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Ark7 - Real Estate Investment Platform Review

Brian Thopsey — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 23:46:49 +0000

Ark7 - Real Estate Investment Platform Review

Are you interested in a rental property investment but don't quite have enough cash to afford a down payment? Do you have $20? There is a growing number of real estate crowdfunding platforms that allow anyone to access the recurring revenue stream of real estate rentals. I wrote a piece on some of the top equity and debt based real estate investing platforms. These investing portals provide a convenient and accessible way to invest in real estate. This can be great for those of us who may not have the resources or expertise to invest in traditional real estate directly, but want the diversification. I will try out Ark7 and give you my take as it relates to some of the other options out there, and my experience investing with them.

Investing Using Ark7

Personally I am focused more on startup business investing platforms, but the affiliate relationship we setup attracted me to learn more. The team has been helpful in taking care to cultivate the network of affiliate relationships, which I greatly appreciate as I begin my journey newly partnering with them and others.

Ark7 buys properties using cash or financing in order to list them for you and I to purchase shares of. Let's begin the process to build an account to make our first investment.

Setting up an Account

First I went to the Ark7 website and created an account. Note they ask for your Social Security Number to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. I try to not give out my SSN, but the request has been standard on each of the platforms I have signed up for so far.

The company has several single-family and multi-family rental properties in several cities in the U.S. at the time of writing this article. The inventory covers a number of properties in the southern US region. It appears I can access more by activating Ark7+. This appealed to me as I currently (and have always) live in the northeast. I always try to look for informational advantages, like knowledge of the region investing in. I went through the process to register as an Ark7 plus user. It appears to be for accredited investors only, so I went ahead and filled out my info. They had a few options to prove your status. I chose to share a comfort letter from my CPA. That process looks like it requires human review so I await the 5 day period. In the meantime I will continue as a non-accredited investor to place my first investment.

Select Investment Property

So I selected the single family home in Dallas. Ark7 states they will guarantee the 4.5% rate for the first year, which is pretty much on par with most money market accounts at the time of this writing. The Fed Funds rate is 5.25%.

It appears the required hold period is only 3 months for this property Ark7 states it manages 95% of the properties on its platform.

Fees

For this property $511 per month is going to the management and $227 is set aside for repairs. So out of the $3300 collected in rent $738 are fees Ark7 is collecting, or 22%. That provides me some assurance the property will be maintained, to retain the value over the years where I personally do not need to be anywhere near the property to deal with any of the maintenance. Also note that there is a 3% sourcing fee on the initial purchase value.

Complete the Transaction

I connected to my bank using the Plaid connector. I then had to add the funds to the account to enable the purchase. Upon clicking buy it takes me to a 10 page legal agreement that spells out the structure of the JTDXY Security where I am able to digitally sign in the same workflow. I was multi-tasking while going through the entire process, but it was relatively fast to transact. I got logged out two times from calls with co-workers, but was able to pick right back up where I had left off.

Risk Considerations

Ark7, like any investment, carries risk. It's important to carefully evaluate the factors that could cause the investment to not pan out. Investing through the Ark7 means that you have limited control over the selection and management of the property. I understand I am giving up a level of control and decision-making power. Ark7 states it manages 95% of the properties on its platform. Ark7 serves as manager to Ark7 Properties LLC and Ark7 Properties Plus LLC. I am not sure how to access the process followed by the property manager to compare to others in the efficiency of the operation.

Ark7 is an SEC-qualified platform. The work they have done to register with the SEC helps to lower the potential risk. This status brings a level of credibility to the platform.

Online platforms like Ark7 may not offer personalized financial advice tailored to your specific circumstances. If you require personalized investment guidance, it's advisable to consult with a financial advisor.

Check It Out - We Want to Hear From You

I think the service is innovative and this market will continue to grow. Let me know if you are interested to learn about the accredited version. Check out the Ark7 website and let us know your experience with the platform or if you have any further comments or questions in the comment section below or with our contact form.

Brian Thopsey Tue, 06/13/2023 - 19:46

Real Estate

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Top Real Estate Investing Portals

Brian Thopsey — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:32:35 +0000

Top Real Estate Investing Portals

This is the second part of a 2 part series covering ways to capitalize on real estate crowdfunding. Go to Part 1, in case you missed it, where I provide context on the real estate industry and innovative funding approaches being taken. At Fund Wisdom we have primarily focused on startups offering equity to invest in directly through portals, but as more real estate is offered on these platforms we assess this area of investment and the overlap. I detail some of the top real estate portals based upon transaction volume and break out based upon real estate asset classes of funding.

Debt: Marketplace P2P Property Lending

Capital Repayment with Interest</strong> - Debt crowdfunding is the funding of debt from individuals, groups, or institutions, more commonly known as peer-to-peer lending (P2P lending). The practice of matching borrowers and lenders through online platforms associated with debt crowdfunding allow borrowers to gain access to funds quickly and often at lower interest rates than those offered by banks.

The benefit to investors is the inherent ability to lend money at a range of interest rates based on proprietary credit scores assigned by each platform. Investors can potentially receive regular, attractive returns while leveling risk across various borrowers.

Some platforms take some or all an existing real estate loan, secured by a deed on the underlying property, and syndicate it out to a network of individual investors at a fixed rate of return. Other platforms act as the lender, issuing a loan to a real estate developer or flipper. In either case, the platform’s network of investors is offered a flat annual rate of return. According to Passive Income MD "typically between 7% and 12% - over a relatively short term - generally 6 to 18 months. Since these investments are secured by the property and short in a term, they tend to be a good fit for more risk-averse investors."

Benefits: the ability to customize investment based on financial obligation, fixed payments, and the ability to diversify the portfolio.

Debt Platforms

The wide range and unique variety of portals allow anyone interested in real estate to gain access to a wide ranging market and new ways to invest. Crowdfunding real estate investing grants investors the access they need to engage in a variety of real estate investing projects. We look to rank based upon amount transacted and money raised (according to Crunchbase) to fund the business.

RealtyShares/Iintoo IIRR Management Services acquired RealtyShares increasing the overall assets under management to $2.5 billion. The company operates an online marketplace assisting its members in browsing real estate investments and interfacing with an investment page for specific offerings. They offer multi-family residential, office, industrial, self-storage, retail, medical office, and hospitality facilities and structures them in the form of debt and equity. Fees for the debt are 2%.
PeerStreet - raised $110 million and transacted an additional $4.25 billion late 2019, but the only AUM number posted is from early 2019 at $1 billion. They built a vetted network of private lenders with diverse sources of capital, providing lending at a local community level. These P2P real estate loans typically carry 6-36 month terms. Once you invest in a loan or note through PeerStreet, you must remain in the investment until it pays off. They lowered their minimum to $100 in April 2019. They do initial review and vetting. Focused on accredited investors only at the time of writing. We also have an affiliate partnership with them.
The Real-Estate Crowdfunding Review lists it's rating of the the top platforms for accredited investors for 2019 and a separate listing for those that do not meet this wealth requirement. The top rated is Peer Street.
RealtyMogul raised $45 million and transacted $2 billion. They operate as an online marketplace for real estate investment for accredited and non accredited investors. The platform enables investment in real estate investments that have already been evaluated via their due diligence team. Borrowers acquire business or commercial purpose mortgage loans and sponsors to raise equity. RealtyMoguls platform also offers fix-and-flip loans, bridge and permanent loans, and joint venture equity. It serves accredited investors via mostly finished assets in residential, retail, commercial, office, and industrial projects. We have an affiliate relationship with this team.
GROUNDFLOOR raised $38 million and posted annual transactions of $100 million. We have not been able to source the gross total of transactions so it may be higher. They are a US-based online real estate lending platform. It was the first company to achieve SEC qualification utilizing Regulation A+; this market is also open to non-accredited investors. Type of asset: developments. Real estate asset class: residential land. We recently established an affiliate relationship with them.
Sharestates raised $30 million and transacted $2.5 billion. They function as an online marketplace offering a minimum investment of $5000. The company allocates investments in cash flow properties. It enables investors to earn returns on real estate properties, and property developers to fund projects.
Patch of Land, raised $25 million and transacted $725 million, an online peer-to-peer real estate crowdfunding marketplace and loan provider. The portal connects real estate developers requiring financing with lenders and real estate investors. The company focuses on six to 24-month real estate first-lien mortgage loans with borrower guarantees. Type of asset: development and finished assets.
Fund That Flip: raised $11 million, focuses on residential real estate redevelopment projects serving accredited investors in the United States.
Capital On Demand no data for funding - investors share in net profits of property. Tax Treatment is pass-through of depreciation and mortgage expense deductions; some capital gains treatment also possible.
Bitcasas no data for funding - focused on cross-border platform for investment in the mortgage loans backed by the US Real Estate. They use blockchain based tokenization to enable fractional ownership of real estate mortgage loans. BitCasas plans to issue legally compliant
Security Token Offerings (STOs) under Reg D 506c exemption for US accredited investors and Reg S exemption for international investors. Our friends at CrowdCrux did a review on this portal.

Equity

Investment for Ownership Stake enables investors to distribute risk across a number of shareholders. The backer collects shares in exchange for the capital pledged. Equities.com published an article in 2017 suggesting what to look for in investments in real estate equity funding portals. At Fund Wisdom we focus on this investment structure applied to early stage startup companies that offer the potential for high returns due to the risk. The risk is typically greater in startup equity funding portals than real estate. Below are a list of real estate portals we have reviewed:

Fundrise $4.9 Bil transacted real estate investments showcased on their historical investment performance page, also stating average annualized returns in 2019 of 9.47%. They raised $55.5 million. Fundrise provides development and finished assets across residential and commercial. Between 2014 and 2018, the company averaged 8.76% to 12.25% annualized yields, net fees (1.0%), and an upfront cost of 2% in asset origination fees. They allow for $500 minimums and were founded in 2012. They also help showcase top opportunity zones, or tax advantaged areas that are encouraging investment. We have an affiliate relationship.
CrowdStreet in early 2019 they had $500 million transacted and at the time of writing this raised $24.9 million. The platform provides a virtual commercial real estate marketplace that connects accredited investors with institutional real estate investments. Its online portal supports commercial real estate developers and operators to acquire, convert, and manage investors for their projects. Type of asset: development and finished assets. We have an affiliate relationship.
Cadre raised $133 Million according to Crunchbase as of July 2021. They provide access to institutional-quality real estate deals, in large apartment buildings, hotels, and offices which typically mature over 5 years or longer. They state they identify properties by using a tech-driven analysis and industry leading expertise. Their focus is fewer high quality deals over volume. They generate most of their revenue from recurring management fees of 1.5% of Net Asset Value (NAV) versus one-time transaction fees, and leverage incentives tied to deals outperforming their target levels, therefore incentives are tied to long-term deal performance, not high transaction volume. They require a minimum of $50,000 to invest, which goes into a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) Real Cadre LLC who is the pass-through owner of the equity or debt in the property. They offer a secondary market to sell off shares prior to property sale date a few times a year. Ryan Williams is the CEO and Co-Founder and has been able to help secure funding from VCs like Andreesen Khosla and Goldman. We have an affiliate relationship.
EquityMultiple, raised $4 million, focused on institutional-grade commercial real estate projects while offering both debt and equity investments. The company operates as an online real estate investing and finance platform connecting accredited investors with commercial real estate assets. We had a chance to team up with Yieldtalk and Crowdwise to build an event with their founder and CEO Charles Clinton. We have an affiliate relationship.
Ark7 raised $2 million led by UpHonest Capital in Santa Clara CA according to Crunchbase. Ark7 focuses on fractional ownership of rental properties. Their investment minimum is as low as $20. They offer a mobile app with a slick UI and cater to a non-accredited investor base. As of June 2023 they state on their site they have $15MM+ Property Value Funded and $1MM+ Cash Distributions Paid. We are excited to have established a new affiliate relationship with them.
Equitydoor no transaction or funding data found. They focus on the US market and offer $1,000 minimums. Investors can inspect offering materials, such as legal due diligence items. Legal documents, signatures and fund transfers can all be handled through the platform so investors and issuers can complete the entire transaction through the secure website. The issuer covers the fees for setting up the project.
1031 Crowdfunding no transaction data found. They offer commercial equity investments that qualify for 1031 exchanges for people who own existing real estate and want to sell without being taxed. The platform offers single property investments and multi-property funds.
Republic recently expanded by breaking out a real estate specific section of their investment offerings. We had been following their equity and crypto based startup base.

