Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

December 5, 2016 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine is a FINRA regulated, Reg CF funding portal that also lists Reg A+ issuers and the occasional accredited crowdfunding offer (Reg D 506c). The platform has helped to raise almost $25 million this year for early stage companies.  Perhaps the most prominent offer to close… Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 10:14 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Marketplace lending platform, LendingUSA, announced on Monday it has appointed Manoj Mathew as its new chief technology officer. Mathew is co-founder and former chief technology officer of LendFoundry. He also brings more than 20 years of experience working with IT and product engineering companies. Sharing… Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 8:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Growth Street is now an FCA registered Appointed Representative.  Growth Street will now be able to accept individual investors on its peer to peer lending platform. Growth Street, an alternative finance platform for SMEs, previously only accepted incorporated businesses to lend and borrow to each… Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 7:48 am By JD Alois  |  

LandlordInvest has received full Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation following a 24-month process. LandlordInvest is a peer to peer lending platform for buy-to-let and bridge loans. LandlordInvest stated it has also submitted an application to HMRC to become an ISA manager and intends on offering… Read More

December 4, 2016 @ 4:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Wefunder is in the midst of a self-crowdfunding round and things are moving along quite well. The minimum raise was pegged at a $1 million goal and as of today stands at $1.77 million. WeFunder has created a WeFund SPV to hold the shares in… Read More

December 4, 2016 @ 8:35 am By Jessica Pham  |  

In a follow-up to the Ezubao (Ezubo) shutdown, five people affiliated with the Chinese P2P lending platform that is accused of a Ponzi scheme are on trial for gold smuggling.  This is the first court case that is a part of a scandal that robbed investors of between… Read More

December 3, 2016 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

This may be a case of too much of a good thing. The FT is reporting that Zopa has put a halt to retail investors lending money on their peer to peer lending platform. Allegedly, yield hungry investors are “flooding” the market hunting for better… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 11:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Online lender CAN Capital has removed CEO Dan Demeo and promoted Parris Sanz in his place. Bloomberg reported that Demeo and two other executives were on a “leave of absence” sending shudders across the entire online lending industry.  Demeo, who joined the company in 2010 as… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 10:11 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform, Dianrong, announced on Friday it is officially joining blockchain alliance, the Hyperledger Project. The portal claimed to be the first peer-to-peer company among the project’s 22 Chinese members. The Hyperledge Project, which was established by the Linux Foundation at the end… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 9:54 am By JD Alois  |  

All four initial Reg CF crowdfunding offers listed by Indiegogo, via their partner platform MicroVentures, have hit their funding targets.  This comes after launching investment crowdfunding mid-November. The rapid funding success may be indicative of the traffic generating channel intrinsic to Indiegogo’s rewards-based platform.  Indiegogo… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 9:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday CrowdRise celebrated the 2016 #GivingTuesday with its annual Giving Tower Campaign. The crowdfunding platform announced $4 million was raised more than 1,100 participating charities competing for a $25,000 prize in the CrowdRise Giving Tower campaign. This year, the CrowdRise Giving Tower reportedly reached over… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 8:46 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

PrimaryBid, an online funding platform that enables investors to gain access to placings of AIM-listed companies, announced on Friday users of its platform contributed to an oversubscribed fundraising for Mobile Streams. According to PrimaryBid, Mobile Streams has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £2.2 million through… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 7:06 am By JD Alois  |  

RealtyMogul.com has lowered the minimum necessary to invest in their first REIT or MogulREIT I to $1,000. Previously, the minimum investment was $2,500. RealtyMogul.com CEO Jilliene Helman said their goal was to give more investors the opportunity to invest in unique real estate investments on… Read More

December 2, 2016 @ 6:55 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Timelio is a Melbourne-based fintech startup looking to disrupt traditional lending models by allowing businesses to turn invoices into cash by selling their invoices online on a P2P marketplace.  It raised $5 million via an equity funding round last month.  The investment is backed by the Thorney… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 8:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

One of the frequently touted benefits of peer to peer/marketplace lending is the heightened transparency associated with loan originations processed online.  The financial crisis of the last decade was in part fueled by the disconnect between lender and borrower. As mortgages were securitized, sliced and… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 6:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

AngelList has acquired Product Hunt in a push to expand its reach into the startup ecosystem.  With the purchase, AngelList will now be able to provide early stage companies with funding, employees and assistance in acquiring customers. Something that is pretty important. Recode reported that… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 5:20 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Latvia-based VIA SMS Group announced this week it is launching Viainvest, a peer-to-peer marketplace for both private and legal entities offering to invest into consumer loans originating from non-banking lenders. While sharing details about Viainvest, Eduards Lapkovskis, member of the board at VIA SMS Group, stated: “By… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 4:56 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

BitLendingClub, a bitcoin peer-to-peer lending platform, announced on Thursday it was shutting down all of its services. The website claimed the closure was due to regulatory pressure. The lending portal’s team released a letter to customers, stating: “We’ve worked extremely hard to build a platform… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 4:35 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

NextGen Crowdfunding announced on Thursday it is launching a new Indiegogo Equity Crowdfunding Tracker, called Indiegogo Crowdfunding Watch, This feature will track investor commitments through the crowdfunding platform. Sharing details about the new tracker, Dr. Richard Swart, Chief Strategy Officer at NextGen Crowdfunding, stated: “Indiegogo’s entrance into… Read More

December 1, 2016 @ 3:48 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

RealtyShares announced on Thursday a total of  $5,144,000 has been raised through its real estate crowdfunding marketplace for the acquisition and development of four free-standing triple net (NNN) leased quick service restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee. According to RealtyShares, the tenants, which includes three Checkers and… Read More