Wellington-based direct-to-consumer fund platform, InvestNow, has tipped over the $500 million point following a splurge of growth in 2020.
In a release, InvestNow general manager, Mike Heath, said the platform recorded rapid acceleration in funds under management (FUM) and members over the first few months of this year, setting the scene for a new expansion phase.
“… InvestNow has seen record new member sign-ups over 2020 with net numbers growing at about 2,000 each month over March and April alone,” Heath said.
He said the business, which offers direct investors low-cost access to a wide range of funds and term deposits, would soon add further options, including a new KiwiSaver scheme due to launch within months.
The InvestNow KiwiSaver scheme would provide investors with a wide choice of underlying fund managers in keeping with the “group’s principles of providing quality investment options to members at a low cost”, the release says.
“We’re also exploring the potential to add NZ corporate bonds to our investment menu and – further down the track – direct equities,” Heath said. “And, of course, we’re always looking at growing our core fund offerings with a new range of exchange-traded funds currently under review.”
Launched early in 2017, InvestNow – a subsidiary of the fund-hosting business, Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) – has augmented organic growth with two strategic purchases: the Rabobank online fund business late in 2017; and, the direct client book of AMP Capital earlier this year.
Heath said reaching the half-a-billion dollar level in just over three years was a “great endorsement of the InvestNow model”.
“When InvestNow launched early in 2017, self-directed fund investors had very little choice – and what options they had were expensive and inefficient,” he said. “We’ve shown that with the right technology, a good product range and institutional-level pricing, many NZ investors will trust a direct platform to help build their wealth.”
Other online direct investment NZ firms, Sharesies and Hatch, also reported strong member growth this year. Sharesies, which has a more limited fund range than InvestNow (but also direct NZ equities), reportedly added 50,000 members in recent months to reach a total of 150,000 with a collective $370 million under management. Direct US share-trading platform, Hatch, also saw a membership spike this year to over 36,000.