#403
Will The New Jim Cramer Please Stand Up
Published:
Sep 04, 2021
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How do you invest in the stock market? Do you use a financial advisor? Do you perform fundamental analysis, or perhaps make some fancy charts full of moving averages and “head and shoulders” patterns? Or do you turn to social media to guide you on your investment journey?
Following someone on Instagram, or watching someone on YouTube doesn’t necessarily mean you are in it just for fun. There is an entire generation of young(er) investors who are interested in the stock market, but looking for ways to get advice that is more easily digestible, and much cheaper.
Ironically, an often cited complaint about the current financial system is that it is inaccessible - and what has evolved with the rise of social media and zero-fee trading, and enhanced by COVID (see boredom markets hypothesis) is a system where everyone can participate, both as an investor and as an advisor. One of the most popular features in new investing apps is the ability to copy an expert’s portfolio. And that expert can range from an industry veteran to your favorite social media star.
Traditional advisors are decidedly less fun, given they are subject to a myriad of regulations and requirements, from regulatory exams to fiduciary standards. Social media influencers, however, are not - and in a world where markets only go up, that is both lucrative for the influencer and thrilling for the investor.
However, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that this party might not last forever. TikTok recently imposed a global ban on all investment promotions, and China shut down over 50 stock-tipping accounts on Weibo, the second largest social media platform in the country. While Jim Cramer may be the original GOAT as far as talking heads are concerned, only time will tell if he is yesterday’s news.
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Will The New Jim Cramer Please Stand Up
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Industry News
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Crypto firms want Fed payment systems access—and banks are resisting - Companies like Avanti Bank, which aims to provide custody services for institutional investors in cryptocurrencies, and Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange platform say direct access to the Fed’s payment systems would allow them to more quickly and cheaply process orders from customers buying and selling digital assets. Currently they must partner with traditional banks that have accounts with the Fed. Read more
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Crypto platforms need regulation to survive, says SEC boss - Gary Gensler told the Financial Times that while he remained “technology neutral”, crypto assets were no different than any others when it came to such public policy imperatives as investor protection, guarding against illicit activity and maintaining financial stability. Read more
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A record number of startups join Europe’s fintech unicorn herd - The rise in the number of highly valued and heavily funded fintech startups in Europe shows how the continent is taking a lead in disrupting multiple sectors: from payments and e-commerce to banking, insurance, lending, crypto and trading. Collectively, these companies have raised $22.6b to date—with more than half of that funding coming in this year alone—and are altogether valued at $178b. Read more
Direct listings have paid off for investors so far - The still relatively small group of companies that have made their debuts on U.S. exchanges through direct listings have, on average, outperformed the S&P 500 and a key broader index for initial public offerings during the same period, according to an analysis by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter. Read more
Afghani banks remained closed after takeover; consumers struggle to get cash - With its central bank effectively leaderless and the Afghani dollar in a nosedive, geopolitical aspects of the Taliban takeover are being overshadowed by the collapse of Afghanistan’s financial system, and the toll of drastic money shortages on a nation of over 39m people. Read more
Prosus acquires Indian payments giant BillDesk for $4.7b, will merge with its PayU fintech group - The proposed acquisition will make PayU one of the bigger online payment providers globally with some $147b in payment volume annually. But the proposed all-cash deal is not only a significant consolidation move in the world of payments: it also underscores Prosus’ continuing focus on developing markets and specifically India. Read more
FTX.US to buy LedgerX in bid for U.S. crypto derivatives - The acquisition, expected to close in October, will see LedgerX become a wholly owned subsidiary of FTX.US, said exchange President Brett Harrison. Once it does, FTX.US will wield a trove of futures market licenses crucial for derivatives trading in the restrictive U.S. Read more
Central banks to develop prototypes for cross-border CBDC settlement - The Bank for International Settlements has enlisted the central banks of Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Australia to test the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for international settlements. Read more
Brazilian fintech Inter enters the U.S. with purchase of the digital bank USEND - Banco Inter announced the acquisition of the USEND company, specialized in offering financial and non-financial services in the American market. The bank should start to compete with the companies Chime and SoFi in the field of digital banking. Read more
Select Financings
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Flat.mx - Mexico City based real estate super app for Latin America raised $20m in Series A funding led by Anthemis and 500 Startups. Read more
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HomeLight - San Francisco based platform for matching home-sellers with real estate agents raised $100m in Series D funding led by Zeev Ventures. Read more
Hum Capital - New York based fundraising platform raised $9m in Series A funding led by Future Ventures. Read more
Insurify - Cambridge based virtual insurance agent and comparison platform raised $100m in Series B funding led by Motive Partners. Read more
Jeeves - New York based expense management platform for startups raised $57m in Series B funding led by CRV. Read more
Offchain Labs - Princeton based Ethereum rollup protocol raised $100m in Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Read more
Parallel Finance - Palo Alto based DeFi protocol that offers lending and staking services raised $22m in Series A funding led by Polychain Capital. Read more
PayEm - Israel based spend and procurement platform for multinationals raised $20m in Series A funding led by Glilot Capital Partners. Read more
Point - San Francisco based challenger bank raised $46.5m in Series B funding led by Valar Ventures. Read more
Snap Mobile - Seattle based digital fundraising platform for high school groups raised $90m in new funding led by Elysian Park Ventures. Read more
Sunday - Bangkok based auto and travel insuretech startup raised $45m in Series B funding from Tencent, SCB 10X, Vertex Growth, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, Quona Capital, Aflac Ventures and Z Venture Capital. Read more
Syndicate - California based decentralized investing platform raised $20m in Series A funding led by a16z. Read more
Taktile - Berlin based platform for financial services companies to deploy machine learning applications raised $4.7m in Seed funding led by Index Ventures. Read more
Zipmex - Singapore based digital asset exchange raised $41m in Series B funding led by Krungsri Finnovate. Read more
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