Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

December 2, 2014 @ 7:39 am By JD Alois  |  

Switzerland may be the next country to jump into the real estate crowdfunding boom.  According to the site operators Swiss-Crowd is scheduled to launch their platform in late December.  Swiss-Crowd is owned and operated by Lugano based Abacus International, a company operated by Augusto Vecchi…. Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 3:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lending platform Zopa has signed an agreement with Flow to provide financing to Flow customers.  Flow is a company that has been developing and commercialising alternative energy products for about a decade.  One of those products is the Flow Boiler.  The product is described as an… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Pony Ma, founder of Tencent Holding have purchased shares in large China insurer Ping An.  According to a report in the FT (subscription), the pair participated in a private placement by Ping An where the company raised $4.7 billion this past… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

In an amended S1 filing today, Lending Club revealed the proposed maximum offering price per share, along with the aggregate offering amount.  The document filed with the SEC indicates 57,700,000 shares may be sold at a price of up to $12 / share.  The prospectus… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 11:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The Crowdcube Accelerator held its pitch event this past week and 5 companies told their story to a “packed room of investors” hoping to drive investment in their companies. The 5 companies went live on the investment crowdfunding platform minutes before the pitch.  According to… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 10:54 am By JD Alois  |  

RateSetter, a leading UK peer to peer lending platform, has made a public call for a “refresh” on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).  In a public statement RateSetter declared, “the time has come for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to act its age”.  RateSetter… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 9:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this month, University of Tennessee in Knoxville launched a crowdfunding platform called the VOLstarter to offer an alternative way for students, faculty and staff to raise funds for on campus projects. According to Tennessee Today, VOLstarter links donors with opportunities to support specific projects and initiatives…. Read More

November 30, 2014 @ 1:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Global investment crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has published a list of portfolio companies that have won various awards.  OurCrowd is different from many crowdfunding platforms in that they invest in each and every one of the companies listed on their portal. It is also interesting that… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a company statement it was announced the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce and alternative crowdlending platform Dealstruck have formed a partnership in an effort to ease the process of securing growth capital faced by early-stage businesses.  The partnership will provide Chamber members and customers with… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a statement on the investment crowdfunding platform, Seedrs announced changes to their referral fee process, as well as a shift in approach to the sites fee structure. It is typical of investment crowdfunding portals to incentivize investors to refer acquaintances to register on different… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading peer to peer lending platform Zopa has partnered with tech company AU10Tix to improve identification process. AU10TIX is a fully owned subsidiary of ICTS International N.V. Zopa is raising the bar in protecting lenders against fraud by verifying borrowers more thoroughly by checking official… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 8:57 am By Yangjie She & Naiwen Zhang  |  

The biggest Peer to Peer (P2P) lending market, China, has been experiencing explosive growth. After two articles introducing the historical growth and outlook for this market, we are going to take a micro look on the huge variety of (P2P) lending platforms emerging in China…. Read More

November 27, 2014 @ 7:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Relatively new investment crowdfunding platform DuurzaamInvesteren is seeking to carve out a niche in the renewable energy crowdfunding space. The Amsterdam based company has offered three wind energy projects and now they are offering investors the chance to participate in their first “Solar Bond”. Renewable… Read More

November 26, 2014 @ 10:37 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this month, an alleged Iraq war veteran known as Kevin Fish debuted his crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $4,000 for what he noted to be his final trip to his family in Louisiana before he died from bone cancer. Fish shared on the… Read More

November 26, 2014 @ 9:24 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based Landbay has joined the Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) becoming the latest member to adhere by the standards set by the advocacy group.  Landbay has targeted a segment of the real estate sector by lending against occupied housing.  The peer lender has differentiated… Read More

November 25, 2014 @ 4:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

United Airlines is teaming up with crowdfunding platform, Crowdrise, to show the power of giving this holiday season. The company will offer up to 10 million bonus award miles to MileagePlus members who donate to some of their favorite charities through Dec. 5, 2014. Each donation will… Read More

November 25, 2014 @ 3:20 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

CrowdRise, a leading platform for charitable crowdfunding, is partnering with hundreds of charities to build a Giving Tower to show the world’s philanthropic impact on #GivingTuesday. The Giving Tower will be built using augmented reality, think a really cool hologram. The campaign launched today (November… Read More

November 25, 2014 @ 9:50 am By JD Alois  |  

In a company release RCS Capital Corporation (NYSE: RCAP) stated that certain broker-dealers have resumed sales of products distributed by RCS Capital the company’s wholesale distribution business, pursuant to 51 recently reinstated selling agreements. RCS Capital states it has 1,020 active selling agreements and works… Read More

November 25, 2014 @ 2:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The University of Cambridge is teaming up with EY, the global professional services organization, to launch European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations. This is the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative finance… Read More

November 24, 2014 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

City of Louisville & Kiva.org Partner On Crowdfunded Zero Percent Interest Loans Kiva has announced the next city to leverage their platform to help fund entrepreneurship.  Kiva City Louisville, an initiative that brings crowdfunded micro-loans to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Louisville… Read More