series E investment; in 2017 CB Insights reports 17 deals with $130 million in funding and the top investment going to Raisin with a $32 million Series C funding round. Source
Chinese conglomerate HNA has reported it will buy a 25% stake in Old Mutual's US asset management unit; HNA will pay approximately $445 million; following the sale, Old Mutual will own 26% of the US asset management business, a decrease from 51%; Old Mutual is expected to also sell the remaining portion of the company with a number of offers from strategic buyers and private equity groups; HNA has been increasingly adding financial services companies to its portfolio with recent acquisitions including Deutsche Bank and Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital. Source
Goji is marketing a P2P lending bond product, the Goji Diversified P2P Lending Bond, which is targeting annual returns of greater than 5%; the firm is based in London and offers a range of services for the P2P lending industry including tools and resources for investors and financial intermediaries, an investing platform, IFISA account servicing technology for platforms and now a new P2P lending bond; the Bond will invest in a minimum of 200 loans across all options available in the UK P2P lending sector. Source
Motif provides an investment trading platform with themed investment portfolios for retail investors; the company has now introduced Motif Impact Portfolios for socially responsible investing; the Motif Impact Portfolios will feature companies focused on one of three social values: sustainable planet, fair labor or good corporate behavior; the portfolios were developed through a partnership with MSCI ESG Research; in comments regarding the announcement, Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO of Motif, noted that the introduction of the Motif Impact Portfolios will extend the company's commitment to innovative, accessible and fully-transparent financial products. Source