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Wealth Management


#299
SilverTech

Published:

Aug 10, 2019


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Posted In:

Wealth Management

Published:

Aug 10, 2019


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One in seven people who file for bankruptcy in the US (15%) are aged 65 or older – a fivefold increase in the past 25 years. With the official website of the US courts saying the goal of bankruptcy is to provide a “fresh start” – those aged over 65, with their prime earning years behind them, are hardly the target demographic.

So what’s behind the “graying” of US bankruptcy – and what role can fintech play in ensuring the financial well-being of its rising senior population?

Data shows the culprits are longer life expectancy, rising health care costs, non-existent pensions, insufficient savings, and unpaid student loans. Unlike their parents who lived through the Great Depression, Boomers have not been reluctant to take on higher household debt. Moreover, many are stuck helping out their millennial children and grandchildren who also aren’t earning enough.

With 50m US citizens over the age of 65 (a number that is expected to double by 2060), there is a massive opportunity for fintech to assist seniors who are underserved by mainstream financial providers. The obvious place to start is a comprehensive wealth management solution that looks at a senior’s savings, assets, and income and provides timely AI driven financial advice.

Startups are also innovating around the much maligned annuity to provide something closer to a "retirement paycheck." Lastly, a number of fintech startups are using machine learning to identify erratic senior financial behavior that may be indicative of financial scams or exploitation.

We are certainly not ones for ageism at FinTech Collective – we believe that even older folks can achieve amazing things and have some much deserved fun!

Portfolio News


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MoneyLion


Moneylion #22 car places first - At the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International this past Saturday (August 3rd), driver Austin Cindric guided his Moneylion-sponsored #22 Mustang across the finish line in first place. Congrats to the Moneylion team and Austin on their first win! Read more

SilverTech


The boomers going bust: the rise of elderly bankruprtcy is rising in America - The FT reports on an alarming trend in the US through the story of Suzan Benge, a 73 year old who has maxed out her credit card and joined the tide of American's filing for bankruptcy. Read more

Industry News


Inflated bond prices are lurking - The Wall Street Journal reports that regulation aimed at improving rating quality has instead likely hurt it - competition has led challengers to rate the same bonds higher than major firms are. Read more

Grayscale Investments moves to Coinbase Custody - Grayscale announced that Coinbase Custody would be the new secure custody provider for Grayscale's $2.7b AUM. Grayscale previously used Xapo, but now has a 3-year deal in place with Coinbase. Read more

Fox Corp to buy majority stake in Credible Labs - In a deal valued at $265m, Fox Corp has agreed to purchase a majority stake of Credible Labs, the San Francisco based marketplace for consumer-lending information. Read more

Can Klarna break the mold? - Many of Sweden's most successful startups are now headquartered outside of Sweden or have been acquired by foreign companies. So can Klarna, fresh off of a $5.5b valuation, keep itself in Sweden (or even Europe)? Read more

Robinhood authorized to operate as a broker in the U.K. - The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services regulator in the U.K., has now approved Robinhood as a broker in the U.K., enabling Robinhood to bring their investing platform across the pond. Read more

Kik Interactive fights back - The SEC alleges that Kik's $100m token sale was illegal, but Kik this week filed a lawsuit against the SEC alleging the SEC is “twisting” the facts. The SEC claims that Kik's move was to raise money to save the company, but Kik says it should be viewed as a bold business decision to beat competitors. Read more

Mastercard buys a majority stake in Nets - Mastercard announced that it is paying €2.85b for a majority stake in the corporate services group of Nets, the Danish provider of payments technology. The move is part of the Mastercard's broader strategy to diversify its payments capabilities in the consumer sector. Read more

Divvy and Credit Suisse announce $500m purchase agreement - Divvy, the Utah based provider of spend and expense management technology, and Credit Suisse, the Swiss banking giant, announced a purchase agreement that gives Credit Suisse the ability to buy up to $500m in Divvy receivables over the next two years. Read more

Singapore unveils new fintech sandbox process - The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a new option for their fintech sandbox - "Sandbox Express" - which will allow companies to more quickly so long as they adhere to pre-determined rules. The existing sandbox program gives companies the ability to customize their sandbox process. Read more