Funds

If you are willing to incur management fees as you believe in the skills of a portfolio manager and look to attain diversification platforms are offering funds as well. Many of those listed already offer funds but below are a few companies that focus just in funds:

AlphaFlow - They raised $6.4 million. Fees: 1%/year Minimum: 1 year lock up and $10,000. They buy debt and equity and offer advisory and portfolio management services.
RealCrowd – raised $1.7 million. Commercial real estate investment market. The average individual deal-size for investment opportunities falls just shy of $30 million, while funds have ranged in sizes ranging from $15 million to $150 million.

REITs

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are funds offering diversification with some tax advantages. I was lucky enough to work at Iron Mountain during the transition the firm went through to qualify as a REIT in 2014. Crowdfunding platforms have specialized and designed to solve niche conditions within the real estate market. Each investment vehicle offers a unique focus and value proposition to investors. Fundrise and RealtyMogul offer semi-blind eREIT funds that aggregate properties throughout the U.S. These investments offer built-in diversity and very low minimums, making them appropriate for less experienced investors. These REITs offer investors a way to invest in multiple properties or types of real estate:

Fundrise eREIT: generating continual cash flow through debt investments in commercial real estate assets (pays a 9% dividend, 2020).
MogulREIT I: the fund makes investments in debt and debt-like real estate-related assets.
MogulREIT II: the fund invests in multifamily apartment communities
DiversyFund The DiversyFund Growth REIT is SEC-regulated that builds wealth by investing in cash-flowing apartment buildings.

REITs are apt to flourish in an environment of easy monetary policy where the mostly hybrid form of real estate vehicle, acts like a fund offering broad diversification with tax incentive. Technology is driving real estate investing from single unit rentals and land leasing to large funds like this.

Success Factors: Achieving Funding for Real Estate Projects

A solid crowdfunding effort is due in large part to building traction, growing number of adopters and advocates towards gaining approval and establishing social proof among existing and potential investors. Social proof is where observers follow the actions of others with the belief that the "others" know something they don't. In 2017 G2 and Heinz Marketing put out a report stating 92% of buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review. Unbiased product reviews from an independent party are trusted over a brand's product description and content so most funding platforms have provided open feedback forum style review sites.

The initial adopters and potential brand advocates influence investment. The confidence displayed by early adopters is critical to the achievement of crowdfunding efforts prior, during, and after the event which ultimately informs and authenticates the project. Scale determines how profitable a crowdfunding platform ought to be.

Top Real Estate Value Analysis Websites

We also recognize sites that can be used to attain market insights by their collection of sale and rental listing data to help in your asset assessment process:

Zillow Market Cap: $10.5 Bil, allows users to post homes for sale and rent and known for the "Make Me Move" price. They offer advanced search capabilities accessing for sale and rental listings. The platform allows you to buy and sell houses directly through Zillow. They offer marketing solutions to assist real estate professionals to connect with consumers. They provide an application programming interface (API) and developer support network. The company operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, with more than two dozen apps across all major platforms. They build their own value estimator: Zestimate. Other brands include StreetEasy, HotPads, and Naked Apartments, for business rental and mortgage professionals include Mortech, Dotloop, Bridge Interactive, and New Home Feed. They offer a home loans product, the affiliated lender providing mortgage pre-approval and financing. Zillow acquired Trulia in 2015 offering peer-reviewed recommendations, local insights, and map overlays. The site provides details on commuting, crime stats and reports, schooling, church locations, shopping and nearby businesses.
Realtor.com, Market cap: 6.9 Bil, offers statics about neighborhoods, a massive variety of listings that are customizable based on individual preferences, including apartment listings and regional mortgage rates.
Homes.com: the site offers buyers, sellers, renters, and profit-seekers with current real estate information, tools, and home listing.
Move Inc. (the Move network includes Realtor.com) and has an established alliance with the National Association of Realtors, for operating Realtor.com, a subsidiary of News Corp., market capitalization at 852.84 Mil, the company serves the Move Network of real estate websites.
Homefinder is a real estate portal presenting listings to assist home buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords in achieving their real estate goals. One of the only real estate sites that have its' open house tab as well as a bookmark for foreclosures, a tab for rent-to-own, and one for auctions.
Xome is the only platform that digitally relates all critical touchpoints along the real estate process. It makes the process of buying and selling a home more transparent for consumers by offering Status dashboards, Dynamic ratings of agents and real estate professionals, and Real-time property data. It acts as a broker providing qualified real estate agents and mortgage lenders. The platform allows you to buy, sell, find agents, receive houses via email, and take virtual tours of residences. The company also provides a real estate an auction platform with one of the largest real estate owned (REO), short sale, foreclosure, and luxury property auctions.
Redfin is a broker portal focused on providing real estate agents. They have sellers pay a 1 to 2% listing fee and commit to purchase within 365 days of closing. There is additional fees to compensate the brokerage representing the buyer usually in the 2.5 to 3.0% range, where buyers are given a small portion ( ~0.5%) of this fee by Redfin. The portal offers 3D tours of their home listings as well.
42 Floors: Online commercial real estate space marketplace
LiquidSpace: is an online marketplace and workspace network for renting office space.
Roofstock provides online real estate services, including buying, selling, leasing, real estate investment, and property management services.
American Homeowner Preservation – uses capital to purchase distressed mortgages within the United States at massive discounts.
Appear Here: offers short-term space. The company's online platform allows landlords to list their space for free, for brands to book, like booking a hotel room.

Capitalize

Before investing in one of these portals we suggest you speak with a Chartered Financial Advisor. Our goal is to provide data and insights to reduce your fees, improve your access to innovative offerings so you can act on your own. With a low upfront cost of participation, real estate equity crowdfunding continues to grow. We believe the trend will further gain in popularity as the broader market begins to tighten. New and seasoned investors will have to do more with less to capitalize on fruitful returns that become harder to find.

These platforms increase availability of information to investors and speculators alike. While the growth potential is attractive, investors need to tread cautiously. All investments worth your time and hard-earned cash will inherently present challenges and risks, producing the higher rates of return you desire.

Reach out to us if you have any questions and as usual let us know what you think in the comments below.

Brian Thopsey Tue, 06/06/2023 - 20:32

Real Estate, Capital Types, Platforms, Non Accredited

Comments

Pranam Lipinski (not verified)

Sat, 03/06/2021 - 12:02

Very helpful and detailed! Thank you for this overview of really the future of real estate investing

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Better SAFE than Sorry?

Brian Thopsey — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 01:51:47 +0000

Better SAFE than Sorry?

Putting money in startup businesses used to be the exclusive privilege of the wealthy and well connected. Now, anyone can invest in a startup with as little as $100. I think this is great and am surprised as to how few people know about it, or take advantage.

I like to invest early in new companies in the hopes that they hit it big one day. The common dream – and the occasional reality – of investing in a unicorn, a future Fortune 500 company, and cashing out. I invest in building Fund Wisdom and have begun a small angel investing portfolio. I want to build something great and help others that have these same aspirations. How do we get access to those that are at the stage of still working in an unheated garage under flickering fluorescent lights?

I put a few hundred dollars in a company, Arc, through Wefunder back in June 2021. They had built a community and academy that educates computer programmers. They were building an HR based business for aiding people in hiring professionals that were going through their programs. Pretty cool, huh? Well I thought so.

I can anticipate your reaction:

Had you used the company’s services?
- No, but I like the company’s mission, and had heard good things from programmer friends.
What portion of the company did you buy?
- I did not know the exact percentage.
Do you know the owner of the company?
- No. I never met him or any of the founders or team.
Then how did you get him your money?
- Through Wefunder and via a structure called a SAFE.

What is a SAFE

SAFE stands for Simple Agreement for Future Equity. It is somewhere between an equity and debt security and marks the evolution of angel investing. The key word is “future.” Getting a VC to put a value on a company involves substantial paperwork and fees, not to mention time. A SAFE allows the founder of a startup to raise funds quickly and simply, delaying the official valuation process.

After raising money from family and friends startups, before SAFEs, founders would typically raise money through a priced round offering equity notes. With SAFEs, founders can reach a broad audience of potential angel investors, or people who want to support small businesses that matter to them. Maybe that’s a new tea café in the neighborhood. Maybe it’s a fledgling clothing designer, a yoga studio, or a business that aligns with the investor’s values.

Am I able to call myself an angel investor? It doesn't feel that way yet. You can do the same and find startups on Internet platforms such as WeFunder and Republic. You’ll learn details about the various companies and how much their founders want to raise from investors. For you and me, it just means reading about the business, choosing one or more, deciding how much to invest, sending off our money . . . and waiting.

What are we waiting for? Ideally, the startup will grow large enough so that one day it will turn to venture capitalists to determine the value of the company. Once that price is established, we’ll know how much our “future equity” from the SAFE is really worth. Yes, this could take a while. In fact, it might never occur.
SAFEs are all-or-nothing prospects. I can’t back out of my investment in the coding academy. If it prospers, I should get a return on my money. But I might never see that money again. In the meantime, I get the satisfaction of helping to support a small business that can make a meaningful difference in other people’s lives. In a way, having more good coders in the world enhances my life, too – just like the new café that makes my neighborhood a little more pleasant when I go out for a walk.

Ready to invest in a SAFE? Check out these investing platforms

Have you already invested in a SAFE? Leave a comment and let me know how it went.

Brian Thopsey Thu, 02/16/2023 - 20:51

Capital Types

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The Difference Between Debt & Equity Based Crowd Financing

Brian Thopsey — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 01:00:49 +0000

The Difference Between Debt & Equity Based Crowd Financing

Do you have an innovative idea for a business and need some money to help grow? Or are you considering investing in one of your first startups? There are a few options between equity, debt, and crypto, to raise funds or invest through. I will outline some of the options to what people are leveraging with online investing portals to help you identify what's best for your needs.

At Fund Wisdom we have spent years reviewing innovative investing platforms. These funding solutions give us more insight to what businesses are using for funding sources and how these early decisions impact the future success. Depending on your vision for your business or investment, certain methods of capital will be more appropriate than others.

What Are People Using Today

Below is a screenshot of our dashboard that provides a view of the financing options from our database of equity crowdfunding offerings. These charts show the rate at which others are using each type of financing.

Equity - Sell Ownership

You can raise money by selling a portion of your business to others. Those people will then own shares in your company, and they will expect to receive a portion of company’s retained earnings at a future date. As shareholders, they will have a claim on the company’s assets after the debt holders. They may also require to have say-so in how the company is run by being able to vote according to what portion of the company they own.

The advantage to you is that most shareholders understand that they might not see payback from their investment for years. The importance lies in aligning your new investors to the timeline that you should expect to achieve profit and one day provide them an opportunity to sell their stake to someone else at a much greater price.

If you issue equity, you can choose from a few of these types:

Common Stock
- Non-Voting
- Class B
- Class A
Preferred Stock
Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE)

We will cover SAFEs in the convertible debt section as this is a method of raising money that straddles the line between debt and equity. As you can see from the data this is the most popular choice as of 2023.

Issue Debt - Borrow Money

If you don't want to sell equity, you can rely on debt. Investors give you money under the agreement that you’ll pay them back, plus interest.

The advantage that debt investments tend to be less risky than equity investments, but with lower and more consistent returns. You to retain control of your business. However those who lent you money might require that you back it up with collateral; the risk for you is that if you default on the loan, you could lose those tangible assets. Investors like debt investments because they tend to be less risky than equity investments, and often come with guaranteed cash flows.

If you are considering debt financing a good place to start is with a business credit score. Supermoney and Kapitus offer up competitive rates. We have affiliate relationships with both. As businesses grow they typically employ a blend of both equity and debt financing to meet their needs. Which method of raising funds works for you? Share in the comments below.

Convertible Debt - Start as a Loan end as Equity

Convertible debt, or a convertible note, is a loan that can be converted to equity. The holder of the debt can convert the notes into a specified number of shares of common stock in the issuing company. It's a hybrid security with debt and equity-like features. The most common form of this is now Simple Agreement For Equity (SAFEs).

Convertible debt is attractive because it allows startups to delay the need to perform a pricey valuation. How do you measure a startup's value? How do you know their idea or team has potential? It's hard for startups to answer questions like that without any form of established proof. But with convertible debt, startups do not have to answer those questions right away.

