Chicago’s M1 Finance, a consumer-focused fintech platform, reaches $1B under management

Eagle-eyed readers will recall that we mentioned M1 Finance earlier today in our look at a few trends in the fintech industry. We’re back with the firm this afternoon as it has a bit of news that’s worth discussing. Chicago-based M1 Finance announced today that it has reached the $1 billion assets under management mark, or AUM. Reaching AUM thresholds provides useful milestones that we can use to track the progress of various players in the fintech and finservices worlds. M1 is an interesting co...
Tags: Startups, TC, Finance, Tech, Chicago, Robinhood, Barnes, AUM, Brian Barnes, M1 Finance, Fintech CAC

Fintech dealmaking has been red-hot in 2020. Here are the 7 buzzy companies insiders say Wall Street could target next.

2020 kicked off with a number of big deals that saw incumbents buying fintechs and other newer players, most recently Intuit's $7 billion deal to buy Credit Karma and Morgan Stanley's $13 billion announced deal for E-Trade. The deals show an appetite for startups with "big user bases, lots of consumer data, and proven ability to monetize those users," Peter Johnson, head of fintech investing at Jump Capital, told Business Insider. With a growing number of traditional players eager to evolve th...
Tags: UK, New York, Congress, US, San Francisco, Trends, Paypal, Johnson, Amex, Morgan Stanley, Intuit, Robinhood, Jamie Dimon, Business Insider, Credit Karma, Reeves

Experts say these 7 fintechs are prime takeover targets for 2020, including Robinhood and Chime

2020 kicked off with a number of big deals that saw incumbents buying fintechs and other newer players, most recently Intuit's $7 billion deal to buy Credit Karma and Morgan Stanley's $13 billion announced deal for E-Trade. The deals show an appetite for startups with "big user bases, lots of consumer data, and proven ability to monetize those users," Peter Johnson, head of fintech investing at Jump Capital, told Business Insider. With a growing number of traditional players eager to evolve th...
Tags: UK, New York, Congress, US, San Francisco, Trends, Paypal, Johnson, Amex, Morgan Stanley, Intuit, Robinhood, Jamie Dimon, Business Insider, Credit Karma, Reeves

These 7 fintechs are prime takeover targets in 2020, including Robinhood and Chime

2020 kicked off with a number of big deals that saw incumbents buying fintechs and other newer players, most recently Intuit's $7 billion deal to buy Credit Karma and Morgan Stanley's $13 billion announced deal for E-Trade. The deals show an appetite for startups with "big user bases, lots of consumer data, and proven ability to monetize those users," Peter Johnson, head of fintech investing at Jump Capital, told Business Insider. With a growing number of traditional players eager to evolve th...
Tags: UK, New York, Congress, US, San Francisco, Trends, Paypal, Johnson, Amex, Morgan Stanley, Intuit, Robinhood, Jamie Dimon, Business Insider, Credit Karma, Reeves

Startups Weekly: What the E-Trade deal says about Robinhood

[Editor’s note: Want to get this weekly review of news that startups can use by email? Just subscribe here.]  How well do Robinhood’s financials stack up against incumbent online brokerages? While we wait for the seven-year-old company’s long-planned IPO, Alex Wilhelm examined Morgan Stanley’s big $13 billion purchase of E-Trade for fresh data comparison points. Robinhood has 10 million accounts — twice what E-Trade has — but it also appears to make much less money per user and has far fewer ass...
Tags: Apple, Startups, TC, La, US, Tech, Tesla, WeWork, EC, West Coast, Morgan Stanley, UC Berkeley, Alex, Robinhood, Alex Wilhelm, Wallace

Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab are racing to give customers the chance to buy $1 slices of stocks. We talked to a dozen insiders about who wins, who loses, and what it says about trading today.

