These guys claim they will become the Bloomberg terminal for everyone.
As mentioned, Iāve been using the app for a month or so now and itās saved me time. Iāve used both their main competitors, Stockopedia and Simply Wall St before, but I like where theyāre heading which gives me the features I want.
Iāve been looking at the future roadmap and asking questions about the fees, if they can deliver the new features like ESG screening and cleaning up the interface then that fills my need.
My trading brokers donāt help with the research side, which hasnāt bothered me as I do my own fundamental analysis in my spare time. I find it refreshing to have a fintech that isnāt just another robo or broker. Itās more of a compliment to other fintech Iāve seen.
Iāve invested in Monzo and sadly missed out on FT. Iām thinking about putting down for these guys as Iāve enjoyed the experience so far. Iāve missed out on the SEIS allowance but theyāre overfunding with EIS, so that gives me some downside protection.
Monzo was more of an emotional decision for me and it feels like this is too, itās a service I want to see exist with the features I want and it feels like that is the driving force behind my rational.
Is there anything else I should consider? These guys are so early stage which I havenāt touched before as an investor.
I was looking at these guys too and missed out on the SEIS due to the speed at which they hit targetā¦am considering investing a small amount also despite not being a target customer as I can see the market gap they are going for and believe it to have some value.
Good to hear from someone that has actually used the software. As for the things to consider the obvious one is being at such an early stage there is a long long timeframe before you see any return if there is any at all.
I definitely think there is a market gap. I fall in the gap which makes super useful for me!
The return on invest is a good question. I donāt mind long term investments but that has always been in liquid stuff.
I might actually invest for the rewards. Iām using it already and did plan to get the subscription once they build it. If I get the reward for the subscription package thatāll feel like compensation for the investment being locked in.
Iām going to pledge some cash this afternoon based on the rewards. Just get the peace of mind and then watch the campaign.
Hearing you confirm the market gap has been useful thank you!
I tried both of them. Had a paid trial with Stockpedia - great but very limited on its free version. Also very outdated design. Simply Wall St has a very nice layout but I dislike their āgreenā charts that do not detect failing companies whilst noticing their āgood value priceā and may thus lead to poor investment decisions if you do not dig deeper. The latter also provides very limited data for research, merley giving a few figures/rations on each of the key aspects of the stock.
Have you tried Koyfin.com? Endless analytical possibilities and completely free of charge
I have been looking for an app that helps me with this, as I am out and about often. I tried some desktop options like stockopedia, but like @Vlad, I found it an outdated model and the pricing is high.
A shame I missed out on SEIS, but EIS is still an attractive option as I wouldnāt invest 1000ās at this stage, but more like one Ā£1,000 potentially.
Iāve used them for looking at IPOs briefly, I think you mentioned it in another thread. Feels good for drilling down into the details when Iām doing my in-depth research. Iāll have a play and see how it fits into my investment process.
Agreed. Iāll only put down a few grand for the rewards to buy my subscription. EIS is still attractive for me which helps.
Crowdfunding moves so quickly. I like having more time to think over the decision and research it beforehand. It cost me investing in FT last round. Going forward I think using the cooling off period to double check these questions and kick the tires might be easier.
It doesnt help that it seems like there is a sudden and endless stream of āgood ideaā FinTech solutions coming to market at the momentā¦ its getting harder and harder to identify which ones will work and which have a market in the limited time from crowdfundingā¦
Has anyone here ever realised a return on a crowdfunding investment, either through the company being bought or going public? I can see a lot of these companies increasing in value on paper, including Freetrade, but they could still fail before you ever get a chance to take your return.
I invested some money in Freetrade in the last round and since discovering Crowdcube Iāve looked at some other pitches. The question isnāt really whether the company will be successful, because they could trade for a few years and be lucrative for the company staff. But if they are never bought out or go public, you wonāt benefit from the success. This is my understanding, at least.
For me the answer is Yes, and No, but I only started last year so that is expected.
If you invest in EIS rounds you do get an immediate return in the form of tax relief equal to 30% of the amount invested - so it can be significant. You can also claim relief if they fail.
Otherwise youāll be waiting a long time. I think a few people here have seen returns from investments a few years ago (Revolut, brew dog and another I donāt recall).
The total of positive exits on Crowdcube so far is 9 from around roughly 600 raises - a sobering statistic.
Yes, I got 3X my investment back from e-car Club when they sold to a bigger car rental Co.
I see what you are saying though, a company could plod on making mediocre earnings for years without ever IPOing or selling and you are trapped. In some ways it might be better if they went bust as at least you could claim loss relief if they had EIS or SEIS
The figure of 600 I had to guess by looking at a few separate stats, so itās probably in the ballpark but not exactly right. I found an out of date entry on crunchbase citing 500 raises, and they are adding about 50 raises a quarter I think. Would be interesting to know an exact figure from crowdcube if there is one, Iām afraid I didnāt try very hard to find one, it might have been in their investor docs for their recent raise for example. Theyāve only been around for about 9 years.
Obviously for crowdfunding you have a long long time horizon so the figure of 9 isnāt as scary as it seems, as you would expect it to only start ramping up around now, but Iād expect a negative outcome even in the long term for most companies, and in some ways a zombie company which will never return the investment is as bad for an investor as one which died.
Completely agree. If the company fails I can get a tax break off the back of a failed investment. One that slows down and fails to get traction is just lost money.
Iām looking at a 10 year horizon, sooner would be great but Iām in no rush.
Genuine Impact say they are aiming for a 5 year exit which would be great but I donāt mind waiting longer, then again if they hit their targets I wouldnāt be upset!
I guess in theory a company will buy back their shares off you if you offer them at a discount. This could be a way to realise some return if the company is otherwise not going to be sold or IPO.
How is Chip doing? I remember checking them out but I lost interest in them due to their USP functionality of micro saving or āround upā is now pretty much everywhere in FinTech, such as Monzo, Starling and Wealthsimple.
This is true, entity like Monzo Bank Ltd is still not making profit. It really depends how long the founder wish to establish a brand and how quickly they wish to sell the business to other big players in the market.