Convertible Debt Success Story

Camperoo raised $600k of convertible debt. Emmie Chang, CEO and Founder of Camperoo, set out to create a company that helps parents discover the best camps for their kids. Emmie Chang said she used convertible debt because "documentation is relatively simple and straightforward. We could also close each investor separately in a rolling close, with some flexibility in valuation caps (which increase over time). It also reduced legal fees and time to sign."

Security Token Offerings - Sell Crypto

A Security Token Offering (STO) is a form of initial coin offering (ICO, or initial coin offering). It’s a type of funding using cryptocurrencies in a regulated fashion. In an STO, cryptocurrency is sold in the form of "tokens" or "coins" to investors in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. The tokens sold are promoted as future functional units of currency and are done so following SEC-mandated rules. An ICO can be a source of capital for startup companies. Traditional paper-backed assets like equity shares or debts in a business present some transaction and liquidity issues. This type of business funding event in the form of a token can address some of these problems.

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As seen from our data a few of the asset categories within crypto are:

Token Debt Payable by Assets ("DPA")
SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens)

The Coinlist platform specializes in STOs and was built by some of the AngelList team. It is a great source to find these ICO investment offerings.

Which one is for you?

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government backed program that can help with raising capital and is a great place to start for entrepreneurs. For investors you can view our aggregate of investing portals and performance of each with our investor page. These equity and debt investing platforms are lowering fees and providing better rates. Let us know about your story in the comments below.

Brian Thopsey Sat, 01/14/2023 - 20:00

Capital Types, Raise Capital

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Crypto Hardware Wallet - Ledger Nano X Review

Brian Thopsey — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 01:29:09 +0000

Crypto Hardware Wallet - Ledger Nano X Review

Heard any horror stories of people losing all their cryptocurrency? Whether it be by getting your trading platform hacked or a disaster like FTX, security of your digital assets is important.

Back in 2019 I began looking for a way to improve the safety around storing my digital tokens. After a ton of research I chose a crypto hardware wallet, the Ledger Nano X. I immediately signed up for their affiliate program. I will walk you through some of the secure storage options, how to set it up, and some of the challenges I faced actually using it.

Storage Security Concerns

Your US dollars, and many fiat currencies, have a well-established ecosystem to keep your money and wealth comfortable and secure. We have a (rather highly-regulated) banking system to store dollars and transfer them. We have federally-mandated programs like FDIC to insure your bank deposits. And we have technologically sophisticated private sector companies like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal to facilitate payments with our dollars while countering fraud.

But this ecosystem has taken nearly a hundred years to achieve, and we find ourselves taking for granted the level of consumer protection we have reached. The ecosystem is still not perfect, but the cryptocurrency market has not been around anywhere near as long so with that, comes challenges we must face in securing our portfolio.

Some challenges we face are identity theft and hacking attacks. Some have shared their experiences publicly with these challenges, like Mike Dudas and Ryan Selkis faced getting hacked via phone porting. The ecosystem is still being developed, and risks are prevalent. In 2023 Chainanalysis reported $20 billion in illicit trading in 2022, of which they do not call out which specifically was due to hacking, but in October 2022 had tweeted that number hit $3 Billion for that point in the year. Chainanalysis maintains a striking visual timeline of how this has increased over time. The escalation of attacks, and their increasing audacity, is all too clear.

Hacks, fraud, and scams are part of every new cultural and technological revolution. But digital currencies have changed and will continue to change the way we use money. So let's learn how to leverage new developments to ensure your investments are secure.

How do I keep my Cryptocurrency Secure

Nobody likes to lose money. So when you have something of value, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, where do you put it to keep safe? Enter the cryptocurrency wallet. It’s a secure way to store your cryptocurrency assets. If you want to buy and hold cryptocurrency, or use it as a currency to buy and sell products, you need an online wallet account.

Cryptocurrency is decentralized, as in it doesn’t rely on a bank as the central way to store the value. The entire network and ledger allows for storage of assets; there is no longer a need for a single institution to be there to protect and oversee it. The benefit is that this helps drive the price down by reducing overhead.

There are concerns arising over the storage of your crypto assets in digital wallets. One cannot go to someone for liability to recover stolen assets like you can when you store your money at a bank, so hardware wallets were developed as a measure of added security.

In fiat banking you can login to see the money in your account. In the US regulated banks must follow a set of regulations that ensure the solvency of the assests you are storing. Cryptocurrency wallets aid in the security of the storage like the private key unlocking the right for you to buy, sell, or spend your currency. Though there are no regulations to ensure the safety yet of when you use the trading platform to store your tokens.

Growing Use of Cryptocurrency Wallets

Aditya Thakur and Rahul Verma wrote a paper on An Empirical Three Phase Analysis of Crypto Market in the International Conference on Advanced Research in Management publication where they showcase the growth of wallet use in the crypto space. They provided a global view of data.

The Best Crypto Wallets for 2023

As the cryptocurrency market has grown, so has the ecosystem around it. Today, there are a number of providers of digital wallets and manufactures of hardware wallets. Many reviewers now break out cold wallets or those based around hardware, and hot wallets, or many that are software based. Below I’ve collected some of the better reviews and commentaries that survey your options:

NerdWallet
Pascal Thellmann of Coindiligent rates Ledger #1
Anisa Batabyal of Coinswitch ranks Ledger #1

Digital vs Hardware Wallets

A hardware wallet is a physical device that digitally stores your cryptocurrency. The primary reason that you’d have a hardware wallet is to keep your currency isolated so that it cannot be accessed without the physical device. Just like the cash you hold in your leather wallet, your cryptocurrency cannot be taken from your hardware wallet unless someone physically acquires it, the keys, and your passwords. But unlike a leather wallet, which can simply be opened and your hard-earned bills removed, hardware wallets have a wide range of security features.

Many people I’ve tried to explain the concept of a crypto hardware wallet to try to equate it to an Apple Wallet, in that you’re storing a means of payment on a physical device. Apple, Samsung, Google, and others have built mobile applications to store credit card and other payment data for shopping at retailers using your phone. Cryptocurrency hardware wallets instead store value through digital currency like Bitcoin while adding a layer of security to the storage.

Ledger

I chose to buy the Ledger Nano X due to the top rating by Anisa Batabyal of Coinswitch back in 2019. My review is focused on the Nano X, but I understand the device is very similar to the Nano S with the addition of Bluetooth capabilities.

Unboxing

The Ledger Nano X comes with the USB connector, a getting started booklet, the device itself, and a keychain.

I have no idea what to do with the keychain as it does not appear to fit well in the loop and I do not intend to carry it around everywhere I go... yet.

Setup

Upon taking the device out the first thing I wanted to do was begin to transfer my coins stored in my Coinbase wallets over to my fancy new hardware wallet. The getting started notebook helps walk you through initial software setup and secret key storage. Ledger provides a space in the getting started booklet to write down each of your secret keys or suggests storing the keys in cold storage. To achieve cold storage you can save txt files on your own external drives, not connected to the internet, or use services like Amazon Glacier and Google Coldline. Cold Storage means that the file is offline, physically separated from being connected to the Internet. The Ledger site offers more detailed instructions and background on this topic, digital asset custody.

You could just write the key combo on the notebook, Ledger provides, and store it somewhere safe in your home, which is what I did. Keeping your keys online, storing your password in a file on your laptop, or connected cloud service can be unsafe. Each way can be, and increasingly is, hacked.

Installing apps

In order to store or trade any cryptocurrency each token requires a different application to be downloaded and installed on the device. After installing Ledger Live I had to go through and install Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Stellar, and Tezos.

This was when my experience began to fall apart. I multi-tasked while installing and connecting my accounts as there was a loading wait time through a few steps. This slowed everything down. When I would take my attention away, waiting for a download or install, I would need to re-enter the password into the ledger device every time. I am new to the whole process so likely there are better ways to manage, but it started to drive me crazy using the interface and the two small buttons to enter the 8 digit code every time I turned away.

Buy & Trade Cryptocurrencies

I prefer to leverage the Coinbase platform because of the Coinbase Earn program. You can earn $10 by signing up for an account, and in the Earn program you can collect well beyond the $10 by watching educational videos on new coin offerings.

Trade offs: Cost, convenience

I’ll be honest - it was a pain to have to continually enter the codes. Plus, there is a transaction cost to move from your trading platform wallet, like Coinbase Wallet, to the ledger wallet address.

I haven’t had to engage with Customer Support at all yet, but I did end up crashing the device, which required a repair.

Conclusion

The independent ratings, security, broad range of currencies available, simplicity, comfort of going with an established company, and my relationship with Ledger, allow me to recommend the Nano X. I would just qualify my recommendation by factoring in the total amount and number of currencies being stored.

3 independent authors that rate Ledger number 1 wallet, so it is not just my opinion. If you Buy a Ledger Nano we look forward to hearing about your experience in the comments below or via our contact form.

Brian Thopsey Thu, 01/12/2023 - 20:29

Crypto

Comments

Tony (not verified)

Sun, 10/13/2019 - 04:20

I find it hard to pick a winner of the best crypto hardware wallets. I do like Trezor which I started out with. But moved to Ledger when the S came out. Like this review says it is hard to make out just one winner https://gocryptowise.com/5-of-the-best-crypto-hardware-wallets/. Can you own several hardware wallets or is that just stupid?

Brian Thopsey

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 19:00

Feels like overkill to own several.

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Equity Crowdfunding: Investment Insights for 2022

Brian Thopsey — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 15:20:03 +0000

Equity Crowdfunding: Investment Insights for 2022

Startup Investing Potential

Capture the value before an IPO with high yielding startup investments. Venture Economics have provided average returns data for Angel Seed investing. This category averaged 20-25% according to Venture Economics and the Angel Capital Association and Preqin put the overall VC category at about the same for their 2023 report.

If you are new to investing in companies offering equity at their seed stage a growing set of new investing portals have been created to help you access these returns. Note though that Angel investing is VERY risky. 1 or 2 of every 10 investments brings most of the returns while most of the other startups fail completely.

Non Accredited Equity Funding

If you are in the US you will fall into one of two categories, an accredited investor, or not. If you are wealthy enough in the SEC's eyes, or are able to pass new tests you can become accredited.

If you are accredited you have don't have to worry about restrictions of non accredited investing. Non-accredited status has greater restrictions around what you can access. The fact that you have access at all is somewhat of a recent change brought by Title III of the Jobs Act (aka Reg CF). Access to startup businesses offering shares at an early stage was limited to friends and family or accredited investors only. Now you can invest in these high growth startups, whether or not you have a personal relationship with the founder.

Market Size

At Fund Wisdom the data and insights we focus on is this non-accredited regulated space. In order to understand the market size of this growing market let's put it into context with the broader categories of investing it fits within.

Alternatives - Private Equity (PE)

Most people are familiar with public equity and debt, stock and bond investing. Assets that don't fit these are often categorized as alternative investments. EquityMultiple put out a report in 2022 showcasing insights on the entire alternative market from 2020. They cite Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) & Preqin data suggesting Private Equity totaled $6.5 Trillion in assets.

The report brought light to the fact that the alternative markets are dominated by institutional investors and not individuals. I believe that will continue to shift as platforms like EquityMultiple, Wefunder, AngelList, etc. will balance this mix giving more individuals like me and you improved access.

Venture Capital (VC)

With Private Equity at $6.5 Trillion in 2020, of that how much was just Venture Investing? According to Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) deal value exceeded $300 Billion and fundraising topped $100 Billion, for 2021 year end. While Preqin reports in 2020 VC had $297 Bil invested and $121 Bil raised across 732 funds (pg 9). Preqin reported a total of Assets Under Management (AUM) at around $2.2 Trillion for 2021.

Angel & Seed

So out of the $300 Billion in venture capital how much was seed stage? The NVCA yearly report breaks down funding stages, stating seed makes up 6,181 deals at $18.4 Billion.

Regulated Equity Crowdfunding (Reg-CF)

2021 Global Alternative Finance Market Benchmarking Report by the University of Cambridge (UK) Judge Business School states the US saw $332 million in Equity Based Regulated Crowdfunding (Reg-CF) market in 2020. The Judge Business School's team categorizes "Alternative Assets" different from Preqin and Pitchbook.

Fund Wisdom Data

At Fund Wisdom we have followed and collected Regulated Equity Crowdfunding (Reg-CF) data from 2014. For this article we review data from the start of 2022. At this time we have data from Q1 and 2. I will update this article to include the Q3 data shortly. Q4 data is delayed by a few months so likely won't be able to complete the full year in review until March, 2023.

Top Platforms

StartEngine appears to be leading the race in total number of offerings, at 348, with Wefunder not far behind.

