Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

April 2, 2018 @ 6:00 am By Andy Bromberg, Georgia Quinn & Regan Bozman  |  

  To date, fundraising has been blockchain’s killer app. In 2017, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fundraising eclipsed that of traditional venture capital, and in 2018, ICOs have already raised nearly $3 billion in non-dilutive funding. This new form of early-stage financing is incredibly promising, at… Read More

April 1, 2018 @ 3:31 am By JD Alois  |  

Canada’s leading investment crowdfunding platform, FrontFundr, is seeking female investors to help them grow. Frontfundr is in the midst of a self-crowdfunding campaign seeking a minimum raise of $750,000 (and a max of $1.5 million). Frontfundr is offering common stock in the company at a… Read More

March 31, 2018 @ 9:58 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

BondMason, an online savings and investments platform that sources investments from across the peer-to-peer (P2P) market for its clients, announced earlier this week it has relaunched its website. The company reported taken on board feedback from its clients and partners to ensure the new website is easier… Read More

March 31, 2018 @ 3:05 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

UK-based challenger bank TSB announced this week it is preparing to launch a new lending marketplace with a mission help small businesses across the UK get the funding their need to continue growth. The bank is partnering with Funding Options to launch the marketplace this… Read More

March 30, 2018 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last time we checked in back at the end of December, there were 36 FINRA approved Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) portals in operation. Today, that number has increased to 38 as two more entrants have entered the Reg CF space. As for portals that have… Read More

March 30, 2018 @ 12:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine, one of the largest investment crowdfunding platforms in the US, has now topped $4 million in their self-crowdfunding campaign. The online capital formation platform announced their Reg A+ securities offering went live last October. Using a pre-money valuation of $65 million, StartEngine is seeking… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 9:03 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dianrong and China United SME Guarantee Corporation, known as Sino Guarantee announced the launch of a new lenders protection plan for Dianrong customers. According to the duo, this new protection plan went into effect at the beginning of 2018 and is designed to provide third-party… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 8:34 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based Britbots, a investment platform dedicated to promoting robotics companies, and Sapphire Capital Partners, a specialist manager of tax-efficient funds, has shared that their second British Robotics Seed Fund has attracted substantial investor interest and has been well subscribed. The fund is expected to… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 8:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube, a leading equity crowdfunding platform, has announced a new initiative to boost deal flow by supporting startups and growth businesses outside London. The goal is to double equity crowdfunding deals in under 5 years by partnering with six supporters of regional SMEs. Luke Lang,… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 7:54 am By JD Alois  |  

Trillion Fund, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), changed its business model in September 2015, deciding that it could no longer offer investments to retail investors in renewable energy projects. The decision was driven in part of the UK Government’s decision to… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 7:41 am By JD Alois  |  

  Fintechs Investly and Landbay have received the backing of British tennis champion Andy Murray, according to investment crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Murray has backed these two early-stage firms as part of his relationship with Seedrs, today investing with undisclosed amounts. The platform shares that Murray’s… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawrence Summers has resigned from the Board of Directors of LendingClub (NYSE:LC), according to a release from the leading online lending platform. Summers is departing the Board at the conclusion of LendingClub’s annual shareholder meeting following a six year stint helping to guide the firms strategy. Summers… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Aperture is a new platform that is focusing on the real estate marketplace putting a new spin on property crowdfunding. While not the first blockchain based real estate startup, Property Coin (PCX) is in the midst of a security token offering that is claiming first… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 3:40 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Hedderwick Limited has partnered again with Downing Crowd to revitalize UK pub culture.  In recent months, Downing Crowd also celebrated successful rounds with Oakman Inn’s The White Hart and Downoak Pub. This is an opportunity to lend to Hedderwick Limited and earn a fixed interest rate of… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 2:36 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Kabbage, Inc., a global financial services, tech and data platform serving small businesses, analyzed the lending behavior of nearly 150,000 small businesses — sourcing its own customers — noting a steadily increasing growth in mobile lending. The total number of loans accessed through mobile increased… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 2:13 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendingCrowd, one of the UK’s fastest-growing alternative finance lenders to the SME market, announced on Wednesday it secured £2 million through its latest investment round, which was led by Equity Gap and included a number of prominent private investors from Scotland’s entrepreneurial and finance scene and the… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 12:14 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendInvest announced on Tuesday it has “fine-tuned” its approach to lending on commercial property and funding commercial-to-residential conversion projects, with a range of updates across its loan products. According to the lending platform, borrowers who wish to fund the purchase of, extend the lease on, or… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 11:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Australia-based marketplace lender SocietyOne recently announced it has appointed G&C Mutual Bank CEO, Dave Taylor, as a new non-executive director. According to SocietyOne, Taylor has more than 25 years of experience in financial services. His board experience notably has included directorships of mutual institutions, industry superannuation funds… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 10:12 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, online lending platform SoFi announced it was making changes to wealth portfolios. The lender reported that it wants to help users make the smartest investment decisions possible so that they can continue on the path to their goals. It was also reported that each… Read More

March 28, 2018 @ 9:29 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, DonorsChoose announced San Francisco-based Ripple donated $29 million to fund every classroom project request on the nonprofit’s crowdfunding platform. According to DonorsChoose, the donation fulfilled 35,647 requests from 28,210 public school teachers in every state. Teachers at 16,561 public schools, or 1in 6 of all the public schools in… Read More