In today’s talking points; Australia: 40% of SMSF’s are property-owners; Chinese internet finance industry grows; Nature of funding for fintech firms
Australia: 40% of SMSF’s are property-owners
As many as two in five self-managed superannuation funds are holders of either commercial or residential property. The proportion of residential holders for self-managed funds rose 3 per cent this year to 22 per cent. Similar research also found that self-managed super funds are also heavily involved in property investment outside super. These results are underpinning investor’s search for income-generating assets, however their growing interest in factories, offices, apartments and houses may put self-managed fund returns at risk if a correction in the market occurs. The figure of savers who supplement their retirement with share investments is still far higher than those who supplement their retirement with property investments, at 44 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.
Read more at: Financial Review
Chinese internet finance industry grows
According to Peking University, the internet finance industry has grown almost fourfold since December 2015. Internet finance service providers such as AliPay and WeChat Pay and P2P online lending platforms such as Yu’ebao, see more users each day. The West call it ‘fintech’ and the Chinese call is ‘internet finance’ because it includes a broader application of IT to their services. The internet finance industry fills a gap where customers are insufficiently serviced with lower costs and risks via the reduction of information asymmetry.
Read more at: ANZ Bluenotes
Nature of funding for fintech firms
Funding in fintech firms has altered in the past year. The landscape of fintech funding has changed with the rise of Chinese tech firms and the redirected European investment out of London. Global fintech funding has hit $15 bill by mid- August 2016 with US, Europe and Asia Pacific Region attracting majority of fintech investment. Traditionally, VC’s dominated the funding of fintechs, however there is a presence of corporate investors competing or collaborating with the VCs.
Read more at: Business Insider