Who is Achieving Success

We are looking into the Other classification of Asset type founders are using to raise money. Convertible notes I believe fall in this category for now.

Top States

Not surprising California has seen the most startups raising capital on platforms. Though Florida and Texas outpacing MA differs from traditional VC rankings by state.

Top Cities

Though California is the top state, I believe due to the spread of commercial real estate across all Silicon Valley San Fran comes in second. New York taking the top spot and my native Boston coming in at the 7th spot for most companies to start raising capital.

This is an ongoing series of articles. Previous reviews from years: 2019, 2020

Capitalize

In order to stay up to date with the latest data you can review the the live Dashboard that will be available for free for a limited period as we continue to build something you may find helpful. I welcome feedback and guidance as to what would be most valuable to you. If you are willing to take the time to write in I am happy to grandfather you into the GA launch, providing future access after the product is officially released.

Brian Thopsey Sun, 01/01/2023 - 10:20

Investment Activity

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A List of Top Crypto BlockChain Investor Fund Managers

Brian Thopsey — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 11:20:36 +0000

A List of Top Crypto BlockChain Investor Fund Managers

Wondering who the top cryptocurrency fund managers are, specifically those that have been achieving the highest returns over a multi-year period with the challenging current market?

Crypto shares similar excitement to startup investing, but instead of equity as the asset you have a token. I get excited when placing a trade, in an individual firm's equity in it's infancy. Crypto has given me that same excitement about potential returns and value the network could bring.

I can relate to not having enough time to properly research every individual investment pick I want to make. There’s only so much time in the day. I enjoy the due diligence process, analyzing, then making a commitment. But sometimes I rely on a fund manager to make sure I properly diversify. I started this list of blockchain angel investors and fund managers with the intent to get feedback to grow it. I start with the Syndicates of founders of crypto investing portals, move to larger funds with higher minimum investments, then review my selection process.

Invest Direct - STO/ICO Investing Portals

Investing during the private stage can lead to a discount to the listing price. If you're familiar with an IPO or Initial Public Offering and the benefits to getting access early before the public can have a material impact. Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs can have a similar outcome for you so if you are looking to invest direct into initial coin offerings in their earliest stages, and avoid the fees of funds, I wrote another piece detailing how to invest direct into a single cryptocurrency through a platforms focused on initial coin offerings. Some of the founders of these portals run their own funds or Syndicates, so we start with them.

CoinList/Republic Team

Brian Tubergen Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of @CoinList. He Built AngelList's online fundraising product and Co-founded CoinList with Graham Jenkin - COO, Joshua Slayton (no title on LinkedIn besides Founder & previous founding CTO at AngelList), and Paul Menchov CTO. His Syndicate does not focus on just Crypto focused companies. Check out his Syndicate >

Paul Menchov Co-Founded @Republic as well as @CoinList where he now acts as CTO teaming with Brian. He also had a hand helping to build AngelList and Zynga after he studied Computer Science at Cornell. Paul appears to be less active than Brian in running his syndicate with only 2 deals per year and no detail on typical LP investments. Check out his Syndicate >

SeedInvest / Circle Team

SeedInvest offers a few funds that blend access to some crypto as well as startups. Ryan Feit and Brad Harrison. Ryan Feit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedInvest, which was acquired by Circle as they went deeper into the Crypto market. Brad Harrison focused on the Funds starting with Scout Ventures.

Hedge Funds & Venture Leaders

We start with a list of those managers noted for their innovative approaches to sourcing investment opportunities and structure of fund.

Maybe you are not a geek like myself and are willing to rely on someone else that may have more expertise. If that is the case and you're willing to pay more for someone else to build and maintain your portfolio of crypto.

Below are the fund managers based in the USA focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Ordered by size of fund managed, starting with the largest funds, by Assets Under Management (AUM). As you provide feedback we will continue to make updates to the list.

$50 Bil Barry Silbert is the founder of Grayscale, now Digital Currency Group (DCG). He is a pioneer in the space. With a background in finance and a fruitful career as an investment banker in New York. In 2013, he started a Bitcoin investment fund, seeded with $2 Mil from SecondMarket, a investment technology firm he founded and later sold to Nasdaq. Based in Stamford, CT. They built Genesis Global Trading a crypto trading, lending, and asset custody platform, targeting institutional clients.
7.6 Bil Chris Dixon runs A16Zs Crypto Operations. $2.2 Bil in Fund III and $4.5 Bil in their latest fund. They have a Long-term focus able to hold investments for 10+ years. planning to invest consistently over time, regardless of market conditions. They have an 80+ person a16z operating teams. The operating teams have deep expertise in executive and technical recruiting, regulatory affairs, communications and marketing, and general startup management. They focus on governance of companies and the networks. He is previously cofounder of Founder Collective, SiteAdvisor, and Hunch. He holds a BA and MA in Philosophy from Columbia and an MBA from Harvard.
6.6 Bil Olaf Carlson-Wee of PolyChain Capital. Olaf is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Polychain Capital. He is the former Head of Risk at Coinbase, the largest bitcoin company in the world, where he was the first employee. He received a BA in Sociology from Vassar College after completing his thesis on distributed networking and financial cryptography.
$4.5 Bil Joey Krug at Patnera Capital: An investment firm focused exclusively on ventures, tokens, and projects related to blockchain tech, cryptocurrency, and crypto assets. Joey co-managed the Pantera ICO and Digital Asset funds and decentralizing prediction markets via Augur to make the best possible forecasting + derivatives tool. Pantera offers exposure to new, efficient, and scalable protocols.
$1.3 Bil (2021 end) Hunter Horsley CEO, Board Director of Bitwise. Bitwise provides regular industry commentary on their website, monthly updates on re-balancing of the Bitwise 10 index, and longer thoughtful, well-researched, reports such as “The Case for Crypto In An Institutional Portfolio” published in May 2018. Hunter was previously Product Manager on monetization at Facebook and Instagram. Received his BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
$542 Mil Charles Cassel and Jonathan Binder founders of Coinsilium Group – Provides seed capital to developers for blockchain technology and fintech businesses. They support early-stage blockchain technology companies and the digital token economy; they were the first global blockchain accelerator to IPO in 2015. Based in Florida
$230 Mil (2021 year end) Ryan Radloff, CEO of Coinshares, previously Global Advisors. Coinshares claims to be the largest issuer of cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Notes ETNs, and to have launched the first bitcoin (BTC) based securities. They made an announcement of crossing $5bil AUM April 2021 but year end statement seems to imply major net outflows.

Blockchain technology innovation is rapidly proliferating across the financial industry and fund manager classes. The technology is playing an impressive role in both front office and investment functions such as in the securing of crypto assets, considering the trading infrastructure and high demand.

Selecting a Fund

When I decide on using a fund, I still do my research to pick the best one. Here are the main things I look at:

Lower Fees

I will try to pay the lowest fees I can. A common fee structure is 2 and 20. The fund charges 2% of invested assets and also takes 20% of the investment returns earn above a certain benchmark. If you are going to pay a fee we want it to be worth it with someone who runs a portfolio that outperforms the market over years and years.

Newer funds, which tend to be more innovative and are interested in attracting investors, tend to charge less. So, I would probably go to the newer fund. Some funds charge smaller fees when people invest more. So, I look closely at fee tables. Often times the fees can be challenging to understand. Fees are a significant consideration for me, because the way they compound eating away at my money, or returns.

Assets Under Management (AUM)

I don’t put much importance into whether a fund is popular at a given time, because I don’t want to invest my money by following the herd. There was a period of high speculation in crypto, so some of the funds are shrinking in size.

Returns / Track Record

Finding the performance history of private funds can be challenging. I suggest reviewing financial analytics offerings for you to analyze the fund performance and returns on each. They may offer their services free for a limited period, but the typical subscription can be pricey so may be prohibitive to retail individual investors. I am sure you already realize, but past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Structure of the Fund

Funds often come with restrictions about how its investors participate, so I have to find one that is consistent with my needs. I make sure to understand things like the minimum investment requirements, the minimum holding time, redemption restrictions and other stipulations that kick in.

Community Impact

How ingrained in the ecosystem is the fund manager and what did they do prior to the fund? The power of a community is better knowledge and wisdom, as well as direct access to those who are building new entities. Their direct experience and relationships have valuable.

What is Next?

Work with your individual Financial Advisor to ensure your investment process and decisions are sound. When you have ran through your process and decided on a fund there are some additional areas you can achieve greater returns through tax savings.

Save with Tax Advantaged Accounts

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) let you invest in an account setup to lower your overall tax burden. A new set of IRA organizations are making it possible to place investments in startup equity, coin offerings, and crypto funds. When the returns are outsized from these risky asset classes like crypto and venture this can be a material amount saved. With this type of account you can make contributions and your investment earnings grow tax deferred until retirement. You can improve the overall return if you are willing to wait for retirement, with time and compounding on your side you can watch your investment grow along side your traditional accounts that do not have this benefit.

We started to partner with RocketDollar via their Self Directed IRA and 401k product offerings. With their solution you can can invest in any asset class allowed by the IRS which includes startup equity and crypto.

Anyone missing? Who do you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below or feel free to Contact us.

Brian Thopsey Tue, 09/13/2022 - 07:20

Fund Manager, Crypto, Non Accredited

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Non-Accredited Investors Capitalize on Access to Private Equity

Brian Thopsey — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:15:01 +0000

Non-Accredited Investors Capitalize on Access to Private Equity

Want to invest in a startup but having trouble getting access? At Fund Wisdom, we believe innovative wealth-building investments should be accessed by all. Returns for alternative assets like equity ownership in startups have outperformed the stock market through the greater risk profile. We showcase investment opportunities in early-stage companies with the goal to help you produce higher returns, lower fees, and reduced risk. Review our curated list of leading-edge alternative investment platforms and companies listing across each platform and let us know about your experience.

Getting past the Accredited Hurdle

In the United States, you must be wealthy in order to invest in most startup offerings. This is where the term "private" in private equity comes from. The measure of wealth is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a net worth of $1 million excluding a primary residence. Their other measure of wealth is an annual income of $200,000 for the past two years (if single, for married couples it’s $300,000). If you hit one of these thresholds you would qualify as an accredited investor. More detail on accredited investors can be found on our Investor Type section.

Times are changing with the democratization of private equity. Several regulatory and market changes now allow for greater access to these historically private offerings. The Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups (JOBS) Act’s Title III and IV enable non-accredited investors to purchase shares in private companies through equity funding portals.

Find a Startup Right for You

Equity Funding Portals

Companies

It’s clear that the barriers to entry are decreasing, providing access to less-affluent individual investors. An assortment of online platforms have been developed to attract investors that cannot hit the requisites for accreditation. These platforms provide end-to-end digital solutions, providing an array of alternative investments across the liquidity sphere. They also offer relationships with sophisticated institutions such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and endowments. They also offer investors exposure to private funds that lower minimum investments. These platforms can seamlessly incorporate with client portfolios and help qualified registered investment advisors collate smaller pools of money.

Limitations

>The laws that govern the startup investing access you can get were drafted with access in mind, but have been implemented with too many restrictive limitations. As an example SEC regulation states that if non-accredited investors have an annual income/net worth less than $100,000, they retain the ability to invest over $2,000 or 5% of lesser their annual income/net worth, Yet if over $100,000, that moves to 10%. These limitations will continue to lessen, but in my opinion major market innovations like blockchain and cryptocurrencies have filled the resulting gaps.

Deal Structures

Non-accredited offerings must adhere to SEC legislation like Regulation D and A which restricts private securities deals. Below are a few of the different classifications founders can chose from in structuring their offering and you to be aware of:

Type Advertising (general solicitation) Cap non-accredited investors
506b Forbidden max 35
506c Allowed none
504 Allowed (if restricting to accredited only.) Caps at $5 mil in 12 months

Share your Experiences

The proliferation of financial technology is contributing to the extinction of inefficient marketing practices, excessive distribution pricing, and archaic information delivery. Non-accredited investors can efficiently and cost-effectively access curated leading-edge alternative investment liquidity. There are a lot of online platforms, and at Fund Wisdom we’ll help you take advantage of this paradigm shift. If you decide to participate in the market let us know in the comments below or reach out as we look to share experiences whether they are good or bad.

