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      <p>
        Shares, a UK-based social stock trading platform, has raised USD 40 million in Series A funding led by Valar Ventures (Peter Thiel&rsquo;s fund). The company&rsquo;s total funding following this round stands at USD 50 million.&nbsp;
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    </li>
  </ul>
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    <li>
      <p>
        The funding announcement also marks the launch of its investing app to the market. The platform already had over 60,000 users on its waitlist.&nbsp;
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  </ul>
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    <li>
      <p>
        Shares has grown its employee headcount to over 130 and expanded its geographic presence with three new offices in London, Paris, and Krakow.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
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  <p>
    <a href="https://www.fintechfutures.com/2022/03/social-and-investing-app-shares-closes-40m-series-a-funding-round/">
      Fintechfutures
    </a>
  </p>
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Retail Trading Infrastructure

Shares raised USD 40 million in Series A funding

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>Brighty App, a digital banking app based in Switzerland, has launched an AI-powered investment management service. The service, which is available on the App Store and Google Play to users in EU and EEA countries, makes use of custom portfolio offerings and data-driven strategies such as Momentum and Industrial.</p>
 <p>With the use of AI, the service allows for investment in assorted portfolios with a single click of a button. In addition, continuous market analysis and trade rebalancing, driven by AI that analyses millions of data points, is available.</p>
 <p>Brighty App states their AI platform offers advanced strategies, previously available only to quant firms. Reportedly, the customised portfolios year-on-year returns can go up to 21%. A zero-commission fee structure is in place for the platform, with instant deposits and withdrawals.</p>
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Brighty App launches automated investment management offering

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 <p>Revolut, the UK-based neobanking platform, has introduced a standalone wealth management app called Revolut Invest. The app provides access to a variety of assets which include 5,000 US and European stocks, ETFs, bonds, commodities, and contracts for difference (CFDs).</p>
 <p>The new app, currently being piloted in countries such as Denmark, Greece, and the Czech Republic, comes with features borrowed from Revolut's wealth management business. Apart from this, it offers a premium subscription tier, Trading Pro, giving users benefits like reduced commission fees, broader limits, and valuable analytics.</p>
 <p>The standalone app is part of Revolut's strategy to attract users outside of its existing bank client base. By the end of the year, the plan is to expand Revolut Invest to other countries in the European Economic Area. Future plans include extension to the UK, US, Australia, and Singapore.</p>
 <p>At present, Revolut has a user base of 45 million, with 500,000 businesses and 3 million active traders using the platform. It also boasts of 20,000 premium investment account subscribers.</p>
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Revolut launches standalone wealth management app Revolut Invest

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 <p>The online trading platform eToro, based in Israel, has consented to pay a penalty of USD 1.5 million to resolve SEC allegations of functioning as an unregistered broker and clearing agency for certain cryptocurrencies. </p>
 <p>In accordance to the settlement, eToro will restrict its US customers to trade only Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether on its platform. The activities with other cryptocurrencies offered as securities will be stopped. The platform will give its users the go-ahead to sell other cryptocurrencies 180 days post the SEC's order and liquidate any remainders within 187 days, refunding these proceeds to its customers.</p>
 <p>The SEC regards this settlement as a step towards augmenting investor protection and provides a blueprint for other crypto intermediaries to adhere to the existing regulatory frameworks.</p>
 
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eToro settles for USD 1.5 million with SEC over unregistered trading of certain crypto assets

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 <p>Digital wealth management solutions provider, SigFig, has enhanced its Engage platform with new AI-powered features. Engage is a collaborative tool for financial advisors combining human expertise and technology.</p>
 <p>AI enhancements introduce smart tips for in-meeting prompts and customisable suggestions, proactive surfacing of pertinent content and tools, and automatic transcripts and meeting summaries. The platform can also integrate with Salesforce, Docusign, Microsoft, and Google for two-way data synchronization.</p>
 <p>SigFig suggests its AI features can heighten financial advisor productivity and performance, allowing advisors to concentrate on strengthening client relationships. Additionally, the platform will provide personalised client experiences and manage time-intensive administrative tasks.</p>

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SigFig enhances Engage platform offerings with added AI capabilities

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 <p>The trading platform Robinhood stopped trading temporarily amid a huge stock market sell-off. During this significant market decline, Robinhood's 24-hour trading service was discontinued preventing users from participating in volatile trade. </p>
 <p>This decision of suspension came when S&amp;P 500 experienced a 4% drop in its early-day trading, along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 1,197 points. Users were notified about the unavailability of 24-hour market through a warning message displayed on Robinhood's app, but they were informed they could still place orders for the next trading session.</p>
 <p>Like other institutions, Robinhood abides by the "circuit breakers" of the stock market, which are defined criteria set by SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) for halting trades. These protocol steps are key in preventing panic selling and averting market crashes in times of severe volatility.</p>
 
