Body
FinTechs belonging to this category operate trading platforms or online marketplaces for investment opportunities or certain financial contracts – e.g. securities, factoring etc. and sometimes furthermore provide contact to financial experts and tools for the decision-making.
FinTech-signalling and social trading platforms provide users with the opportunity to exchange opinions on financial investments and offer signal providers and traders the possibility to make their securities portfolio publicly visible. This way the portfolios can be linked to and followed by other traders via the platform automatically, so that the trading and investment strategy of the followed traders can be copied.
The platform often cooperates with a financial services provider or a credit institution where both the trader and the follower hold their securities accounts, and which execute the orders both of the trader and the follower and to which the platform passes on the trading decisions.
Introduction
Attitude of the country towards trading, social trading or signalling platforms
Historically, share trading by retail investors has been conducted at relatively high cost through the broker channel, with very limited availability of online trading. More recently, retail online trading platforms have become increasingly prevalent. Most notably, platforms such as Sharesies, Hatch and Plus500 have provided New Zealand’s retail investors an opportunity to trade without the need for personal brokers and at a reasonably low cost.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which regulates market participants conduct, commits to ensuring the risk of trading both without financial advice and is generally known to those who use such platforms.
Legal affairs
Obligations and requirements to provide trading, social trading or signalling platforms described above
Generally, providers must register as Financial Service Providers in accordance with the FSPA with the associated costs as outlined at 1.a. ii. above.
Providers of these services to retail investors will need to apply for a Financial Product Market Licence in accordance with FMCA unless the number of relevant transactions on the market does not exceed 100 or the aggregate value of the financial products acquired under the relevant transactions does exceed $2 million within any rolling 12-month period.
Additional comments regarding the legal situation for trading, social trading or signalling platforms or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area
Compliance with New Zealand’s AML, privacy and consumer protection laws and regulations will be required where client funds are managed.
Economic conditions
Market size for trading, social trading or signalling platforms and biggest companies in this business area
There is insufficient publicly available information to answer this question with reference to revenues and market shares.
The FMA’s most recent investor confidence survey reported that more than 60% of retail investors used online trading platforms, with the vast majority opting to invest in shares. New Zealand’s leading platforms are often cited as being Sharesies, InvestNow and Hatch.
Additional comments regarding the economic situation for trading, social trading or signalling platforms or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area
N/A.