Brian Thopsey Thu, 09/08/2022 - 11:15

Capital Types, Legal, Platforms, Non Accredited

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Find New Blockchain or Cryptocurrency Investments

Brian Thopsey — Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:10:33 +0000

Find New Blockchain or Cryptocurrency Investments

Interested in finding new cryptocurrency offerings before the masses have invested? At Fund Wisdom we focus on innovative investment offerings and portals that help with the sourcing process. At the time of writing there has been 6800+ Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or Secure Token Offerings (STOs) in 2022 according to Cryptotem.

Are you looking to get a piece of the action? Sure, buying Bitcoin on a platform like Coinbase or Circle is a start, but what about new blockchain projects just starting out? In this article we review innovative and new offerings as well as how to invest.

What is Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

If you don't have an understanding of blockchain technology or cryptocurrency check out BlockGeek. The most common form of data stored on a blockchain are ledgers for transactions, as explained by Investopedia with their guide to Blockchain. The decentralized approach ensures that no single person has control, distributing it amongst the participants and creating a unique approach to ownership.

Initial Coin Offerings

An initial coin offering (ICO) is a path for a group of people, or company, to gain funding. There are some similarities to an initial public offering for large corporations. According to Harvard Business Review ‘blockchain startups raised over $5 billion in 2017 through ICOs and over $12 billion through the first three quarters of 2018. Several itererations of this fundraising process have been built out, from Secure Token Offerings (STO) and Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). IEOs are very similar to an ICO in almost every way, the major difference being investors who can participate in the sale are limited to users on the associated exchange.

New Cryptocurrency or Startup Equity?

Do you invest in a high growth company's equity or a coin tied to a new blockchain project? Each options has seen life changing returns for a select few. When comparing the two, it’s important to distinguish a few key differences. First up, volatility. Any crypto investor is aware of the sudden spikes and drops a cryptocurrency can experience within a matter of minutes. What’s more, in the stock market the SEC provides assurances to investors that they should have access to a fair bid and offer price across exchanges they regulate. That’s not the case for crypto, where investors have to hunt for the best bid themselves.

Whether a company is raising money through coin offerings or equity, this capital can provide strong network effects to enable first mover advantages. and generating publicity in order to gain some feedback on early stage products. These investments all come with inherent risk, not due to poor execution but simply the fact that startup failure is a natural part of the economy. Cryptocurrencies offer liquidity makes it easy to buy and sell, something certain equities, particularly startup investing through venture capital might not be able to provide at all times.

When it comes to setting my investment strategy and which way I go I consider a few factors. I look at my appetite for risk at this moment in my life and when I may need the money. There is the potential to lose everything we put in in these very high risk asset classes. I also factor market conditions, how long I intend to hold the investment. It also is smart to speak with your registered investment advisor.

The Figures

Seemingly more banks and institutions are backing cryptocurrencies, despite it’s notoriously volatile nature. A few key studies to point out found that 74% of tech-savvy executive teams surveyed by Deloitte said they believe there’s huge business potential in blockchain technology, suggesting the technology is gaining traction amongst key company authorities. What’s more, a study by Reuters stated that Blockchain could help banks save up to $12 billion per year. Not only this, but so called financial market experts like Bill Miller who served as chairman of Legg Capital Management spoke of crypto currencies in a positive light, claiming that the currency will only get stronger. Clearly, blockchain and cryptocurrency is going to become a large part of the global economy, it’s merely a matter of when. I wrote another piece on a list of Blockchain Funds and my process to selecting the fund that is right for me.

Securing your Coins

A method of increasing the security of the storage of your crypto is a hardware wallet. Similar in concept to a physical wallet for cash, several companies like produce these connected devices. There are many wallets on the market currently, here at Fundwisdom we opted for a Ledger and wrote a review of our experience and relationship. The process is simple, you buy the hardware set up the account, access your wallet and place your cryptocurrency in for safe keeping.

Brian Thopsey Fri, 09/02/2022 - 20:10

Crypto

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Investing in the Next Bitcoin on the Day of Launch

Brian Thopsey — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 00:48:11 +0000

Investing in the Next Bitcoin on the Day of Launch

Do you remember when Bitcoin was priced under $70 and you bought some beer and pizza instead? I do. But as good as the artisanal cheese and pepperoni tasted at that moment, I would prefer the $43,193 that one coin is worth today (March 1, 2022).

It was a scorching summer day in 2013, when my co-worker, Mike and I went across the street to grab a cold beer and pizza. We talked about the Tableau initial public offering and the frustration we felt from not being able invest before its value rose to $31 in the IPO. As our ice cold beers arrived, our thoughts turned to the the Satoshi whitepaper and the potential of Bitcoin and applications of blockchain technology. We were excited about the benefits we were seeing from international transactions and hedging against national monetary policy. Mike shared that he had purchased Bitcoin, and was reeling from the volatility and losses he was dealing with. At that time he was on the verge of selling. By the time we finished our fancy pizza I had decided the stress this caused him was enough to keep me from making an investment myself.

Finding the next Bitcoin

While hindsight is always 20/20, hope is not lost. New coins are being launched through secure token offerings (STOs) for us to get in early, before the pop. I want to find the next Bitcoin on the day it launches and ride the crest to pay my kids' college tuition. Maybe it will work out, and maybe not. I know I will learn a think or two along the way and hopefully have a good story to tell later.

My go to place to find cryptocurrencies as they launch is CoinList. As the founder of Fund Wisdom, I have researched where companies are launching and offering their equity for sale typically in their seed stages, years before they IPO. The team and I review funding rounds on platforms like AngelList. As AngelList grew one of their early employees broke off to create CoinList. It was first marketed as the place to go for STOs to help with the regulatory burden. So I will walk you through my use of CoinList to buy a coin.

How to make the investment

The first step is to create an account on CoinList.com. Then find the Token Sale section in the main navigation. I first want to review what is available to find that diamond in the rough. New crypto offerings appear to launch on an hourly basis. You can see the list of thousands on CoinMarketCap. The volume of offerings can feel overwhelming. Instead of needing to go through each I like CoinList because they curate who they work with and have a solid footprint in the crypto community. They vet and accept a small list of teams to help launch via their Seed program, with demo days and hackathons.

As I write this in early March 2022, CoinList shows nothing available in the initial launch stage. The NYM token sale is all sold out. Rally and Casper appear to be a year past launch. If I try to click to "Learn more" about each I am greeted with an error message: "Sorry, this content is not available in your location."

Due Diligence

Undeterred, I run a web search for "Rally token." Results show that it was created to allow non-technical creators to launch their own digital economies, or tokens.

Most people I talk to view cryptocurrencies as place to trade with short term windows as to the potential gains the volatility brings. There are cryptocurrencies that are expanding use cases to many different sectors, adding value and innovation. When I assess the potential value of a token investment I dive into the details of the project plan, the team, and the use case, or market.

After reviewing the details, I think Rally looks legit, so I decide to invest. When I realize that Coinlist requires a $10 fee to withdraw my money I re-think where I am going to actually execute the trade. I already have a Coinbase account. I run another web search on "Coinbase fees" and find they are known to have high fees as well. I choose to use Coinbase because most of my other previous crypto purchases were made there. My investment had a $2.99 trade fee to buy $100 of Rally tokens.

Securing the investment

I keep my cryptocurrency secure with a hardware wallet. Most trading platforms offer digital wallets as storage, but to increase security and lower the potential of theft, I bought the Ledger Nano X hardware wallet. I wrote a separate article on it.

Can't pick one? Try a fund

If you don't feel like you can pick a winner, or don't want to do the research, but want exposure to the asset class, funds can provide a great alternative. We have been following a few funds that focus on crypto for your consideration. I have yet to invest in one of these myself yet as I prefer to go direct, to avoid any fees the fund may carry.

Let’s learn from each other

Do you want to put your lunch money toward an investment instead? If so, you can follow the steps I took or go your own route and make your own picks. If you end up investing, tell me your story in the comments section below.

I am not a registered financial advisor, so consult with one.

Brian Thopsey Sun, 03/06/2022 - 19:48

Crypto

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Avoid investing in the next Theranos with these tools

Brian Thopsey — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 14:57:13 +0000

Avoid investing in the next Theranos with these tools

Wish you could have invested in Facebook/Meta when Mark was skipping classes at Harvard? Now you can. Changes in regulations have opened up access in the US, UK and several other countries. But, how do you avoid falling for the Elizabeth Holmes of the world, losing your retirement savings, and needing to work until your 85? Curious? Read on.

Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Investment platforms have been created to make sourcing the next unicorn possible, but not many people are in the know. I'll break down options you have to help perform due diligence and achieve diversification.

Investing in early stage startups was limited to Accredited investors or financial pros sitting in a smoky boardroom. Think Bobby Axelrod from Billions from Wall Street. Now, however, the regular guys like you and me can invest in the next Zoom while the founding team is still tinkering in a garage.

Do you have the faith to be an angel investor?

Investing in companies that are still wet behind the ears takes a lot of faith. Then after you have found the perfect investment - ideally something that you are passionate about - you have to face up to the risk. All the while you'll want to keep a level head.

Otherwise, who knows: One day you hear that deep voice of Elizabeth Holmes finding yourself all-in, you blink to find out you lost it all through a newscast. We'll never be able to see into the future and not all of our picks will be perfect, but there are tools that can help us find some of the turds. Let's dive into some of the options we have.

Jump in with these platforms

Ready to invest your money? Access equity in a startup on an number of platforms. The platform often charges fees which sometimes help to cover due diligence. There are regulatory obligations and potential liabilities for these investing portals, but each offer a varying degree of review. We have provided some transparency by collecting what we could find on each to help compare.

How much is a startup worth?

Nearly 95% of angel investors use third-party expert evaluation services according to a survey by Propel(x). At Fund Wisdom we have had the chance to work with third-party valuation expert Value Analytics & Design.

Get help in the background check

CrowdCheck offers a due diligence and disclosure platform for online investment offerings. They create greater transparency and investor protection to platforms, investors and entrepreneurs. Sara Hanks, Founder and CEO of the firm recently has shared, "We help to make sure the investor has the tools to make an informed investment decision. We thus protect the issue, the investor and the intermediary."

CrowdCheck, takes the hassle out of the due diligence process, and has partnered with some of the leading online investment platforms such as SeedInvest and WealthForge. CrowdCheck helps people on both sides of the ledger. For investors, the company provides them with a tool to combat against potential fraud, and presents the due diligence check investors are looking for in a simplified manner. Entrepreneurs seeking funding also benefit from the service, vetting potential investors.

Reporting Fraud

If you feel you have found fraudulent activities you can report it to the platform, but what happens if they don't respond or if they are at fault? In the USA you can reach out to the SEC or FINRA with the below contact info:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Office of Investor Education and Advocacy Telephone: (800) 732-0330
US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
- Complaints and Tips Telephone: (301) 590-6500

What has your experience been?

Now that we have let you in on the investing secret what do you think? The risks involved in this emerging market are high, but so too are the rewards. Finding something you are passionate about and getting involved with a team that is ready to disrupt an industry can be incredibly rewarding. Your opportunity to join a team of passionate and hardworking entrepreneurs in their journey awaits. We want to know how it's going. If you've had a chance to invest let us know how it went in the comments below.

Brian Thopsey Sun, 02/06/2022 - 09:57

Non Accredited

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Analytics Solutions- Adobe vs Google

Brian Thopsey — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 04:47:48 +0000

Analytics Solutions- Adobe vs Google

This article was originally written several years back when I was working between Marketing and Technology departments at a startup needing to recreate what I had built with Adobe Analytics at a Fortune 1000 firm. At that time I was using both. I had ran procurement processing and reviews with Forrester to help justify budgeting to help assess which solutions to go with. I had an independent, somewhat unbiased view at that time.

I have now been working at Adobe for 7+ years so I have updated the table to reflect the latest. I have been working in the client relationship covering the entire Experience Cloud. I try to focus more on the strategy and team dynamics.

Google Analytics 4 has been released so I am still working through how everything will change from the years on Universal Analytics. At Adobe the same structural changes in data storing is happening with the Customer Data Platform (CDP) Real Time Experience Platform.

I maintain this blog and write these articles to better understand the financial technology market and attain feedback from fund managers and those pushing the envelope with these technologies. I appreciate any feedback in the comments.