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Robinhood halts trading amid stock market sell-off

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 <p>Online trading platform Robinhood has introduced a joint investment account feature. This feature enables users to collectively manage their investments by merging individual accounts into one shared account. The purpose is to simplify the investment process by centralising financial assets.</p>
 
 <p>The joint account allows shared access, fund transfers, investment management, and the flexibility to alternate between individual and joint accounts with ease.</p>
  
 <p>In an attempt to further benefit its users, Robinhood is not charging extra for these joint accounts. The accounts also include a 1% boost on deposits and a 5% annual percentage yield on uninvested cash, providing additional financial gain and growth opportunities.</p>

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Robinhood launches joint investment accounts

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 <p>Online trading platform eToro, based in Israel, has formed a partnership with the London Stock Exchange. This collaboration aims at offering users access to over 1,000 additional UK stocks and improving the quality of market data.</p>
 <p>This partnership will phase in the inclusion of more UK stocks to eToro's platform over the forthcoming months, growing from their existing offering of over 400 listed UK companies. eToro aims to enhance the trading experience for its global clientele, comprising of 3.8 million registered UK users. This enhancement will involve offering access to smaller stocks and better quality pricing data.</p>
 <p>This joint endeavor is a part of the strategies of eToro to tailor their offerings for the UK market. The strategy is in line with the prior launch of its ISA product and the provision for UK users to directly invest from GBP-denominated eToro Money accounts.</p>
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eToro partners with London Stock Exchange to expand UK stock offerings

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 <p>Plynk, an investing platform, is partnering with Teach For America, an education-focused non-profit. The aim is to improve teachers' financial wellness and increase the reach of Plynk's product.</p>
 <p>In this partnership, Plynk plans to conduct a webinar for Teach For America members, titled "Investing in Your Financial Future: Making Money Work for You." The session aims to present crucial investment principles, tools, and advice, along with a demonstration of Plynk's app. This is to provide practical steps for teachers in their investment journey.</p>
 
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Plynk partners with Teach For America to expand product reach

<div>

 <p>Plum, a UK-based automated investment and savings platform, has raised GBP 16 million (~USD 20.6 million) in Series B funding. The funding round included GBP 13.4 million (~USD 17.3 million) in equity funding, and an additional GBP 2.7 million (~USD 3.5 million) through a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. Eurobank and iGrow Venture Capital co-led the equity round, and participants included Venture Friends, Ventura Capital, among others. The total funding of Plum Fintech now amounts to USD 110.5 million.</p>
 <p>The funds raised will be used to widen Plum's product offerings, together with its recently introduced products like Cash ISA in the UK and ETFs in Europe. Plum's objective is to improve its savings and investment app and achieve profitability by 2025.</p>
 <p>In terms of financial performance, Plum disclosed a 2x YoY growth in its revenue along with a 40% uptick in average revenue per customer. The company has more than 2 million users across 10 European markets. Over the past 12 months, it registered a threefold growth in assets under management, which now exceed GBP 1 billion (~USD 1.3 billion).</p>

</div>

Plum Fintech raises GBP 16 million in Series B funding to expand product offerings

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 
 <p>WeBull, a trading platform online, has introduced WeBull Savings. This new feature enables UK users to browse a variety of savings accounts offered by multiple banks. It also makes transferring funds between trading and savings accounts simpler.</p>
 <p>WeBull Savings provides a unified solution that lets users compare interest rates among various banks, deposit cash into their chosen bank account, and shift funds between their WeBull trading account and bank accounts. This helps diversify their investments.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The launch of WeBull Savings in the UK is an addition to the company’s ongoing global expansion efforts with product launches in the US, Canada, and Brazil. Two weeks ago, WeBull partnered with <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/1586314"> Apex </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/3201026"> Moment </a> to <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/31024"> offer bond trading </a> in the US, launched <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27566"> futures and commodities trading </a> in the US (March 2024), launched a cash <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27706"> management solution </a> in Canada, and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27224"> launched its platform in Brazil </a> with plans to offer customized product offerings (February 2024).</p>

All Updates

Shares raised USD 40 million in Series A funding

Brighty App launches automated investment management offering

Revolut launches standalone wealth management app Revolut Invest

eToro settles for USD 1.5 million with SEC over unregistered trading of certain crypto assets

SigFig enhances Engage platform offerings with added AI capabilities

Robinhood halts trading amid stock market sell-off

Robinhood launches joint investment accounts

eToro partners with London Stock Exchange to expand UK stock offerings

Plynk partners with Teach For America to expand product reach

Plum Fintech raises GBP 16 million in Series B funding to expand product offerings

WeBull launches WeBull Savings in UK

Retail Trading Infrastructure

Shares raised USD 40 million in Series A funding

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