So Plum is overfunding on Seedrs. Iāve invested in Plum @ Ā£4.48/share partly as a hedge to my Freetrade investment, but ultimately because I believe in the product/service, especially since they added theme based ETF investing in addition to their RateSetter partnership. Their pitch deck is good, their mission is sound, their team is talented and as we have established weāre not in a winner takes all market so have any of you considered adding Plum to your portfolio of investments? If so, why? If not, why?
For those intending to invest in Plum following this post and are to register an account with Seedrs first, please use my referral link Sign Up To Raise Startup Investment Or Fund Startups Online or enter my referral code 9R14J9U5 when joining Seedrs in the field āHow did you first hear about Seedrsā.
I invested a little bit in their previous round. Considering more (interesting that theyāre getting into investing) but a couple of things have put me off: I downloaded but havenāt used their product, probably because I was already using Chip, which seems good. Also the community unhappiness about the convertible debt.
Interestingā¦ I would have thought the fact that youāre a small investor would sway you to use Plum over Chip. This is what the CEO/Cofounder has to say about Chipā¦
Oh it was the convertible debt round, so I think itās only up a little bit.
Well, yes, but I invested more in Chip and unlike the plum boss I think riding on top of FB messenger rather than being an app is probably a risk for them, not a usp.
Which platform did Chip raise investment on and when? Curious.
I do think it is a great selling point, if maybe not entirely sustainably unique, but I agree and thatās why I take comfort in the fact they plan to make standalone apps a reality in future.
Iāve resisted investing in any of the PFMās. Theyāre cool, have good UX & features (vs banks) but thereās so much competition and these are very new types of businesses. They compete against each other, aggregators (e.g. Yolt), digital banks and traditional banks (who will improve).
So I view the risks for PFMās as much higher and the rewards lower than other top crowdfunding opportunities like Freetrade/Monzo etcā¦ But best of luck with it, thatās only my opinion, there are definitely reasons to invest!
Indeed The stellar crowdfunding opportunities are few & far between, but I consider Plum a personally top investment on the basis that itās a product that Iād actually use. If it passes this criteria, itās automatically a consideration for me.
Whilst I really like the idea, and I think the Chat Bot deployment is pretty smart and the product feels like it could be a natural MSE 2.0, I am inclined to agree with @rod in so far as I think Facebook is frankly a risk, and not necessarily a boon to Plumās prospects.
First, in the UK, users in the 12-24 bracket are down 700,000 on 2017 numbers and user growth in the 25-44 bracket remained flat compared to last year. So whilst Instagram and Snap are likely capturing the former demographic, they donāt seem to be converting to Facebook as those users become āestablishedā. Could this be a longer term trend? And this was before all the Cambridge Analytica /SCL revelations came to light, and I feel these are far from being resolved.
So it begs the questionā¦in light of what has happened, and FBās response, do you truly feel comfortable connecting and sharing your financial life via the Facebook platform?
On a plus side (of sorts), I think Facebook has exhibited remarkable resilience in the face of everything weāve seen so far, especially considering MZās evidence giving and the totally disingenuous PR blitz we are currently being subjected to.
I know theyāve stated an app is to follow, but the Facebook Chat Bot currently sits at the heart of the product, and so the only way to participate is to give Facebook more of your data. Non merci.
So as far as their current target audience or user base is concerned, itās safe to say the facebook messenger isnāt a problem for this age range for the next 5 years or so.
As youāve pointed out, itās the younger demographics that arenāt Facebook first that pose a risk for the chatbot. Having said this, I reckon Plum will be smart enough to have their own standalone apps within the next 2 years so Iām not concerned on this front.
The FT has some more details about Plumās investment offering (link below, maybe):
Plum, a robo-adviser tool used via Facebookās Messenger service, has focused on helping its 200,000 users save money and reduce spending. Now, though, it has turned its attention to investments and is rolling out six funds to all its customers on Monday.
The start-up has partnered with Vanguard, Standard Life Aberdeen and Legal & General Investment Management.
A beta version of the offering, which was open to 2,000 customers, has been running over the summer and Ā£500,000 has been invested so far.
Plum will offer three Vanguard funds designed for different risk profiles: conservative, balanced and growth. It will also provide access to three themed funds: an LGIM tech fund, an SLA ethical fund and a Vanguard emerging markets fund.
Victor Trokoudes, Plum chief executive, said the themes were chosen to appeal to the interests of millennials and that the company would consider rolling out funds focused on the environment, healthy eating and artificial intelligence.
[ā¦] Plum will charge investors Ā£1 a month as well as an annual fee of 0.15 per cent of their assets. Additional fund charges range from 0.22 per cent to 0.9 per cent.
This round is being led by our existing investors EBRD and Venture Friends who are participating for a total of Ā£2,403,463. This is an investment in preference shares and is included in the āinvestment already fundedā amount at the top of the campaign.
The preference shares have a right to receive 1x their initial investment ahead of ordinary shareholders in the event of a liquidation, distribution of proceeds or exit. These are non participating preferred shares meaning that once 1x the initial investment is paid any surplus is distributed to the ordinary shareholders on a pro-rata basis. The preferred shares are convertible to ordinary shares; the preferred shareholder can choose to participate pro rata alongside ordinary shareholders (ie if this would give them a greater return than the 1x preference) OR receive their 1x preferential return. These shares are not eligible for EIS tax relief.
Seedrs investors will receive ordinary shares that are eligible for EIS.
They already buy data on you from data brokers youāve never heard of.
And the tech is therefore not very proprietary. The 3rd party element - FB - is a risk. Zynga ran its games on FB once.
:freetrade: seem to be building stuff on their own - connecting directly to the exchange (IEX).
And, isnāt the point of all this is to by bypass companies such as āVanguard, Standard Life Aberdeen and Legal & General Investment Managementā. Some people wonāt mind but hidden fees still add up.
Iād reckon FT are consuming the IEX API - not actually routing orders via the IEX exchange. We know full well most FT orders go via the LSE as you can watch any website showing live/delayed trade reporting. A few donāt - but most do. Honestly, trade a share an watch ADVFN or the LSEs own site.
Iād also reckon FT are indeed building their own stuff but also building off the back of a fair few third parties too.
You donāt bypass these manufacturers of funds/ETFs no matter which route so go. Buy VUKE on FT youāre still ultimately consuming from Vanguard and paying Vanguards fund fees.
Agree, I was referring to the non-Vanguard types such as L&G - if youāve ever visited their offices or met their portfolio managers youād know where your money is going. Vanguard are .
Yes to IEX. They have a good mission which is rare in āWall Stā. Their founder is legend.
Yes to Brad. Good partnership for :freetrade: @adam.
and unlike the plum boss I think riding on top of FB messenger rather than being an app is probably a risk for them, not a usp.
The stellar crowdfunding opportunities are few & far between, but I consider Plum a personally top investment on the basis that itās a product that Iād actually use. If it passes this criteria, itās automatically a consideration for me.
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