	Google Analytics 4 (Prev Universal Analytics)	Adobe Analytics
Customer Support	Free Version: Reliance upon Communities Premium version: provides access to staff and account management	24/7 Support network Dedicated Account manager Communities, Forums
User Interface	Intuitive, easy for new users	Advanced and Customizable but takes some training
Campaign Tracking	4 UTM variables	A relational table with limitless variables that can be used for categorizing
Data Ownership	Google owns the data	Data belongs to you
Cookies	Customizable, First party cookie	Customizable, First and Third Party cookie
Events	20 (last I checked) events more info on comparison	200 Custom events baseline option to purchase more more info on comparison
Custom Variables	more info on comparison	75 baseline with option to purchase more more info on comparison
Unique Visitor, People Metric	Absolute Unique Calculatation technique of uniques	Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly Calculatation technique of uniques, 2nd article Co-op and Device Graph to build a People Metric
Data Integration	API	API Open Data Sources architecture for importing offline metrics
Excel Integration	Reporting	Reporting Excel Client- allows manipulation and interaction with data in Excel
SEM Integration	Adwords reporting integration Automated Adwords bidding	Automation through Marketing Channel report (Keyword granular reporting automation through Ad Cloud product at additional cost)
Dashboards	Customizable dashboard not quite as robust	Many Customizable dashboard options User control and sharing

One of my previous colleagues from Kaspersky, Andrey Osadchuk created this great 2 part video in 2018. He has become a top contributor to the Adobe forum and goes into detail on Adobe's Analysis workspace.

Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics (previously Omniture SiteCatalyst) are both distinguished solutions for digital analytics insight. They can provide business intelligence to determine return on investment and the ability to employ powerful optimization strategies. Each solution has strengths and weaknesses. I now work for Adobe so know much more about the Adobe offering than Google.

This article was originally written to address Google Analytics' free version, but Google has since produced a premium version that requires varying levels of payment. The Adobe Analytics (SiteCatalyst) solution has also gone through changes with the acquisition by tech giant Adobe.

Expert Analysts and Product Leads

I try to read experts like Avinash Kaushik and Justin Cutroni for information on Google. I now have greater access to the Adobe product team, whereas before I was dependent on my yearly trip to the Adobe (Omniture) Summit. If you have budget for vendors like Forrester and Gartner, they can provide detailed product reviews and comparisons.

Google's Premium, paid for version is a better solution to compare as Adobe does not offer a free version for comparison purposes. GA has an intuitive user interface, instant segmentation, and out of the box search engine integration for Google. Those that are new to analytics can easily begin using the platform. It is clear Google has tremendous user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) expertise.

Adobe Analytics (previously Omniture SiteCatalyst) purpose built for large enterprise excels with customization, dynamic classification, and deep integrations. Rich customization, designed to fit any set of requirements, allow Adobe to achieve superior levels of functionality. Classifications allow relational data points for exponential reporting options that can be changed retroactively. Data manipulation through excel client, access to raw data through Data Warehouse (additional cost), and importing data through Data sources allow for immense integration abilities. There are also numerous companies that offer integrations.

Conclusion

Before making a choice of analytics software offerings it is important to assess your team. Team members need to have dedicated time for analysis, driving optimization, and development cycles should be committed for tag management code updates on a recurring basis. Requirements aligning key business objectives with key performance indicators should be well defined up front and maintained. This is where I have seen waste from underutilized resources.

Some teams I have seen staff lightly and rely on external contractors or agencies. I have had the luck to work with some great agencies at a few different firms. The team and the optimization strategy are what drive true success, less the technology solution. Let us know your opinion in the comments below.

Brian Thopsey Wed, 01/05/2022 - 23:47

Analytics

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Find Global Equity Investing Platforms

Brian Thopsey — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 00:22:29 +0000

Find Global Equity Investing Platforms

Looking to find a list of equity funding portals across the globe? As investing regulations have changed in countries throughout the world, this has opened up access to invest in early stage startup companies, that was previously private. Our goal at Fund Wisdom is to help you source deals by understanding the investing portal market to transact through.

We have observed years of growth in the market, with new funding portals being created regularly in the United States of America. The steady rate of Equity crowdfunding platforms getting built presents a challenge to presenting a comprehensive list. Our focus has been those portals that have targeted US investors so taking a global approach makes that even more challenging. I hope to help you identify the investing portal that is right for you and balance your review of them at a global level.

Americas

At Fund Wisdom our focus is on Americas based funding platforms or portals. We will review each portal as we add them into our database. We look to interview entrepreneurs along with investors to help in this review process. At the time of writing this we have 38 investing platforms reviewed and another 57 that have listed with the US SEC but have not seen enough investment offerings to yet warrant our review.

This represents what I consider to be a fairly fragmented market, which I expect to be consolidated over time. We have already observed several platforms in the US go through M&A activity like Seedinvest being acquired by Circle, Nextseed and Republic, Netcapital and ValueSetters.

Note that several platforms have shut down since we first started collecting data and building reviews in 2014. As of writing 6 we had reviewed ceased operating.

We have reviewed real estate investing portals and the correlations to the equity startup investing marketplace.

Ratings

Out of the platforms we review we provide ranks based upon performance data and research.

Rating of top 10 platforms 2019 & 2020
Find and search companies raising money across platforms
For a wide range with detailed reviews YieldTalk is another great source.

Global Research

The Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge in the UK produces regular reports on the alternative financial markets with a global view. Even though the report is wide ranging from the securities they cover, we regularly reference their equity focused insights. We understand much of the data is self reported by the platforms themselves. While the breadth of securities and process to collect is not fool proof presents a challenge to report on the entire equity funding industry, it is still one of the most comprehensive sources for this analysis.

Global Regulations

The regulatory framework is vastly different for each country resulting in varied market dynamics and platform operations by geography. We cover Americas based regulation that govern the platforms like Title III of the JOBS Act and the SEC.

List of Global Platforms

Below the comments is a list of equity crowdfunding portals, platforms, websites, digital properties, and apps from all over the world, outside the US. We do not yet have the ability to go as deep as we would like with each platform and achieve a global perspective so we recommend P2P Market Data for a more comprehensive list.

Brian Thopsey Fri, 03/19/2021 - 20:22

Platforms

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Capitalize on Real Estate Investing Platforms

Brian Thopsey — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 01:39:14 +0000

Capitalize on Real Estate Investing Platforms

Some savvy real estate investors are finding success with new real estate digital platforms. These online portals offer a lucrative alternative for those who want to own a piece of real estate, but may not be able to afford the entire project. There are options ranging from commercial real estate, to single-family houses, to land ownership. These investing options had been lucrative to only a select few, but access is now opening through changing regulation. So let's review how to take advantage.

Real estate investors can avoid the costs of hiring an agent, working with a broker, and dealing with property management, not to mention the potential hazards of being responsible for physical real estate (i.e. landlord-tenant issues, property damage, and criminal activity).

At Fund Wisdom we have focused on funding portals that focus on equity in startup companies, but there is a much larger market of portals that just focus on real estate. We have observed similarities between startup and real estate focused investing portals. Each type of platform looks to aid their investor base in achieving positive returns via innovative offerings. As the startup equity crowdfunding industry has grown over the past several years we've observed a commensurate growth in offerings for companies that are focused on real estate. In this article we discuss platforms that focus just on real estate to explore some of the overlap and strategies to help you capitalize on these investment opportunities.

Crowdfunding Real Estate Innovation

Real estate crowdfunding has disrupted the property investment landscape by radically increasing levels of access to deals that were once out of reach for the average investor. A comparatively new concept, innovative technology has been applied to the financial and legal aspects of the transaction. Capital raised through platforms can go toward a number of initiatives like acquisitions used to develop or refurbish a real estate asset with the aim of subsequent use. Due to the nature of the crowdfunding mechanism, users can diversify their portfolios by investing in a variety of properties generally through a low minimum investment amount required.

Overall Real Estate Market Size (2020)

2020 Total Market Value *

$33.6 T

1 Year Change

$1.1 T (3.4%)

10 Year Change

$11.2 T (51%)

* Market data above presented by Zillow Research in their January 2020 article. At the end of the piece they share their take on value creation: "There are generally two ways in which total housing value can grow: Appreciation among existing homes, and/or additions to the local housing stock itself. Roughly 86%, or $9.7 trillion, of the growth in value of the U.S. housing stock over the past decade can be attributed to the simple, steady appreciation of existing homes over this period. The remainder can be chalked up to builders adding value to the housing stock through newly built homes. In almost every individual market, a similar pattern holds true – the majority of overall housing value growth can be attributed to appreciation." Appreciation is an increase in the value of an asset over time driven by demand, weakening supply, inflation or interest rates and the reason to invest in the asset class.

Crowdfunding Market Size & Growth

According to research by Ernest and Young, "The global crowdfunding market is worth $84 billion in 2018 and forecast to reach $ 114 billion by 2021, meaning an expected CAGR (2016-2022) of approximately 17%." They go on to share, "Americas account in 2018 for, approximately, 50% of the global market share, meaning $42 billion, 85% of which is represented by US ($ 33 billion). "Equity crowdfunding is the fastest-growing segment with a CAGR (2016-2021) of 33.9% in contrast with 10.9% performed by lending crowdfunding." They then state real estate crowdfunding, "is one of the fastest-growing segments for crowdfunding.It guarantees to the investors high returns on investments, in the order of 10%-15% on average. In 2016 this segment amounted for $ 4 bn. By 2021, it will probably reach $9 bn, with a CAGR of 19%."

Competing firm PWC Global put out a report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate stating, “Assets will need to be adapted to meet the needs of the people using them more effectively or converted to entirely new uses. Real estate owners will need to become operational businesses and learn very different skills than they required even five years ago. At the heart of this will be understanding what the person using a building wants and delivering it seamlessly.”

According to Absolute Markets Insights Industrial buildings, or commercial property, are poised to see an expected CAGR of plus 60 percent during the forecast period, according to a report distributed by .

Online real estate portals vary widely in their prospective offerings and reach. But in general, as has been the way across the "net," investors leverage massive amounts of real estate data through online real estate online portals. The information available to potential homeowners and real estate investors includes but isn't limited to:

Homes for sale	Coming soon	Buyers agents	Rental guides
Foreclosures	New construction	Real estate apps	Rental listings
For sale by owner	Recent home sales	Demographics	Homes estimations
Open house	Buyers guides	Rental buildings	Sellers guide
Sellers agents	Sale by owners	Valuations	Mortgage lenders
HELOC lenders	Mortgage rates	Refinance rates	Mortgage calculators
Amortization calculators	Affordability calculator	Mortgage learner centers	Lender resource centers
Property managers	Real estate agents	Home inspectors	Sales representatives

Real estate equity crowdfunding provides an attractive asset class for diversification. They provide investors with a unique opportunity to invest in a specific area and property type.

Structure

Pooled investments via cash from stakeholders are earned through the platform’s ability to stimulate investor interest.

Equity investments are typically longer-term, offering a higher risk/reward profile than debt. They give investors (stakeholders) an equity stake in the commercial or residential property. Dividends generally consist of rental income from the property where the investor will receive revenue following the sale of the property.

At Fund Wisdom we focus on angel or venture capital equity investing, where the investor seeks a return based on an increase in valuation of the business. This asset type typically contains an even higher risk and reward profile than property.

Debt investments allow the investor to become a lender for the property. Investors receive a fixed rate of return based on the interest rate of the owner’s mortgage loan, as well as the amount invested. Payments or dividends are delivered on a monthly or quarterly basis and investors maintain priority during payout. It's also worth noting that investors don’t own a proportional share of any property. Profits are realized in one of two ways: An increase in cost is achieved and paid at the time of sale; or through collection of regular interest payments from debt issued to borrowers through a loan instrument.

Investors should always perform their due diligence assessments. Leveraging an evaluation process is a critical step in managing risk effectively. A general criterion for evaluation can include but is not limited to the following; the platform:

Does it have a robust financial position and available capital?
Do you have a strategy for insolvency, recouping losses, and managing risk?
What are the associated fees (opportunity cost)?
Is there an ongoing management fee?
Is the shareholder paying a percentage based on yields or total portfolio size?
What is the developer’s business plan?
What are the expected cash flows, expenditures and projected returns?
What is the loan-to-value before repairs and after repairs?
Are investors in a first-lien position or second?

Who

Who can participate in these offerings? Your eligibility for certain offerings is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They make the rules that govern what you can invest in with categorization of accredited investor and not accredited. Keep an eye on which class of investor the platform is targeting. Each real estate, debt, or other securities may be registered with the SEC and exemptions may be filed. Brew Johnson, the CEO of PeerStreet, wrote a Forbes article. He favors allowing non-accredited investors to invest in secured real estate debt.

Where to Invest

In the second part of this article series we cover top platforms to place a real estate investment.

