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☆ Fidelity whistleblower alleges he was fired for raising red flags over pressure to sell pricey investments
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewA former Fidelity financial advisor has accused the brokerage of unlawfully firing him after filing a whistleblower complaint. Fidelity ranked branch managers by the number of client assets in more expensive investments such as stock-managed accounts, Maeker said. Financial advisors who did not score highly were awarded little to no stock or threatened to be fired, Meaker said. This race to zero has led to more pressure on high-fee products, as Maeker's branch manager told him. In turn, financial advisors were pushed to sell more Tier 3 investments by awarding 10 times the amount of compensation for Tier 3 investments versus Tier 1.

Persons: —, Michael Maeker, Maeker, Meaker, FINRA Organizations: Service, Fidelity, Department of Labor, Business, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Treasury, Northern, Northern District of, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Reuters Locations: Dallas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ FTX estate selling majority stake in AI startup Anthropic for $884 million, with bulk going to UAE
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has struck a deal with a consortium of buyers to sell the majority of its stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for $884 million, according to a filing submitted late Friday to a Delaware court. That group is purchasing nearly $500 million worth of Anthropic shares. Multiple sovereign wealth funds were reportedly clamoring for a piece of FTX's Anthropic stake. Jane Street's head of quantitative research, Craig Falls, has also proposed to personally buy around $20 million worth of shares. Should it be approved, the sale would collectively account for nearly two-thirds of FTX's shares in Anthropic.

Persons: Jane Street, Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Jane Street's, Craig, John Dorsey Organizations: Investment Co, United, United Arab Emirates, CNBC, Alameda Research, Venture, HOF Capital, Ford Foundation, Fidelity Management Locations: Delaware, United Arab, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Craig Falls, Anthropic

The new round, led by T. Rowe Price, could mark the last round of private funding as the data company gears up for the public market. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), another beneficiary of the AI boom, and credit card firm Capital One Financial (COF.N), also participated in the latest funding round. AI, the latest buzzword in the technology space, has captivated the interest of investors from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Its latest valuation is over 13% more than the $38 billion the San Francisco-based company was worth after its last fundraise in 2021. The company has raised $4 billion since inception.

Persons: Rowe Price, Ali Ghodsi, Ghodsi, Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Morgan, Weeks, Databricks, Niket, Krystal Hu, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Nvidia, Reuters, Fidelity Management & Research, Tiger Global, Thomson Locations: Silicon Valley, Wall, Francisco, Bengaluru, Hong Kong

☆ Instacart to target valuation of up to $9.3 billion in IPO, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Cheney Orr Acquire Licensing RightsSept 10 (Reuters) - Grocery delivery service Instacart is targeting a valuation between $8.6 billion and $9.3 billion in its initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The valuation range will be disclosed in an updated IPO regulatory filing on Monday, the source said on SundayInstacart declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on Sunday on Instacart's IPO valuation target. Unlike an IPO, no shares are sold in advance in a direct listing and investors can sell their shares directly to the public. For the six months ended June 30, Instacart last month reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 31% from the same period last year.

Persons: Eric Cohn, Cheney Orr, Instacart, Andreessen Horowitz, Rowe Price, Anirudh Saligrama, Manya Saini, Niket, Echo Wang, Cynthia Osterman, Leslie Adler Organizations: Safeway, REUTERS, Arm Holdings Ltd, Reuters, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research, Thomson Locations: Tucson , Arizona, U.S, Bengaluru, Echo, New York

☆ Goldman Sachs-backed digital bank Starling to expand in hotly competitive Asia-Pacific market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British digital bank Starling is planning its first expansion outside of Europe, targeting a move into Asia-Pacific, CNBC has learned. However, Drewett said the bank Starling is partnering would use the company's software to launch small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) accounts, rather than to provide personal banking services. "It's a different proof point for us: one in Europe, one in Asia-Pacific," Drewett told CNBC in an interview Thursday. Engine is a technology platform that Starling launched in March 2022 and licenses out to other financial technology firms and large banks. Starling is using its Engine core banking platform as a launchpad for international expansion.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Nick Drewett, Starling, Drewett, Anne Boden, Boden, Statista Organizations: CNBC, Qatar Investment Partners, Fidelity Management, Research Company Locations: Europe, Asia, Pacific, Irish, U.K, Qatar