KKR acquiring Heidelpay - Germany based provider of online and mobile payment processing services has agreed to sell a majority stake to KKR for more than €600m. Read more

PayJoy expanding to Brazil by late 2019 - San Francisco based PayJoy plans to launch in Brazil by late 2019, at which point it will assist low-income consumers in obtaining credit to finance a smartphone purchase. The company, which raised $20m in funding in May 2019, already operates in Mexico, India, and Indonesia. Read more

Funding Circle co-founder to step down - Following the announcement of £31m of losses over the first half of 2019, Funding Circle co-founder and U.K. chief James Meekings will step down. Read more

Brubank sells 15% stake - Argentina based digital bank Brubank sold 15% of the company to Canadian billionaire David Thomson. Brubank will use the funds to continue growing in Argentina, and is in the process of analyzing expansion opportunities into Mexico, Colombia, or Peru. Read more

Ticket prices are getting too expensive, so fans are borrowing more - Across rugby and soccer, the trend of borrowing to pay for tickets is on the rise, with the quantity of loans doubling in the past 12 months. Secure Trust Bank recently became the biggest bank for soccer loans after Zebra Finance pulled out of the market this summer. Read more

Select Financings


BlockFi - New York City based cryptocurrency lender raised $18.3m in Series A funding led by Valar Ventures. Read more

C2FO - Kansas City, Missouri based provider of a marketplace for working capital raised $200m led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. Read more

CompareAsiaGroup - Hong Kong based provider of a financial management platform for banking and insurance products and services raised $20m in Series B1 financing led by Experian. Read more

Dough - Chicago based commission-free broker raised $20m from Tastytrade, Inc., and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tastytrade. Read more

Eftsure - Australia based provider of protection against payment fraud in the B2B sector raised $2.5m in funding led by Our Innovation Fund.Read more

ePayRails - Jacksonville, FL based provider of B2B payments as a service raised $2.45m in Series A funding led by Aspire Fund Management. Read more

FinMkt - New York City based provider of technology and infrastructure for the online lending industry raised $5m in Series B funding led by FINTOP Capital. Read more

FTX - San Francisco based provider of a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange and trading platform raised $8m from Proof of Capital, Consensus Lab, FBG, and Galois Capital. Read more

Human Interest - San Francisco based provider of software to help small businesses build their own retirement plans raised $15.4m in Series B funding led by U.S. Venture Partners. Read more

Ibotta - Denver, Colorado based provider of cashback and rebates for in-store and mobile purchases raised a Series D round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies that valued the company at $1b. The size of the round was not disclosed. Read more

Indifi - India based provider of loans to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as an online lending marketplace, raised $21m in Series C funding led by CDC Group. Read more

Klarna - Swedish based provider of payments solutions raised $460m, at a post-money valuation of $5.5b, led by Dragoneer Investment Group. Read more

Lendingkart - India based provider of working capital to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises raised $30m in Series D funding from Fullerton Financial Holdings, Bertelsmann India Investments, and India Quotient. Read more

Morty - New York City based online mortgage broker raised $8.5m in Series A funding led by Prudence Holdings. Read more

Penta - Germany based provider of a digital platform for business banking to SMEs raised €8m in funding led by HV Holtzbrinck Ventures. Read more

Ramp Financial - New York based provider of a corporate charge card tailored for startups raised $7m, at a pre-money valuation of $25m, from Founders Fund, BoxGroup, and Coatue Management. Read more

SafetyWing - Norway based provider of medical insurance for gig-economy workers working outside of their "home country" raised $3.5 in Seed funding led by byFounders. Read more

Scalable Capital - Munich, Germany based provider of digital wealth management raised €25m in Series C funding from existing shareholders BlackRock, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, and Tengelmann Ventures. Read more

ScaleFactor - Austin, Texas based provider of accounting automation software for SMEs raised $60m in Series C funding led by Coatue Management. Read more

Sidecar Health - Los Angeles based provider of health care insurance plans customized to customers' needs raised $18m in funding led by GreatPoint Ventures and Morpheus Ventures. Read more

Viva Republica - South Korea based provider of Toss, a simple and frictionless P2P money transfer service, raised $64m in funding led by Aspex Management, valuing the company at $2.2b. Read more

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