Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

May 15, 2018 @ 7:08 am By JD Alois  |  

UK Peer-to-peer lending platform RateSetter has topped the milestone of returning £100 million in pre-tax interest payments to its investors. RateSetter reports accomplishing this without any individual investor losing a penny. Launched in October 2010, RateSetter now claims over 500,000 customers. From the investing side, more than… Read More

May 14, 2018 @ 2:59 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

YieldStreet, an online marketplace for a diverse array of asset-backed investments, announced on Monday it is launching  Marine Finance as a new asset class. According to YieldStreet, Marine Finance focuses on financing vessel acquisitions for the spot market, time charters or bareboat charters, as well as the construction of… Read More

May 14, 2018 @ 11:54 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, Funding Circle announced it is now offering £1,500 in Amazon vouchers to those who recommend its platform to new customers. The online lender also reported that the new customer will receive a £100 Amazon voucher as well.  To get their vouchers, customers need… Read More

May 14, 2018 @ 5:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Kapital Boost, a Sharia based peer to peer platform, and Global Entrepreneur Professional (or Genpro), have announced a new partnership to support the development of SMEs in Indonesia. The collaboration will see Kapital Boost providing funding to Genpro’s members who qualify and demonstrate strong growth… Read More

May 13, 2018 @ 4:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

CoinList, an offshoot of AngelList, is positioning its platform to list a few, promising initial coin offerings (ICO) on an ongoing basis. The very first ICO listed became a blockbuster offering raising over $200 million in a blink of the eye. Filecoin listed the token… Read More

May 11, 2018 @ 4:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine posts a weekly blog update regarding the state of Reg CF (or Regulation Crowdfunding).  This is the smallest of the three crowdfunding exemptions and allows companies to raise up to $1.07 million. While the industry is still maturing, and expectations are for Congress to… Read More

May 11, 2018 @ 9:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE) announced on Friday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ovation Credit Services, Inc., a provider of credit services with a strong customer service reputation. According to LendingTree, Ovation Credit Services utilizes a proprietary software application that facilitates the credit… Read More

May 11, 2018 @ 7:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Mintos, a European marketplace for  peer to peer loans, is a leader in Continental Europe with an estimated 39% market share. Today, Mintos has announced a significant next step by listing their first UK originator – thus expanding into the most robust P2P market in… Read More

May 10, 2018 @ 9:50 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Funding Circle announced it has appointed Cath Keers as its new non-executive board member. According to the online lender, Keers has more than three decades of professional and leadership experience within the retail, consumer, digital, and technology sectors. She currently serves as a Non-Executive… Read More

May 10, 2018 @ 9:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Real estate crowdfunding continues to be a promising sector for both issuers of securities and investors in the space. It is an inevitability that property as an asset class will migrate to being available nearly 100% online. Easier for investors to participate and incredibly easier… Read More

May 10, 2018 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

In 2017, Knightscope, a robotics firm, raised $20 million on equity crowdfunding platform SeedInvest – their largest crowdfunding round to date.  Knightscope raised capital using Reg A+, an upated securities exemption that allows companies to raise up to $50 million from both accredited and non-accredited individuals…. Read More

May 10, 2018 @ 2:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, LendInvest published the results of a survey of its LendInvest Property Development Academy attendees, which revealed that aspiring property developers have stated economic growth will have the greatest effect on house prices in the next five years. According to LendInvest, when asked what will have the… Read More

May 9, 2018 @ 7:39 am By JD Alois  |  

  BriefCam, a tech firm that transforms raw video into actionable intelligence and OurCrowd portfolio company, has been acquired by Canon, Inc. a global leader in digital imaging solutions. According to information provided by the company, the addition of BriefCam to Canon’s Network Video Solutions… Read More

May 8, 2018 @ 10:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, a global leader in equity crowdfunding, has further boosted its presence in Asia by forming a new partnership with Bangkok Bank (BBL), a leading bank in Thailand. Bangkok Bank is one of Southeast Asia’s leading regional banks and Thailand’s market leader in corporate and SME… Read More

May 8, 2018 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE: LC), the largest marketplace lending platform in the US, has just released their Q1 earnings report while providing guidance for the full year. According to LendingClub, revenue increased 22% to $151.7 for the quarter with originations growing 18%. Total lending has now topped… Read More

May 8, 2018 @ 4:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Wefunder, an investment crowdfunding platform, has recently launched a results page that highlights the performance of securities sold on its platform.  When reviewing the 2013-2014 vintage, Wefunder investments top Venture Capital funds – by quite a lot. According to Wefunder, unrealized net gains for the… Read More

May 7, 2018 @ 10:07 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Better Mortgage, a digital mortgage company working to improve access to home financing through transparency, honest guidance, and zero commissions, announced on Monday it has appointed Howard Katzenberg as its new CFO. According to Better Mortgage, Katzenberg was the CFO of small business lending platform OnDeck… Read More

May 6, 2018 @ 10:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd is one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in the world and, perhaps, the largest early stage platform globally by now. The five year old firm has quickly gone from zero to nearly $1 billion in capital raised with the expectation to surpass the billion dollar… Read More

May 4, 2018 @ 2:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Funding Circle announced the European Investment Fund, part of the European Investment Bank Group, and KfW, a German Promotional Bank, are supporting UK small businesses through their investment in a securitization of loans originated by the Funding Circle online lending platform. According to… Read More

May 3, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

First RealFund (FRF), a commercial real estate crowdfunding platform headquartered in New York City, announced on Thursday it raised $500,000 of preferred equity financing for the renovation of a 4-story brownstone in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. According to FRF, the project’s sponsor, XYZ Group, has pinpointed a… Read More