Calgary-based Neo Financial is moving further onto banks’ turf, launching a new investing platform Wednesday that will allow customers to gain exposure to stocks, cryptocurrencies and alternative assets like real estate and infrastructure.
Calgary-based Neo Financial is moving further onto banks’ turf, launching a new investing platform Wednesday that will allow customers to gain exposure to stocks, cryptocurrencies and alternative assets like real estate and infrastructure.
Calgary-based Neo Financial is moving further onto banks’ turf, launching a new investing platform Wednesday that will allow customers to gain exposure to stocks, cryptocurrencies and alternative assets like real estate and infrastructure.
Different approach: CEO Andrew Chau told The Logic Neo isn’t trying to create another stock- and crypto-trading app. Instead of letting people trade individual shares in companies, Neo Invest will give users access to a variety of actively managed, private funds that invest in different types of assets. Neo, backed by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and Shopify’s Tobi Lütke, is targeting customers who are interested in longer-term investments, rather than those who want to day-trade stocks.
Old model: The company took inspiration from the investment model used by many large U.S. university endowments, which invest in private funds focused on a variety of asset classes, Chau said. They typically have minimum investment requirements of $1 million and cater mainly to institutions or high-net-worth individuals, Chau said. By pooling its customers’ funds, Neo users can gain exposure to similar investments.
“What we wanted to do was make sure that what we were bringing to market was unique,” Chau said. “Unless you have more than $1 million of assets, you literally cannot get access to this style of investing.”
Crowded field: Neo is one of many Canadian startups looking to provide consumers with cheaper and more accessible investment products. Fintechs like Wealthsimple and Mogo have introduced new products focused on stocks and cryptocurrencies. Wealthsimple offers its own passive-investment product that automates a user’s portfolio depending on their risk tolerance. Meanwhile, banks have taken more steps to attract and keep those users, with moves like slashing online brokerage fees.
More to come? Neo Invest is part of the company’s strategy to mirror traditional-bank offerings. Among its products are spending accounts that offer higher interest rates than typical bank accounts and payment cards that give users cashback rewards. In September, Neo raised $64 million in a Series B round, which the company said it planned to use to expand into new products. The Logic previously reported that Neo was interested in entering the mortgage space.
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