The rise of self-directed fractional-share trading is a product of the fiercely competitive, margin-pressured environment that startup and legacy brokerages alike are operating in today. Players like Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab have raced to announce their own offerings — marketed largely at customers still building up wealth — in recent months, or have hinted at launches it in the press.  At a moment when every last bell and whistle is a differentiator in a zero-commission moment,...
Tags: Apple, Amazon, California, Boston, US, Trends, Connecticut, Fidelity, WeWork, Api, Robinhood, Business Insider, Bloomberg News, Charles Schwab, FANG, Tilly

Equity is not always the answer

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a fun combination of early-stage and late-stage news, with companies as young as seed-stage and as old as PE-worthy joining our list of topics. Danny and Alex were back on hand to chat once again. Just in case you missed it, they had some fun talking Tesla yesterday, and there are new Equity videos on YouTube. Enjoy! Here’s what the team argued about ...
Tags: Apple, Fundings & Exits, Startups, TC, Podcasts, Tech, Tesla, SaaS, Venture Capital, Alipay, Morgan Stanley, Equity, Alex, Robinhood, Digitalocean, Exit

Daily Crunch: Twitter threads are getting easier

Twitter is rolling out a “continue thread” button, ViacomCBS has big plans for its streaming service and Morgan Stanley acquires E-Trade. Here’s your Daily Crunch for February 20, 2020. 1. Twitter adds a button so you can thread your shower thoughts Twitter is adding a new feature for mobile users to make it easier to link dispersed tweets together. Per 9to5Mac, the feature — which Twitter tweeted about yesterday — is slowly rolling out to its iOS app. (At the time of writing we spotted it in...
Tags: Google, Amazon, Social, Mobile, Twitter, Europe, Nsa, Tech, Eu, Star Trek, United Kingdom, Cbs, Fitbit, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Cbs All Access

As Morgan Stanley buys E-Trade, Robinhood preps social trading

Before it was worth $7.6 billion, the original idea for Robinhood was a stock trading social network. At my kitchen table in San Francisco in 2013, the founders envisioned an app for sharing hot tips to a feed complete with a leaderboard of whose predictions were most accurate. Once they had SEC approval, they pivoted towards the real money maker: letting people buy and sell stocks in the app, and pay to borrow cash to do so. Now seven years later, Robinhood is subtly taking the first steps ...
Tags: Social, Startups, TC, Mobile, Facebook, Apps, Finance, San Francisco, Tech, M&a, SEC, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Stock Trading, Vlad Tenev, Etrade

What the $13B Etrade deal says about Robinhood’s valuation

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between. Today we’re living up to the introduction of this daily column by digging into the recently announced Etrade sale and what its new price and recent financial performance can tell us about Robinhood, a startup competitor, and the unicorn’s valuation. As always, when we’re comparing a fast-growing, private company in contrast to a larger, more mature, slower-growing, and profitabl...
Tags: Travel, Fundings & Exits, TC, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Etrade, Brokerages

What the $13B E-Trade deal says about Robinhood’s valuation

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between. Today we’re living up to the introduction of this daily column by digging into the recently announced E-Trade sale and what its new price and recent financial performance can tell us about Robinhood, a startup competitor, and the unicorn’s valuation. As always, when we’re comparing a fast-growing, private company in contrast to a larger, more mature, slower-growing, and profitab...
Tags: Fundings & Exits, TC, Tech, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Etrade, E Trade, Brokerages

As Morgan Stanley buys ETrade, Robinhood preps social trading

Before it was worth $7.6 billion, the original idea for Robinhood was a stock trading social network. At my kitchen table in San Francisco in 2013, the founders envisioned an app for sharing hot tips to a feed complete with a leaderboard of whose predictions were most accurate. Once they had SEC approval, they pivoted towards the real money maker: letting people buy and sell stocks in the app, and pay to borrow cash to do so. Now seven years later, Robinhood is subtly taking the first steps back...
Tags: TC, San Francisco, Tech, SEC, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, Etrade, ETrade Robinhood, Charles Schwab Ameritrade, Tech Media and Telecom