OAKLAND, California, May 31 (Reuters) - Lightmatter, a Boston-based startup using light for AI computing, said on Wednesday it raised $154 million and tripled its valuation as customers in need of faster, more energy efficient computing for AI work are buying its systems. "We use light to link computer chips together and we also use light to do calculations for deep learning," Lightmatter co-founder and CEO Nick Harris said. "The reason that we're getting these customers and data center scale deployments with our interconnect is that the generative AI boom is driving high-end chips like crazy." Light has been used for decades in the telecommunications industry to move data across the world with fiber optic cables. Harris said Envise will be able to run large AI models but will not train them.

Persons: Lightmatter, Nick Harris, Harris, Envise, Jane Lanhee Lee, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: GV, Google Ventures, Inc, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Thomson Locations: OAKLAND, California, Boston

☆ Bowery: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Founded in 2015 in New York City, Bowery is among several urban plant factories that are changing food supplies, and attracting substantial funding. The need to grow produce more efficiently, and closer to end markets, is represented in Bowery and the concept of vertical agriculture. Early last year, Bowery secured a $150 million credit investment from KKR & Co. Overall, Bowery increased its retail distribution 40% in 2022, with supermarket chains Albertsons, Giant Food, Walmart and Whole Foods on board. Almost a decade on from its founding, the idea behind Bowery remains novel, but skeptics say vertical farming remains closer to a DIY niche than a grown up, globally scalable agtech industry.

☆ Investing legend Peter Lynch on the investments he regrets not making in recent years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Legendary investor Peter Lynch has one of the best investing records under his belt, but he still has regrets for not buying into some of the biggest tech companies in recent years. The former Fidelity Magellan fund manager revealed Tuesday that he wished he hadn't missed out on the explosive growth in Apple . Lynch, vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." I should have done some work on Apple ... it's not a complicated company." Lynch recounted how his daughter had bought an iPod for $250 at the time and how he recalled thinking Apple was making a high margin on it.

☆ Peter Lynch says his investing strategy still works today, but you have to do your homework
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Legendary fund manager Peter Lynch says many investors buying individual stocks today are getting it wrong. His investment strategy has long been to buy what you know — and look for companies poised to grow. He said he still believes that approach works, but investors must do their homework. Lynch, 79, managed Fidelity's Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990 and is now vice chairman, Fidelity Management & Research. During his time at Magellan Fund, the fund saw annualized return of 29.2% and its assets under management jumped from $20 million to $14 billion.

☆ Famed investor Peter Lynch says he doesn't own any crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Legendary investor Peter Lynch is staying away from cryptocurrency . "I can't pronounce crypto – I can spell it, definitely can't pronounce it," he joked, adding, "What bitcoin's going to be, I have no idea." Although he appeared to have little interest in putting any of his own money into crypto, Lynch has studied the bitcoin investment case. The next one is about a year from now but it doesn't yet have a specific date. Lynch declined to comment on specific investments, but said he "tends to own small caps."

☆ This startup found success using A.I. to build beauty products. But can it keep making money?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Oddity Il Makiage Coutesy: OddityOddity — the direct-to-consumer beauty and wellness platform known for its ubiquitous Il Makiage social media ads — is making money and growing in an environment that's increasingly risky for purely digital retailers. Since its U.S. launch in 2018, Oddity has achieved profitability, the company said, making $380 million in gross sales in 2022. In Spoiled Child's first year on the market, the new brand brought in $48 million in gross sales. Oddity builds out new products and brands by using its tech to figure out what customers are looking for. Oddity is in the process of integrating the tech into its Il Makiage powermatch quiz to improve accuracy.

