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☆ Freetrade, Britain's answer to Robinhood, posted its first quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Freetrade reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of £100,000 ($124,863) in the first quarter of 2024, according to unaudited financial statements shared with CNBC. Freetrade still generated a loss of £8.3 million in 2023, down from the £28.8 million loss it racked up the year before. "We defied difficult market conditions and delivered healthy growth in 2023 while dramatically reducing losses" in 2022, said Adam Dodds, CEO and founder of Freetrade. Net inflows totalled £130 million in the first quarter, too, as retail investor activity grew in response to resurgent markets last year. Equity markets saw serious drops in 2022 as a result of macroeconomic uncertainty and higher interest rates stoked by Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a risk-off trade around the world.

Persons: Rafael Henrique, Freetrade, Adam Dodds, who've, Dodds, we've, Russia's Organizations: Getty, CNBC, Freetrade, Equity Locations: Ukraine

☆ Y Combinator-backed trading app Pluto Markets just raised $2.6 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pluto Markets, a trading app backed by famed accelerator Y Combinator, has raised $2.6 million in fresh funds. The Danish fintech startup, founded in 2021, wants to upend the market for retail trading offerings in Europe. "Companies raised a lot of money to blitz scale across the EU but have now focused on their core markets. Unlike most fintech brokerages, Pluto secured an EU-wide investment license before it had raised $1 million in funding, having bootstrapped and stayed lean. You can check out Pluto Market's 14-slide pitch deck below:

Persons: Joakim Bruchman, Goldman Sachs, We've, Bruchmann, Pluto, Oscar Vingtoft Organizations: Business, Companies, Trade Republic, Saxo Bank, EU Locations: Danish, Europe, Denmark, France, Germany, Berlin

☆ Britain's $4.5 billion digital bank Monzo debuts investments feature
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

MonzoMonzo, the $4.5 billion digital challenger bank, launched a feature that lets users make investments —marking its first foray into the massive financial investment market. Monzo Investments will allow users to start investing with as little as £1. With Monzo Investments, you can start from £1." MonzoThe investments pots feature will appear in a new part of the home screen on Monzo called Savings & Investments. Gautam Pillai, head of fintech research at the investment bank Peel Hunt, said Monzo's new investments feature could increase customer "stickiness."

Persons: Anil, Monzo Monzo, It's, Monzo, who've, they'll, Monzo's, they've, Zopa, Wise, we've, Gautam Pillai, Peel Hunt, Pillai Organizations: Investments, BlackRock, CNBC, Monzo, Monzo Investments, Savings, Starling Locations: Britain

☆ Will Smith-backed U.S. broker Public launches in the UK in first foray overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmerican stock brokerage startup Public launched its services in the U.K. Thursday, marking its first international expansion its launch in 2017. The app, backed by celebrities including Will Smith and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, will offer U.K. users commission-free trading in over 5,000 U.S.-listed stocks during the country's regular trading hours. Bibas said that, for now, the U.K. is the only country Public is focusing on for its international expansion. In the future, it hopes to take learnings from its U.K. launch to open in other European markets. Freetrade, the U.K. brokerage startup, slashed its valuation by a whopping 65% last month to £225m in a crowdfunding round, citing a "different market environment."

Persons: Gabby Jones, Will Smith, Tony Hawk, AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, Leif Abraham, Public's, Abraham, Jannick Malling, PFOF, Dann Bibas, Bibas, he's Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Public, CNBC, Jannick, GameStop, Citadel Securities, European Union, Khepri Advisers, Financial, Authority, Accel, Tiger Global Locations: U.S, Abraham, Denmark, Germany, New York, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam, Covid

☆ Pledge, a carbon accounting startup founded by ex-Revolut and Freetrade staffers, just raised $10 million with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based carbon accounting startup Pledge just secured a $10 million Series A round. A startup founded by former staffers at Revolut and Freetrade has raised $10 million to build out its carbon accounting product aimed at the logistics industry. London-based Pledge, set up in 2021, enables businesses in the sector to track, reduce, and manage their carbon footprint. Some 70% of a company's emissions sit in its supply chain, which are referred to as scope three emissions. Pledge adheres to the Global Logistics Emissions Council framework, the only globally-recognized methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in the logistics supply chain.

☆ Want Better Customer Service? Join the (Membership) Club
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Others such as online travel agent Booking.com and Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation provide priority customer service for high-ranking members of their loyalty programs. Other companies that offer premium customer support also say the perk is often a small part of more comprehensive packages, and that its introduction doesn’t mean their standard customer service is lacking. “We’ve always provided fantastic customer service, but what we added was another layer on top of that,” said Genaro Perez, senior vice president of marketing for P.F. Other companies offer priority customer service to customers who have ascended to the upper tiers of loyalty programs that do not cost extra to join. The strategy may help profits, but could create the perception that “free” customer service is low-quality and amplify inequality by deprioritizing lower-income customers, she said.

☆ Investment banks approach Monzo over potential IPO as $4.5 billion fintech plots investing push, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investment banks have been in talks with Monzo over a future IPO, sources told Insider. The London-based fintech has also been in discussions to grow its wealth and investment offering. A number of leading investment banks have held initial talks with British fintech unicorn Monzo about a public listing that could take place as early as next year, sources say. Some investment banks have opted to cull teams of staff focused on M&A and stock issuance in recent months, most notably Goldman Sachs. The fintech has also been on the lookout for acquisitions and partnerships in the wealth and trading space, two sources told Insider.

☆ Europe's neobrokerage startups face winter of cuts and consolidation as trading volumes slump and VC funds dry up, industry sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Europe's neobrokerage startups face cuts and consolidation as funding dries up, sources say. For startups that can't fundraise it's "shoulders against the wall," one investor told Insider. Europe's brokerage startups are facing a winter of job cuts and consolidation as the sector battles with slumping trade volumes and a scarcity of investor cash, industry sources say. The drop-off has made raising funds a difficult exercise for many fintechs and has also led to a bifurcation in the market of the "haves and the have-nots," one London-based investor told Insider. Market consolidation will be driven by price, one fintech fund partner told Insider.

☆ Public.com, an investing app backed by Will Smith and Maria Sharapova, is in talks to acquire Dutch trading startup Bux
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Investing app Public.com is in talks to acquire Dutch trading startup Bux, sources say. Bux was valued at an estimated $320 million to $480 million in 2021, but the expected deal price is lower. Investing app Public.com is in talks to acquire Dutch stock trading startup Bux, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions. New York-based Public has been in active talks with Bux for two months, the sources said. Bux has never stated its valuation but was valued between $320 million and $480 million at its 2021 funding round, according to Dealroom estimates.

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