The best online savings accounts of 2020

Finding the right savings account can get you an extra $200 for free this year. Depending on your balance, it could make you a lot more money. Let’s say you have $10,000 to put into an online savings account. How much would that turn into at a big bank savings account? Most big banks have an APY (annual percentage yield) of 0.15% or less. After a year, your account would be worth $10,015. Not much of a gain there. I love getting money for nothing, but even I have a hard time getting excited over...
Tags: Personal Finance, Marketing, House, Barclays, Hsbc, American Express, Goldman Sachs, Federal Reserve, Robinhood, Max, Marcus, FDIC, Ramit, IWT, APY, HSBC Premier

Insiders explain how fractional-share trading went from fringe to must-have — and who's actually doing it in an industry where everyone wants to be an early mover

The rise of self-directed fractional-share trading is a product of the fiercely competitive, margin-pressured environment that startup and legacy brokerages alike are operating in today. Players like Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab have raced to announce their own offerings — marketed largely at customers still building up wealth — in recent months, or have hinted launches it in the press.  At a moment when every last bell and whistle is a differentiator in a zero-commission moment, br...
Tags: Apple, Amazon, California, Boston, US, Trends, Connecticut, Fidelity, WeWork, Api, Robinhood, Business Insider, Bloomberg News, Charles Schwab, FANG, Tilly

LendingClub is poised to become the first fintech to buy a US bank in a $185 million deal one analyst called 'amazing news' — here's why it's so transformative

LendingClub, the marketplace lender, announced that it has agreed to buy Radius Bank in a deal CEO Scott Sanborn called "transformational." With this planned acquisition, LendingClub will now be a fully chartered bank able to take in deposits and issue its own loans without a partner bank. Radius Bank is a Boston-based digital bank that offers consumer banking, business banking, and a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. Radius has partnered with Brex to launch the buzzy startup's corporate b...
Tags: New York, Boston, US, Trends, SEC, WeWork, Federal Reserve, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood, Sanborn, FDIC, OCC, Coffey, Wedbush Securities, LendingClub, Radius

From Elon Musk to Tim Cook, here's where the world's most influential tech founders and CEOs went to college — and what they studied

College is where many figure out what they're actually interested in and determine the career they want to pursue. We researched the degrees and schools attended by well-known tech CEOs, many of whom launched their companies or landed on the idea for their first startup while studying at college. Here's where 52 CEOs and founders in the tech industry went to school, and what they studied. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. For new college students, choosing a major can feel l...
Tags: Apple, Google, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Europe, Elon Musk, Cook, Sweden, Maryland, Microsoft, Yahoo, Mba, Stanford, India, Satya Nadella, Trends

Watch the newest commercials on TV from Walmart, Robinhood, Golden Corral and more

Robinhood says that “a new kind of investor is changing things up with an app that’s changing the way we do money.”  
Tags: Advertising, Robinhood, Walmart Robinhood Golden Corral

This buzzy London insurtech that wants to 'change the fundamentals of insurance' just raised $4.7 million from top VCs

Laka, a London-based insurtech, has just raised $4.7 million in new funds from VC investors LocalGlobe and Creandum. The startup wants to "change the fundamentals of the insurance market," according to its CEO Tobias Taupitz and will use the funding to fuel its hiring plans and European expansion.  Laka utilizes a community-led model which it claims leads to a lower cost and better service for its customers.  Click here for more BI Prime stories. UK-based insurtech startup Laka has raised $...
Tags: UK, London, Trends, Nasa, Barclays, Netherlands, Aviva, Robinhood, Nick Evans, Ben Allen, Localglobe, Remus Brett, Laka, Tobias Taupitz, Bristol UK Laka, Yellow Jersey Bikmo PedalSure

From Ashton Kutcher to Jay-Z, these 12 celebrities are the most active of the 'Hollywood angels' making big investments in Silicon Valley