Brian Thopsey Wed, 03/03/2021 - 20:39

Real Estate, Platforms

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How Crypto-Positive Legislation Could Change the Way Investors Make Decisions

Brian Thopsey — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:15:05 +0000

How Crypto-Positive Legislation Could Change the Way Investors Make Decisions

Photo by Pixabay

I would argue cryptocurrency has reached the point of becoming mainstream. As the uses and impacts to daily life continue to grow, regulators are finally catching up, and more crypto-positive legislation is helping to change the way retail and institutional investors view cryptocurrency.

Despite outliers such as India, most governments are accepting that cryptocurrency is here to stay and have been doing the work to build legislation accordingly. This framework is helping to provide investor confidence with many beginning to approach cryptocurrency differently. However, the crypto ecosystem is growing rapidly and there are concerns that it is outstripping governments' abilities to understand it and to approach regulation in a just way.

Is Crypto a Currency, Security, or a Commodity?

In the US, one of the big questions surrounding cryptocurrency is its status. Legislators have differing views on how exactly cryptocurrency should be treated. The importance of this, is that it affects the outcome of the investment as the application applies to tax implications.

The main argument for the moment rests on whether they are securities or commodities. The challenge for regulators is that cryptocurrencies are highly diverse, and this means one-size-fits-all legislation is unlikely to be effective.

Bitcoin and Ether vs. XRP

Take the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC), for example. While they have stated that they do not view Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) as a security, they have recently begun a high-profile investigation into Ripple (XRP).

The SEC contends that XRP is an unregistered security.

The SEC views XRP differently than Bitcoin and Ether because the latter two digital assets are not produced or controlled by a single individual or entity.
By contrast, the SEC contends that Ripple Labs, Inc., a private company, “initiated a large scale distribution” of over 14 billion units of XRP.

Futures Trading

Bitcoin and Ether have benefited from the SEC not viewing them as securities. For example, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has decided that Ether, the token for Ethereum, should be considered a commodity. The CFTC has made a similar claim on jurisdiction over Bitcoin.

Now both Ether futures and Bitcoin futures are traded as cash-settled derivatives on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which is regulated by the CFTC. Investors also have a choice of trading options on these futures.

The opportunity to trade cash-settled crypto futures on a platform regulated by the CFTC is attracting institutional investors, like billionaire Paul Tudor Jones. In 2020 Jones stated he was allocating 1%-2% of his fund to Bitcoin futures traded on the CME.

Why Does the Legal Status of Crypto Matter?

The legal classification of cryptocurrency is important because it will influence adoption and use, including among institutional investors. For example, if a cryptocurrency is considered a security, as Ripple is, this means it must comply with strict SEC regulations designed to protect investors. On the other hand, if a cryptocurrency is considered a commodity then it is an asset to be traded. This gives it a lot more freedom in regulatory terms and opens the door for futures markets, which can add more trading options.

The final reason that status matters is stability. As the cryptocurrency markets make inroads in being approved by regulators, they continue to attract increasing interest from institutional investors, particularly in Europe. For example, Microstrategy was able to grow its stock price from just $125 at the beginning of 2020, to more than $1,000 in February 2021 via Bitcoin investments. They have since been followed by bigger names, including that of Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Regulations Vary Widely, By Country

While the US appears to be embracing cryptocurrency, other nations are less positive. India has taken a hard stance against cryptocurrency. Its Government has made another attempt to ban cryptocurrency outright, citing money laundering concerns. The move is deeply unpopular and threatens to damage India’s small yet thriving crypto industry.

Other countries, including China and Nigeria, have made attempts to curtail crypto trading. But Their efforts haven't worked well. P2P exchanges simply send the crypto trade underground, and governments lose access to capital they could have otherwise taxed.

Another area of contention is the downstream crypto derivatives market that targets retail consumers. This market includes instruments like contracts-for-difference (CFDs) that reflect the movement of crypto prices. While this type of trading is popular, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently banned the sale of such derivatives citing among their concerns the difficulty that retail consumers may have in understanding the crypto markets and the potential for significant financial losses.

Legislation May Become Irrelevant Anyway

Decentralized cryptocurrencies, particularly the recent slew of DeFi apps, appear to be thriving regardless of the prevailing attitude to cryptocurrency. They are not held to the same Know Your Customer (KYC) standards as centralized exchanges and this significantly lowers the barrier to entry.

For example, many people in Africa and South America have turned to cryptocurrency. In fact, Africa is one of the few places where cryptocurrency is actively used as a currency.

These developments represent a significant change from how cryptocurrency has operated in the past. Rather than a series of speculative assets, or small idealistic projects, a crypto community separate from government legislation is beginning to be built. This could pose an opportunity for significant growth, but it may also render government legislation impotent in the process.

We suggest you work with a legal professional. We have identified a few that specialize in this budding industry, but feel free to suggest others you have had positive experiences with in the comments below.

This article was written in collaboration with the team at Commodities.com.

Brian Thopsey Wed, 02/24/2021 - 19:15

Crypto

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2020 Equity Crowdfunding by the Numbers

Brian Thopsey — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 10:19:03 +0000

2020 Equity Crowdfunding by the Numbers

This is an ongoing series of reviews. Reviews from years: 2019, 2022

Are you looking to select the right equity funding platform to raise money for your idea or business, or are you looking to invest? I will run through the data and insights on the overall market to help you maximize your ability to secure funding or find the right investment portal for you. Many of us believed we would see explosive growth in equity crowdfunding. At Fund Wisdom our thesis was built on the belief that there was pent up demand for access to high yielding startup investments. I break down the market, how the industry has re-define early-stage startup investing and funding. and where future opportunity lies.

Many had proposed raising the cap the SEC placed on businesses raising money through regulation crowdfunding to above the maximum of $1,070,000 and the call has been answered. The SEC Proposed Rule Changes to Harmonize, Simplify and Improve the Exempt Offering Framework across each of the major regulated categories with regulation CF to $5 million, A to $22.5 million, Reg D 504 to $10 million.

Photo by Jeff Tumale on Unsplash

Defining the Equity Crowdfunding Market

If you’re starting a business and need money upfront the traditional way to do this was to go to a bank, venture capital firms, or use your own money. Websites and digital platforms help facilitate the transactions now. Equity Crowdfunding in the US can be separated into two major types accredited and non-accredited.

Non-accredited is also known as Regulated Equity Crowdfunding, campaigns that were launched under new regulations like Title III of the Jobs Act (aka Reg CF). Historically only accredited investors, or wealthy people defined by the SEC were able to invest in businesses offering shares at an early stage, outside of friends and family. This limited opportunities for those who were not wealthy enough to qualify.

Market Size

According to research from PitchBook, in 2018 US Venture Capital reached $130.9 billion whereas non-accredited Regulated Equity Crowdfunding is only 0.08 percent of that at $109.3 million according to CrowdFund Capital Advisors via VentureBeat. The accredited portal market is much more challenging to put a broad number to due to the listings no longer being publicly accessible they were back in 2014. The University of Cambridge’s Center for Alternative Finance publishes a report stating about 0.3 percent of VC was funded through portals in 2017 at $260.9 million. They do not break out the two types via accredited and non, and rely upon self reporting by the platforms.

At Fund Wisdom we have been working on Research on investment insights across accredited and non accredited data, we have used this to build our rank for the top 10 portals, and our Dashboard in its early stages. We have been focused on the Americas thus far but have compiled a list of platforms across the globe.

Regulated Non Accredited Equity Funding

CrowdFund Capital Advisors have been publishing the most comprehensive reviews I have found of the Americas regulated market, with the VentureBeat article being a great example.

We have observed some discrepancies in every report we have found for the same time frames. For instance StartEngine regularly provides reviews of the industry and their performance. In this case 2018 data listed was at $75.8 million total differs from CrowdCapital team of $109 mil. This is likely due to the quality of data coming from the SEC posing challenges. We showcase a breakdown of a few sources we have found.

The US SEC has added Equity Funding Portal filings to the EDGAR online filing database. The SEC site now has section built for equity funding portals and different Regulation funding offerings like D and A+.

Accredited Investor Portals

Most Accredited portals do not provide public listings as they once did so gathering this data has become very challenging. We built a detailed report of data back in 2015 that provided a detailed view of the how the industry began prior to non-accredited investing being possible. Around the time frame we released the report the accredited focused platforms began moving their equity listings, that had been public, behind a login. The login requires accredited investor verification. Ty Danco' wrote a piece on the Benefits to using AngelList.

Who is Achieving Success

Sherwood Neiss of CrowdCapital Advisors states “Unlike venture capital, where less than 6.5 percent of startups successfully raise funds, the success rate in Regulation Crowdfunding hovers around an impressive 60 percent.”

Industries

Some sectors have been greater affected by these financial innovations. The real estate and restaurant industries have seen some great success raising capital. CrowdCapital Advisors team put a great report on the restaurants.

Entrepreneurs Raise Capital

At Fund Wisdom we have focused our efforts on the investor side of the equity funding portal industry while Crowdcrux has focused on helping entrepreneurs raise funds. Crowdrux produces powerful material to those looking for funding across the various types of crowdfunding like rewards based sites like Kickstarter, not just equity. The total number of people raising money via equity portals is dwarfed by the other categories, but it unlocks the greatest potential for both sides of the market, the funder and the inventor. Below are a few resources to help in this process:

Kendall Alemerico's 10 tips for Startup Equity Investing via Entrepreneur
MasterClass For raising funds for Filmmakers

Capitalize

We have observed continual growth in the US Equity Crowdfunding market. This has allowed for entrepreneurs to more easily get funding, and investors to gain access to new ventures that were previously off limits. The recent adjustment of raising the cap for Reg CF to $5 million from $1 million will definitely help with that. Opportunities will increase as regulation continues to open. More investing portals will be built and ancillary services will continue to be developed to improve the fund raising process.

Have you been able to invest or raise money through these portals? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Brian Thopsey Tue, 02/09/2021 - 05:19

Analytics, Investment Activity

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The Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Portals 2020

Brian Thopsey — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 02:15:50 +0000

The Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Portals 2020

This is a yearly update from our last review in 2019 which covers how we build our ranking. We break up our list to Accredited focused top 10 and regulation crowdfunding, non accredited focused portals.

Non Accredited Top 10

Accredited Top 10

We had previously been able to attain data on funding volumes, but that has changed years ago now, so our ability to properly rank is not an option. We have a list of investing portals and look for feedback on how to best take the factors we measure.

Regulation Changes Helps Grow Market for 2020

Regulation CrowdFunding (Reg CF) maximum amount a company can raise was increased from $1M per year to $5M for startups.
Compliance review of the business can now be completed just before closing of the funding round, which will reduce up front time for entrepreneurs.
Becoming an accredited investor can now be accomplished through taking tests, adding to the existing wealth requirements that had already been in place.
The cap on the amount an individual can invest for Reg CF offerings is capped for non accredited investors. This cap previously applied to accredited investors as well, but has since been lifted.

These changes have helped to create healthy growth for several platforms. We have observed investing portals close shop over the years, but an increase in consolidation and acquisition has accelerated.

Wefunder

Wefunder's Nick Tommarello announced their #1 spot in market share via their year end review. They credit the sharp increase in growth to the custodian structure to investments they rolled out in Q2. This groups all investors as a single entity to simplify the cap table and paperwork processing. This is appealing to both entrepreneurs and investors.

They set a goal to increase market share past 50% in 2021. They achieved close to $5 million in revenue for 2020 running at a "small" net loss. Though they are a B Corp so income level is not the focal metric.

538 startups raised money since inception
$87.2 million raised in 2020
$204 million raised since inception
$5 million revenue for 2020 prior to full GAAP review, growth resulting in $8 Mil run rate
$4 Billion in follow on investments by institutional investors
25 full-time salaried employees
iPhone app created December

Only a few days after the post there are dozens of comments on the announcement including praise, discussion on investing support, and suggestions for improvements with customer engagement. I agree with Nick in not thinking it would take so long for the regulations to get rolled out as they are today, but join in the congratulations for growth and results achieved.

StartEngine

Max Crawford authors regular updates on the overall industry and StartEngine performance and he released the 2020 StartEngine's Review.

