To learn more about securities technology development in the United States, we travelled to New York City to meet with players in the securities tech field during the week of October 15, 2019. We visited 10 companies, including Betterment, Beacon Platform, Fintech Collective, Titan, Nova Credit, MoneyLion, EquityZen, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Carta and Stocktwits. We also met with the New York State financial regulator, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the industry membership organization, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Here are the details of our meetings:
Betterment: One of the Biggest Online Investing Platforms (Robo-advisor)
Betterment is leading the next generation of technology evolution with automated investment. The company is building on prior innovation and applying technology in new ways to improve asset management so that people have better investment outcomes. Through smart user-design and customer development, Betterment works with individuals to better address their investing needs by providing high-quality services at a low price.
We were delighted to talk with Mr. Markus Fischer, Head of Corporate and Business Development at Betterment, about the company’s business model and about the development of robo-advisory services. Markus told us that there would be more space for the application of artificial intelligence in the financial sector in the next few years and that Betterment is committed to improving financial optimization services for customers.
Beacon Platform: A Leading Provider of Cloud-based Fintech Platform
Beacon is a fintech company that offers a cloud-based, end-to-end development and production platform for financial and quantitative developers. The platform empowers clients to grow successful businesses in an innovative way. It provides software infrastructure services for large financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, fund companies and related companies.
We were excited to meet with Kirat Singh, founder and CEO at Beacon Platform. Kirat introduced us to the founding ideas, business model innovation and the platform advantages of the Beacon Platform. Kirat also shared his views with us on network security and its application in the fintech field with us. He expressed his interest in the Chinese market and looked forward to the possibility of future cooperation in the Chinese market.
Fintech Collective: A Venture Capital Firm with Desire to Reshape Markets
Fintech Collective is a venture capital firm which aims to create the future of financial services by bringing transparency and choice to developed markets, and financial connectivity and socio-economic mobility to developing markets. The company invests thematically across capital markets, wealth and asset management, banking-lending-payments, and insurance.
We were delighted to meet with Brooks Gibbins and Gareth Jones, Co-founder’s and Managing Partner’s at FinTech Collective on October 16, 2019. We held in in-depth discussions on business models of fintech innovation in China and the US. Brooks has been focusing on the development of fintech in China and he said that China might become a pioneer in the application of new technologies.
Titan: A New Asset Management and Online Investment Platform
The objective of Titan is to compound users’ capital at an attractive rate over the long term. Titan offers customers a basket of 20 quality stocks plus a personalized "hedge" based on their daily risk tolerance. In its first year and a half, Titan has successfully obtained the first round of financing and the number of users is growing very fast, which suggest that Titan has a bright future.
We had a great conservation with Joe Percoco, Founder of Titan and Vincent Ning, Director of Research and Operations at Titan, on the difference of investment ideas and regulation between Chinese and American capital markets. Joe stated that using the "hedge" concept and education in the financial field could help more investors participate in the capital markets.
Nova Credit: A World-class Cross-border Credit Reporting Agent
Nova Credit hopes to provide credit to outsiders with no credit history in the United States and to give them the opportunity to use financial services including lending. Nova Credit partners with top consumer credit bureaus globally so that newcomers can bring their credit history with them.
We were delighted to meet with Sarah Davies, Credit Risk Analytics at Nova Credit to discuss future collaboration. Sarah pointed out that Chinese youngsters tend to use mobile payment methods which would bring more dimensions for credit rating data. She would like to develop a long-term relationship with China to explore the application prospect of alternative data to establish credit ratings.
MoneyLion: A Leading Mobile Financial Platform
MoneyLion empowers consumers to take control of their financial lives through better products for borrowing, saving, and investing. The company's goal is to optimize consumers' money management and savings while boosting their credit.
We were excited to meet with Jon Stevenson, Head of Wealth Management and Banking and Michael Doniger, Wealth Management at MoneyLion on October 17, 2019. We held in-depth discussion the MoneyLion’s business model, and the company’s approach to network security and risk management. After the meeting, MoneyLion expressed its support for future cooperation with China.
EquityZen: An Online Equity Transaction Platform
EquityZen was founded in 2013 by Atish Davda (CEO), Shriram Bhashyam, and Phil Haslett in New York City. The company operates a marketplace in which employee shareholders in private companies can make their equity available to outside investors. The firm works exclusively with companies that have already raised capital from large institutional investors.
We had a great meeting with Brian Griffith, Chief of Staff at EquityZen. During the meeting, we discussed on EquityZen’s business model, credit granting process, regulatory issues as well as the use of technology with Brian.
New York State Department of Financial Services: A Famous Regulator in NYC
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS or NYSDFS) is a department of New York state government, which is responsible for regulating financial services and products under the New York insurance, banking and financial services laws. DFS is mandated to encourage high standards of honesty, transparency, fair business practices and public responsibility, and to reduce incidents of financial fraud.
We were delighted to visit DFS on October 17, 2019. The Department supervises approximately 4400 entities, with assets of about $6.2 trillion. DFS stated that they have established a fintech office to supervise digital currencies and other related financial products. During the meeting, DFS shared their attempts at new regulatory approaches to financial innovation. We all hope to have more opportunities to communicate on the fintech regulatory model in the securities field in the future.
Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC): Protecting Today's Investors for Tomorrow
As a non-profit corporation, SIPC has been protecting investors for 50 years. The company works to restore investors’ cash and securities when their brokerage firms fail. SIPC has recovered billions of dollars for investors. If a firm files for bankruptcy, and the assets have been appropriately segregated, the investor's assets should be recoverable, beyond SIPC's current protection limit of $500,000 of the net equity per account and $250,000 for cash claims.
On October 18, 2019, we visited SIPC and had a great discussion with Hemant Sharma, Senior Associate General Counsel at SIPC on the prospects for applying technology in the field of securities and regulation. Hemant said that SIPC is looking forward to more research findings that can provide better ideas and solutions to promote innovation in the industry while taking investor protection into account. We look forward to cooperation in the close future.
JP Morgan Chase & Co: A Leading Global Financial Services Firm
JP Morgan Chase & Co is a leading investment bank, which also offers financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. It serves millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients.
We had a great conversation with Debbie Eng, Executive Director, Global Cybersecurity Policy Lead, Debbie Toennies, Managing Director at JP Morgan, and Stephen Plating, Consulting Specialist at Regulatory Compliance Associates Inc. During the meeting, Stephen shared details about the Athena technology investment system with us. We exchanged ideas on fintech, the regulatory environment and discussed future cooperation.
Carta: An Equity Management Solutions Company
Carta was founded in 2012 by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar. In December 2018 Carta raised $80 million in series D and reach a total value of $800 million. The mission of Carta is to create more owners of capital. By building a global ownership management platform, Carta is changing how companies, investors, law firms, and employees manage equity. The company helps more than 12,000 firms manage their equity.
We visited Carta and met with Head of Marketing Department, compliance department and product department on October 21, 2019. They shared the founding process and Carta’s business model innovation with us. Carta stated that they were looking forward to researching the Chinese market and reaching cooperation with China.
Stocktwits：The Largest Social Network for Investors and Traders
Stocktwits is the largest social network for investors and traders, with over two million registered community members and millions of monthly visitors. Founded in 2008, the mission of Stocktwits is to connect regular investors and traders with each other so they can profit, learn, and have fun.
We were delighted to meet Ian Rosen, CEO at StockTwits. Ian introduced StockTwits profit models, anti-fraud systems and the future of the company to us. At the end of the meeting, we discussed possible future cooperation.