These 12 actors, musicians and sports stars may have reaped millions using their creative and athletic talents, but they have also won big from bets on startups. From Ashton Kutcher's big early bet on Uber, to Will Smith's on-the-spot investment into a small startup that impressed him with a pitch, these celebrities are establishing themselves as mainstays in Silicon Valley. Business Insider took a look at Crunchbase data to rank the top 12 celebrities by the number of startup investment round...
Tags: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Uber, Spotify, Elon Musk, Hollywood, Instagram, California, Bono, Montana, Jay Z, US, NFL, San Francisco, Trends

10 things in tech you need to know today

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday. Apple and Samsung are now tied in the battle to be the world's biggest smartphone seller – or so the consensus seems to show. Some fourth-quarter smartphone shipments estimates put Apple slightly ahead of Samsung, while others put Samsung slightly ahead of Apple, Bloomberg reports, suggesting the pair are practically neck-and-neck. The Wuhan coronavirus has led Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft to close China loca...
Tags: Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, UK, London, Microsoft, China, Samsung, Trends, Tesla, Bloomberg, Microsoft Office, Illinois, Robinhood

Everyone from Robinhood to Fidelity is hyping fractional share trading — here's why they want to get you hooked on $1 slices of stocks

A handful of firms have started allowing customers to trade small slices of individual stocks, or have plans to roll out that offering. Those moves come on the heels of a fierce commission price war among discount brokers this fall.  Firms invoke "democratization," the industry buzzword du jour, to describe the fractional trading feature. Startups and legacy players talk of leveling the playing field for all users regardless of whether they can afford a share of highly-priced stocks.  But comp...
Tags: Amazon, Boston, US, Trends, Fidelity, WeWork, Wall Street Journal, Robinhood, Bell, Jpmorgan, Don, Barnes, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Schwab, Brian Barnes

Robinhood challenger Freetrade, which has raised millions for its fee-free trading app, acknowledged a high attrition rate after 22 staff departed in 2019

UK finance startup Freetrade, a competitor to Robinhood, has acknowledged a high rate of attrition after Business Insider learned that 22 staff departed in 2019. The company peaked at 53 staff in 2019. The departures were down to a mix of resignations and firings, including its five-strong design team in the second half of 2019. Freetrade has raised a total of $20.4 million from venture capital and crowdfunding backers for its fee-free trading app. "Building a company is a journey," Freetrade ...
Tags: Google, UK, London, Trends, Robinhood, Eileen Burbidge, Draper Esprit, Business Insider, Mohamed, Google Europe, Dodds, Kim Scott, Adam Dodds, Freetrade, André Mohamed, James Storer

JPMorgan is hiring to grow a team that designs tech used by its bankers and clients — and it shows the huge impact fintech is having on Wall Street

JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank has plans to grow its user experience team by over 20% to roughly 160 by the end of 2020. In 2016, the group consisted of just 20 people. Debra Herschmann, who leads JPMorgan CIB's user experience efforts, told Business Insider the bank's efforts stem in part from younger, tech-savvy employees wanting better design in the tools and platforms they use at work.  Herschmann outlined the makeup of her team, and the goals the bank has set for 2020 when it co...
Tags: Apple, Instagram, Wall Street, Digital, Trends, WeWork, Robinhood, Wealthfront, Jpmorgan, Debra Herschmann, JPMorgan CIB, Herschmann, Citibank Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs Herschmann

JPMorgan is hiring 20-30 people to its team that designs tech used by bankers and clients — the growing user-experience focus shows fintech's huge impact on Wall Street

JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank has plans to grow its user experience team by over 20% to roughly 160 by the end of 2020. In 2016, the group consisted of just 20 people. Debra Herschmann, who leads JPMorgan CIB's user experience efforts, told Business Insider the bank's efforts stem in part from younger, tech-savvy employees wanting better design in the tools and platforms they use at work.  Herschmann outlined the makeup of her team, and the goals the bank has set for 2020 when it co...
Tags: Apple, Instagram, Wall Street, Digital, Trends, WeWork, Robinhood, Wealthfront, Jpmorgan, Debra Herschmann, JPMorgan CIB, Herschmann, Citibank Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs Herschmann

