Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

September 7, 2016 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Harmoney, a New Zealand based peer to peer lending platform, has surpassed $300 million in lending just shy of their 2 year anniversary of consumer lending. According to their website, Harmoney’s bulk of borrowing has been for debt consolidation.  Interest rates start at 9.99% today. Lenders… Read More

September 7, 2016 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs has released data indicating their portfolio results have generated an annualised rate of return of 14.44% since platform launch in July of 2012. Seedrs has stated the solid returns are indicative of “equity crowdfunding coming of age”. The period started in… Read More

September 6, 2016 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Orchard Platform has announced the creation of a weekly online lending snapshot to provide industry followers an overview of activity within the online sector including marketplace and balance sheet lending.  Orchard stated; “…the snapshot will be produced on a weekly basis with the intention of… Read More

September 5, 2016 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

At the most recent count, China-based peer to peer lender Yirendai (NYSE:YRD) has at least eight class-action lawsuits filed against the company following the enactment of new regulations directed towards the booming online lending industry in China. The firms that have made public proclamations are as… Read More

September 5, 2016 @ 8:50 am By Therese Torris  |  

This summer, crowdinvesting platform WiSeed became authorized as Investment Services Provider (ISP) by the French regulator of financial institutions, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), with the approval of the securities market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). Obtaining this status… Read More

September 5, 2016 @ 8:11 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Singapore-based crowdfunding platform CoAssets announced on Monday it has officially listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX). This news comes after the funding portal raised  S$6.72 million (A$6.55 million)1 under its Public Offer at an issue price of S$0.41 (A$0.40) per share. The company revealed… Read More

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

Earlier this week, India-based lending platform Loadtap announced it secured $3 million during its Series A funding round, which was led by HNIs, Dr. Abhishek, and Jaysukh Sapra. LoanTap was launched earlier this year and is headquartered in Mumbai with an office in Pune. Its co-founders, Satyam Kumar… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 7:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The list of approved and regulated Regulation CF platforms is growing. The roster now stands at 15 FINRA regulated crowdfunding platforms.  The most recently approved platform, ‘Mr. Crowd’ has an interesting progeny as it is being launched by Allen Au and his Ksdaq, Inc. corporation…. Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 1:29 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Crowdfund UK announced it was teaming up with Nesta, Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England to distribute 250,000 towards arts and heritage campaigns as part of a new crowdfunding program.  According to the UK-based funding portal, the program will give a series of specially-selected… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 11:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa announced it was making changes to its lending rates. This news comes after the Bank of England made the decision to cut interest rates. At the time of the interest cuts, The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) released the following statement:… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 10:39 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Criquet Shirts, a clothing brand, announced on Thursday it raised $1.4 million during its Series A funding round, which was led by CircleUp through its Consumer Growth Fund and Market Index Fund II.  The Austin, Texas-based fashion brand offers apparel for both men and boys. Its Players Shirt… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 10:33 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Groundfloor, a real estate lending marketplace open to non-accredited investors, announced on Thursday it is expanding into 12 additional states. This news comes just one year after the platform qualified under Regulation A+. The lending website is currently available in 23 states, and the new states are Rhode Island,… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 8:26 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the Bank of England reduced the Bank Rate from 0.5% to 0.25% as part of a broader stimulus package to buttress the UK economy following Brexit aftershocks. These interest rate cuts make money cheaper to borrow but this means savers are earning less. Moneyfacts… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 2:57 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Peak Design looks to the crowd to surpass $4.3 million (or better, $5M!) for its Everyday Backpack line during its final 8 days on Kickstarter, swiftly passing its modest goal of $500,000 for line’s four new bags. Within hours, the California-based initiative not only successfully secured its initial goal but nabbed over… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 2:03 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Tile, the smart location company, today unveiled its newest consumer product – Tile Slim, a Bluetooth tracker designed specifically for wallets. The company also introduced today the Tile Smart Location Platform, a B2B offering that allows companies to embed Tile’s smart location technology into their own… Read More

August 31, 2016 @ 3:59 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Peer to peer lender Harmoney is taking some heat from the New Zealand Commerce Commission as they have filed Fair Trading Act (FTA) charges in the Auckland District Court against against them. The Commission previously revealed six FTA charges that Harmoney faced related to 27 versions of… Read More

August 31, 2016 @ 1:01 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, Kickstarter offered some advice on how organizers can attract media attention towards their crowdfunding projects. The funding portal decided as release a list of ways campaigns can get noticed. The Kickstarter team stated the core question that creators have asked when they launch… Read More

August 31, 2016 @ 7:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Real estate crowdfunding platform iFunding (Innovational Funding LLC) has settled a lingering lawsuit regarding a shareholder claim against the young  company. According to information provided by iFunding, the lawsuit brought against the company by Michael J. Turner has been settled for cash.  The cash settlement… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 2:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, crowdfunding giant Kickstarter announced Hong Kong and Singapore project creators may now launch campaigns on its funding portal. This news comes nearly one month after the Kickstarter team revealed their plans for the two countries. ? Creators in Singapore & Hong Kong can… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 2:14 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, CEO of New Zealand crowdfunding platform PledgeMe, Anna Guenther, introduced a new feature called “PledgeMe.Friends,” which will offer a nice “bonus” for those who inspire companies to use its website. The funding portal first introduced the PledgeMe.Friends concept while updating users on its yearly progress earlier… Read More