The deal will see Vancouver-based Mogo add over 500,000 members to its customer base, an increase of more than 40 per cent. Moka’s investment platform and team will become core aspects of MogoWealth, and the acquisition will accelerate Mogo’s plan to launch a free stock-trading platform for its members. (The Logic)

Talking point: The deal gives Mogo an edge in the increasingly competitive global wealth-management sector. The U.S. market saw record high consolidation in the second half of 2020, capping eight straight years of M&A activity hitting an all-time high. If approved, Moka will be Mogo’s third acquisition. In January, it acquired another digital-payments firm, Carta Worldwide, after buying specialty investment firm Difference Capital in 2019. Wealth-management startups have attracted significant interest from institutional investors. Moka is backed by Desjardins Capital and National Bank, among other investors that will continue to have stakes in the new joint venture.