JPMorgan is hiring to grow a team that designs tech used by its bankers and clients — the growing user-experience focus shows fintech's huge impact on Wall Street

JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank has plans to grow its user experience team by over 20% to roughly 160 by the end of 2020. In 2016, the group consisted of just 20 people. Debra Herschmann, who leads JPMorgan CIB's user experience efforts, told Business Insider the bank's efforts stem in part from younger, tech-savvy employees wanting better design in the tools and platforms they use at work.  Herschmann outlined the makeup of her team, and the goals the bank has set for 2020 when it co...
Tags: Apple, Instagram, Wall Street, Digital, Trends, WeWork, Robinhood, Wealthfront, Jpmorgan, Debra Herschmann, JPMorgan CIB, Herschmann, Citibank Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs Herschmann

Shadows’ Dylan Flinn and Kombo’s Kevin Gould on the business of ‘virtual influencers’

In films, TV shows and books — and even in video games where characters are designed to respond to user behavior — we don’t perceive characters as beings with whom we can establish two-way relationships. But that’s poised to change, at least in some use cases. Interactive characters — fictional, virtual personas capable of personalized interactions — are defining new territory in entertainment. In my guide to the concept of “virtual beings,” I outlined two categories of these characters: virtua...
Tags: TC, Instagram, Entertainment, La, Marketing, Disney, Social Media, Tech, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Media, Machine Learning, Caa, Twitch, Clutter, Robinhood, Influencer Marketing

Bux acquires ‘social’ cryptocurrency investment platform Blockport

Bux, the Amsterdam-based fintech that wants to make investing more accessible, has acquired the European “social” cryptocurrency investment platform Blockport. Terms of the deal remain undisclosed, although Bux says the move paves the way for the company to launch its own branded cryptocurrency investment app. Dubbed “BUX Crypto,” it will be available in the 9 countries Bux operates in and is planned to go live in Q1 this year. In addition, we are told the founders and core team members of Bl...
Tags: Travel, Fundings & Exits, Startups, TC, Europe, Amsterdam, Robinhood, Fintech, Bux, Dutch Central Bank DNB, Blockport, BUX Token, Nick Bortot, BUX Crypto

Online brokers like Robinhood are hyping fractional share trading — here's why they want to get you hooked on $1 slices of stocks

A handful of firms have started allowing customers to trade small slices of individual stocks, or have plans to roll out that offering. Those moves come on the heels of a fierce commission price war among discount brokers this fall.  Firms invoke "democratization," the industry buzzword du jour, to describe the fractional trading feature. Startups and legacy players talk of leveling the playing field for all users regardless of whether they can afford a share of highly-priced stocks.  But comp...
Tags: Amazon, US, Trends, WeWork, Wall Street Journal, Robinhood, Bell, Jpmorgan, Don, Barnes, Charles Schwab, Schwab, Brian Barnes, Jen Butler, Jon Stevenson, Alphabet Industry

How Millennials can invest with elite money managers -- without breaking the bank

Robinhood brought free trading to the masses. Betterment and Wealthfront automated financial advice for millions. Now, Round is seeking to level the investing playing field even further, by admitting Millennials to the exclusive club of elite money managers.
Tags: Cnn, Robinhood

Robinhood Review: Get Free Stock And Commission Free Trades

Robinhood investing app has commission free trades, free stock when you sign up and the ability to buy fractional shares.Here's a full review. The post Robinhood Review: Get Free Stock And Commission Free Trades appeared first on Bible Money Matters and was written by Kevin Mercadante. Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.
Tags: Review, Marketing, Investing, Robinhood, Brokerage, Kevin Mercadante, Robinhood Review