Risk and reward: Adam French, co-founder of Scalable Capital, left Goldman to develop an algorithm for matching retail investors with the right ETFs December 5, 2016 For two years, Adam French knew he was leaving Goldman Sachs. “The day I quit was quite liberating – it’s just not that easy to step away from a Goldman job,” says the former trader, and chief executive and co-founder of digital investment management firm Scalable Capital. There was no “eureka moment”, he adds – [...]
Four facts about Fintech Connect 2016 you need to know December 2, 2016 | City Talk Are you a fintech pro? Then you'll know 2016 has been a year that keeps on giving where events are concerned. If you’re going to Fintech Connect Live this week, you’re sure of a big surprise: it promises to be bigger than ever. Why? Because every second you’re there, £634 will be made in fintech in the [...]
The Royal Mint is putting gold bullion on the blockchain November 29, 2016 It’s not just currency that’s going digital – £1bn of the Royal Mint’s gold will soon be on the blockchain. The 1,000-year-old government-owned institution is working with exchange giant CME Group create a new digital trading platform for investors to buy and sell gold using blockchain’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to track ownership. Why use [...]
London will reinvent itself again post-Brexit if it remains flexible and open to the world November 29, 2016 "We don't plan London very much. Nobody planned to have the euro-dollar market, for example. It rose because clever people were very quick at responding to market signals.” Speaking at a debate at the Museum of London on the future of the capital, hosted by Eversheds, The Independent’s Hamish McRae set out the optimistic case for the [...]
The sky’s the limit for Skyscanner November 25, 2016 | City Talk "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still." This Chinese proverb strikes a chord more than ever with Skyscanner. Yesterday's news that the Scottish 'unicorn' was bought by Chinese firm CTrip for £1.4 billion, proves the Scottish tech industry is full of Eastern Promise. With over 161,000 people employed in more than 10,000 technology and engineering [...]
Five important things fintech was handed in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 The UK's fintech powerhouse was not forgotten in the chancellor's Autumn Statement with several measures aimed at boosting the sector unveiled. Fintech census The government will carry out what's being called a fintech census, designed to identify the key figures driving the industry for investors. "An accurate measurement of this evolving space will help policymakers, investors [...]
Goldman Sachs and Santander have left a major blockchain group November 22, 2016 Goldman Sachs and Santander have both exited one of tech's top blockchain consortiums which is backed by some of the world's biggest financial institutions. Both institutions have quit membership of the R3 group and will not be investing in its latest reported funding round. Santander did not comment on its decision to depart R3, however, it's understood it will [...]
Powa founder Dan Wagner paid £50,000 to another company before administrators were called in on fintech unicorn November 20, 2016 The former owner of collapsed fintech start-up Powa Technologies paid £50,000 to a company he owned in January this year, shortly before administrators were called in to break up the company. Dan Wagner, the charismatic founder of the London-based firm, paid the money to Bright Station Ventures in January of this year, as was first reported [...]
Stay calm: The Sword of Damocles is not hanging over Britain’s fintech sector post-Brexit November 18, 2016 In times of uncertainty, it helps to stay calm and focused on the job at hand. At Innovate Finance, we see ourselves as the rational voice of the UK global fintech community. A big part of our job is promoting our members and fintech – not in a cheerleading capacity, but through rational analysis and [...]
Global fintech venture capital soars to $15.2bn as UK market swings back into action post-Brexit vote November 16, 2016 Global fintech venture capital soared in the first three quarters of the year, as the UK market perks up again post-Brexit vote. Worldwide VC investment in the first three quarters of the year was up by 27 per cent year-on-year, with 839 deals completed in the first nine months of the year, with a combined [...]