☆ Fanatics Hits $31 Billion Valuation in Latest Funding Round
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Miriam Gottfried | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fanatics expects to complete an IPO but plans to wait until some of its newer business lines are more established. Fanatics Inc. has raised about $700 million from a group of investors, pushing the sports-merchandising company’s valuation to $31 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. About two-thirds of the new money came from parties that hadn’t previously invested in the company, including private-equity firm Clearlake Capital Group LP, which led the round, and investment bank LionTree LLC, the people said. Prior Fanatics investors such as Silver Lake, Fidelity Management & Research Co. and SoftBank Group Corp. were also among the participants, they said.

☆ Chipmaker Astera Labs valued at over $3 bln after latest fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Astera Labs said on Thursday it was valued at $3.15 billion following a late-stage funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research, signaling investors' bullishness on the semiconductor sector. The company raised $150 million in the latest round amid upbeat long-term outlook for chips, especially as growth in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and machine learning segments booms. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), which typically stays away from big technology wagers, said earlier this week it had bought more than $4.1 billion in TSMC stock. Existing investors, including Atreides Management, Intel Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures also participated in the funding round. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Number one is that we want to be extremely supportive of free speech," Zhao said at the opening event of Europe's largest tech conference, the Web Summit, in Lisbon, adding that Twitter is "where people express their opinions". "It is an important free speech platform - that's the number one reason," he added. Binance said last week it is creating a team to work on how blockchain and crypto could be helpful to Twitter. "I'm a heavy Twitter user," Zhao said, adding Binance planned to be a long-term investor in the platform. Asked about other ideas Musk has for the platform, Zhao said: "Elon Musk is a very hard guy to predict."

☆ Crypto exchange Binance, Musk's co-investor, to help Twitter with blockchain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiOct 28 (Reuters) - Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange that has invested $500 million into Elon Musk's buyout of Twitter Inc, is creating a team to work on how blockchain and crypto could be helpful to Twitter, the company's spokesperson said on Friday. As one of Elon Musk's equity co-investors to fund his $44 billion deal, Binance said it will brainstorm plans and strategies that could help Elon Musk run the platform. In November 2021, Twitter launched an internal crypto team to build features that involve such technologies. In text messages with confidants that were released as part of the litigation with Twitter, Musk discussed the possibility of placing Twitter on the blockchain, though he later appeared to decide such a move would not work. Binance's Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, is an active Twitter user with over 7 million followers on the platform.

☆ Fanatics Hires Finance Chief for Its Sports-Betting Division Ahead of Planned Launch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Sports-merchandising company Fanatics Inc. has picked a finance chief for its sports-betting and gambling division ahead of its planned launch early next year. Ms. Ellis will report to Matt King, the division’s chief executive. Mr. King joined Fanatics last year from rival FanDuel Group, where he was CEO. Photo: FanaticsAs CFO of the sports-betting unit, Ms. Ellis will be responsible for helping the business get off the ground. Fanatics declined to share financial forecasts for its sports-betting division, which doesn’t currently generate revenue.

☆ Tanium insiders say the $9 billion startup is trying to cozy up to Microsoft and angle itself to be acquired as cost cutting and a market downturn chill hopes for its long-awaited IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Current and former Tanium employees say the company has been tightening its belt. Tanium had two rounds of job cuts in the past month as internal hopes for its IPO faded. "Plenty of ink has been spilled over the past few months on this topic," a Tanium spokesperson said of its IPO plans. Even so, many rank-and-file employees are skeptical that either an acquisition or IPO will happen, a current employee said. "All well run organizations look for ways to simplify their structures and adapt to meet changing business requirements and industry shifts," the Tanium spokesperson said.

☆ With stocks falling again, here's how to protect your portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-29 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Now stocks appear to be reversing course, having fallen steeply in the wake of Powell’s address. While it may be a bumpy road ahead, there are ways to mitigate potential damage to your portfolio in the coming months. Forget timing the marketYou may be tempted to sell equities and move the proceeds into cash or a money market fund. You’ll tell yourself you will move the money back into stocks when things improve. So check to see that your current allocation to stocks and bonds matches your risk tolerance and your ideal retirement date.

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