Funding

• OneVest , a wealth management platform, raised CAD 17.0 million (~USD 12.8 million) in Series A funding led by OMERS Ventures, with participation from Luge Capital, Panache Ventures, AAF Management, and others. The company intends to utilize the fresh capital to support business growth, expand across the US market, and for other general corporate uses. (June 13, 2023; Company press release )

New product/Service launch

• Wealthfront , a robo advisory platform, announced the launch of the Automated Bond Portfolio with a 5.48% blended 30-day SEC yield. The Automated Bond Portfolio offering uses a diversified mix of treasury and corporate bond ETFs and aims to provide a better yield than savings accounts with less risk than investing in equities. (June 07, 2023; Company press release )

• Webull , an online trading platform, announced the addition of over 4,000 stocks, ETFs, and ETNs listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Prime, Standard, and Growth markets) onto its platform. The trading of Japanese stocks, ETFs, and ETNS is available for users based in Japan. (June 19, 2023; Company press release )

• Betterment , a robo advisory and investment management platform, announced the launch of Betterment for Advisors product offering which includes tax optimization, streamlined client onboarding, customizable drift thresholds tools to support advisors with offering customized tax-efficient investment management services at scale. (June 20, 2023; Company press release )

M&As

• Robinhood , an online trading platform, announced plans to acquire X1 Inc, a platform that offers no-fee credit cards with rewards, for USD 95.0 million cash settlement. Through this acquisition, the company intends to broaden its product offering by offering a no-fee credit card that includes no annual fees, late fees, or foreign transaction fees. (June 22, 2023; Company blog , TechCrunch )

Partnerships

• Betterment , a robo advisory and investment management platform, announced a partnership with Ascensus, a financial tech solutions provider. Through this partnership, Betterment introduces employee wellness offerings that include 401(k), student loan management, personal retirement and investing, financial coaching, and educational savings. (June 15, 2023; Company press release )  

Geographic expansion  

• Revolut , a UK-based digital banking platform, announced the launch of a robo advisory offering in the US market. The platform will allow US investors to invest in one of five automated investment portfolios based on their risk tolerance, which will rebalance monthly with a management fee of 0.25% per annum or a minimum fee of USD 0.25 per annum. (June 29, 2023; Company press release ) 

Policy/Regulation

• Robinhood , an online trading platform, announced plans to restrict trading on certain cryptocurrency tokens following SEC’s lawsuit against major crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase . The trading controls will restrict the trading of tokens from Polygon, Solana, and Cardano blockchains on its platform from June 27, 2023, onwards. (June 09, 2023; Company blog , TechCrunch )