150 companies raised money in 2020
$250 million raised since inception
$137.9 mil raised in 2020
$24.3 mil in money raised for StartEngine across 16,682 individual investors
49 full time employees

Brian Thopsey Sun, 01/03/2021 - 21:15

Analytics, Investment Activity, Platforms

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The Impact of Covid-19 on Startup Investing in Funding Portals

Brian Thopsey — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 19:32:17 +0000

The Impact of Covid-19 on Startup Investing in Funding Portals

The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) created a wave that shocked the world, wreaking havoc on so many, but for a lucky few can result in opportunity. Jobs were lost, businesses continue to shut down and a shudder of uncertainty continues for so many, yet the US stock market continues to climb higher since the brief March correction. We look to make sense of it by sharing data and strategies from professional investors that have continued to come out on top in times of uncertainty in both public and private markets.

How will Covid-19 Continue to Impact My Portfolio?

Many average individual investors are spending their extra time, from not being able to go places, investing and trading, riding a bull run from the March dip. I am amazed at the growing places I am hearing stock tips. If you're portfolio contains heavily weighted public equities in the US stock market, it’s likely you’ve seen the value of your pot tumble from news of the pandemic spread, but then recover, hopefully ending the 2020 year ahead.

While many suffer, I feel lucky to be healthy, with a steady income, looking to assess ways to tackle this storm to ensure a continued financial stability. I look to find opportunities of value in times of market dips and uncertainty. Over the years I have worked with public companies on their digital transformation, but have focused my equity analysis on private equity at Fund Wisdom. I aim to draw connections with the macro economic challenges more readily observable in public markets to the private startup space.

After reviewing the overall market performance from an index of the S&P I look to understand how the uncertainty may be measured. We can get a gauge on this through the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX).

Increasing US Federal debt, uncertainty on vaccination schedules are major factors in the spikes that can be seen in the chart for the year. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in the liquidity in certain asset classes and overall lending. Research by Bain and Company discussed Covid-19 and its market implications, stating ‘the impact will not be known for several quarters. The challenge arises knowing where and when to invest. Investing with a short term focus in a highly volatile market increases risk, however investing for the long term allows you to pick up some bargain investments if you are able and willing to hold over the next 3-10 years. This will hold true for both public and private markets. Being familiar with geographical approaches to the pandemic and how specific governments/central banks are navigating tax, monetary policy and the like can also be beneficial for minimizing risk in your portfolio, particularly if certain areas are heavily reliant on one particular industry.

Many industry professionals have commented on the implications of Covid-19 for the average investor. Conor Moore, Partner at KPMG Private Enterprise discussed the new business opportunities that are beginning to arise out of the Covid-19 gloom. For example, business to business (B2B) companies ‘developing more robust communications software systems’ to tackle the new remote working environment. Further professionals such as the Fintech Team at Andreessen Horowitz looked into the impact of Covid-19 through the Banks, finding the general sentiment to be ‘oddly optimistic’, with Banks being better prepared for the financial repercussions of Covid-19 (perhaps learning from the troublesome 2008 period) and also finding largely positive consumer behavior with ‘no drastic change in consumers ability to pay off their loans’. The question arises as to whether government stimulus programs are the underlying backbone behind this consumer tendency and what exactly will happen when it all dries up...

Opportunity

It’s evident that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on small businesses worldwide, although investing in large public companies is effective for a long term, lower risk portfolio, many individuals are still seeking innovative companies able to come out at the forefront of the pandemic.

Some industries and businesses have been hit hard, but the fundamentals of the business is still strong with cash on hand to weather the storm and recover, creating a great value buy. News of the vaccine rolling out globally provides some hope, but how this will impact in the short and long term is not certain. Almost all industries have seen some kind of turmoil during the crises, turning this into your time to buy when others don't recognize the long term value is a winning strategy.

We look to find and share resources to gain an edge on the market. I have seen several advertisements by The Motley Fool offering research and tips for investors. We have partnered with them via an affiliate relationship because of how helpful many of the forum and message board discussions have been for me. We are interested in your opinion on the public market stock advisor tool. It offers 2 new stocks each month, leveraging the active community that originally attracted me to the site. They discuss reviewing various asset classes, focusing on both beginner and advanced investors, but seems to be focused primarily on public markets.

Value: Travel, Hospitality, & Retail

Research by Mckinsey showed that revenues in the fashion industry will ‘likely fall by 27 to 30 percent from the year before’. A nightmare for some investors with a heavily weighted portfolio towards this industry that may need to liquidate, but an opportunity for you.

Statista is a useful resource when it comes to accessing Covid-19 statistics which showcased monthly changes in retail sales across various industries in the United States. They provide useful insights into how various sectors are developing post pandemic. Resources like this can allow you to navigate different industries and uncover value investments in public and private.

Non Accredited Investing Portals like StartEngine offer 9 retail focused startups raising capital.

Bubble?

Despite the many losers to the Coronavirus, it’s evident some industries have been thriving. The "work from home" WFH, culture has led to a spike in online shopping and hence many E-commerce focused companies have seen a spike in earnings. A survey by Engine found that on average people are spending 10-30% more online. A further survey conducted by Valassis of 1000 US adults found that 42% said they were spending more online and only 8% stating they were spending less. The challenge as we see it is trying to understand what the inevitable drop in spending in these areas will be when brick and mortar purchasing resumes. Many companies are frantically fighting to transition to this digital focused way of life. We have observed digital natives like E-commerce giants Amazon and Ebay spike as can be see in the chart below. The question is if too much growth is now baked into the current market price and we are seeing a bubble?

While it is possible public companies may be selling at a high price to value ratio in the e-commerce space private markets may hold further potential from the limited access. Wefunder currently lists 17 companies listing their shares for sale in the sector and StartEngine offers 13.

Food and beverage sales are up, although with a different buying psychology. People are not able to eat at restaurants as much, causing grocery purchasing to increase. Research by Shipbob (a shipping and fulfillment partner for e-commerce stores) found that the month over month increase in online sales for food and beverage is 18.8%.

Getting to grips with Covid-19

The impact from Covid-19 will continue for the foreseeable future. It’s important to stay up to date with the changes and impacts this can have on your portfolio. Knowing when to stay out of the market and manage your risk, or buy in times of uncertainty is what will distinguish those that are able to achieve long term results, even during turmoil.

Brian Thopsey Fri, 01/01/2021 - 14:32

Non Accredited

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Find Financial Advisors Focusing on Startups

Brian Thopsey — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 12:58:29 +0000

Find Financial Advisors Focusing on Startups

Finding advisors focused on startups can seem like a challenge to many investors including myself. Where do you even begin looking? How do I know the advisor is the real deal? What startups or resources should I focus on? These are just a few of the many questions that come up trying to locate someone with a specialization in this budding market.

In this article, we’ll pull in the facts and figures to help you make well rounded decisions about your financial future. You will also find a list of professionals that can help with financial planning. We believe when it comes to startup investing, a foundational level of knowledge around the sector and who are the leaders can make the difference between losses and gains.

Why Startups?

Startups offer investors great growth potential and the ability to follow a small company along it’s journey to industry success. Admiral Markets, a reputable startup investing firm describes the 4 characteristics of the modern startup as being based on innovation, having growth as the main objective, using external financing and comprising of a small team of highly skilled individuals.

The Motley Fool also highlights many of the positives to startup investing. Unique opportunities, low investment limits and exclusive perks not available through investments in large cap equities all go into making the startup realm a very lucrative place to put your money.

Where to find Startup Investment Opportunities

Investment opportunities are everywhere, the biggest challenge is figuring out how you can get a piece of the pie for yourself. Publications such as Fundwisdom (among others) can be very beneficial in your decision making.

Crowdfunding websites offer investors the ability to buy ownership in a company, more often than not at a much lower cost than it would with a venture capital or similar fund. For a roundup of some of the best, modern crowdfunding sites we recommend an article from the balance small business providing an overview of many crowdfunding sites, their fees and how they work.

Your local chamber of commerce is another resource in your arsenal when it comes to finding startup investing opportunities. A simple google search and scroll through a local directory can provide you with insightful information on the different startups in your area, some with investment opportunities just waiting to be seized. Many startup investment platforms have very small minimum investment requirements and present a wide array of investment opportunities spanning across many exciting industries.

As of writing this, the world is plagued with coronavirus and the physical networking ability blocked for many individuals. LinkedIn is a great platform fledgling venture capitalists can use for networking with startup owners and taking the proactive approach to finding investment opportunities.

Save $ in Taxes Investing Startups

When it comes to investing in startups, a ‘self directed IRA’ as described by Startup knowledge center OurCrowdKnowledge is a great option due to its tax advantages. These returns can thus be held in a retirement account and will be tax deferred. What’s more, these investment alternatives have a low correlation with other asset classes, therefore may allow investors to hedge their investments during times of market volatility in stocks and bonds.

The Figures

When addressing any potential investment fund opportunity, you need to understand the data. For example, Barron’s has some useful information on the top financial advisors each year, these figures can be used as a benchmark for performance and a way to select top firms. Barron's reviews client's average net worth, total assets, location and more. Knowing a fund manager's track record gives you insight into historical returns but cannot guarantee future performance.

Barron’s also possess a range of economic data on various investment opportunities allowing you to make sound decisions on when and where to invest your capital. For example, the ‘stock movers’ section lists various equities showing the most movement within a certain period. Although these may not always be the most sensible investments.

A fund's past performance can often give a good indication into the future, however research and careful consideration of many variables is required to ensure a certain investment is right for you. Cryptocurrencies for example, can offer the possibility for high return yet also bear a lot of risk.

Top Advisors

There are advisors for each and every asset class, helping you work towards reaching your wealth goals whilst accounting for your desired level of risk. Most easiest to find are those that have expertise in public equities and debt. Barron’s showcases the track records and information on what they deem top financial advisors. We have not been able to locate any of these with expertise in startup offerings on the portals we cover.

An innovative tool known as RIA Match allows you the ability to connect with financial advisors quickly and easily, matching your financial goals and requirements to their listings of advisors. Successionlink is another tool offering a similar service and those in need of a service. LinkedIn can be used to locate advisors.

Assess Your Current Advisor

Reviewing advisor performance can often be a challenge. Ken Schapiro of Condor Capital Management built Backend Benchmarking, a tool designed to help you better manage your portfolio. Using this platform can cut through the clutter of biased reporting, allowing you to make an informed decision on the current performance of your money.

Should you give Startups a go?

All in all, an up and coming startup can be exciting for many (particularly new) investors. Although the returns can be vast, due diligence is required around the company to ensure the investment meets your risk appetite. Comparing the startup investment opportunity with other alternative investments may give you an accurate depiction of how one opportunity fares against another.

This article is written in collaboration with Callum Lepley.

Brian Thopsey Thu, 08/27/2020 - 08:58

Non Accredited

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Event: Panel on Alternatives to Diversify your Portfolio

Brian Thopsey — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 01:40:02 +0000

Event: Panel on Alternatives to Diversify your Portfolio

Looking to explore innovative ways to grow your wealth?

Attend our Panel Event

September 2020

Join us to explore novel ways to invest in something new. By being a part of this event, you’ll have learning opportunities and help from experts on approaching your high-growth investments, providing more potential at success each step along your journey. It’s a great way to earn, learn, and invest all in one spot. Seize your moment as a high investor by joining our event today! discuss their paths to helping people access these previously private markets.

Expect to learn about alternative virtual Investments - looking beyond the norm at innovative online portal strategies. Our panelists will share unique strategies to structure investments in equity of startups, real estate, wine, and more. By joining us, you’re earning learning opportunities along with possibilities abound from the huge investment returns from our event.

Panelists and what I am excited to learn more about from each

Moderator: Andrew Savikas, Founder YieldTalk
Chuck Pettid, CEO of Republic Crowdfunding Portal
- Republic's recent release of their investable Note, which I co-wrote an article with Brian of CrowdWise on funds which touches on the launch.
Anthony Zhang, CEO of Vinovest
- what operating without the same regulatory hurdles (since it is wine and not an investment security) enables. To learn more about Anthony check out Andrew of YieldTalk's interview
Charles Clinton, CEO of EquityMultiple
- Understanding more about how they are competing against other Real Estate Investing Portals and how this correlates to what we are seeing in equity.

How this was Created

I have been collaborating with Brian Belley of CrowdWise and Andrew Savikas of YieldTalk for a few months now. We share a passion for the alternative investing market and decided to build this event to learn more about the investing portals and hear directly from the operators. We are paying for Remo.co to offer a premium virtual experience attempting to mimic a real world conference setup with tables to network along with a panel broadcast mode.

We are currently seeking sponsors that share these passions. Contact us if interested. We look forward to seeing you there.

Brian Thopsey Tue, 08/25/2020 - 21:40

Real Estate, Platforms, Non Accredited