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Fintech firms see opportunity in money management

It is estimated that there are over 480 start-ups in the personal finance space, some in the trading space, some in the robo-advisory space
Last Updated 09 August 2021, 01:50 IST

As the tech start-up market grows, one of the segments growing is personal finance. More and more entrepreneurs feel there is an opportunity in this space with the markets being lucrative as opposed to bank deposits but only 2% of the population is financially literate. Be it start-ups like Havenspire and StockGro or others like INDmoney, technology is becoming a beginners’ guide to the markets.

New age start-ups are taking a step forward to make their products investor-friendly by not only giving investment recommendations but also focussing on the basics. While Havenspire and StockGro help create a community of traders coming together, learning the art of trading, INDmoney is more than a fintech company that helps its users manage their money.

These applications do have a special focus on the younger generation like StockGro partnering with B-schools and colleges or Havenspire providing student scholarships for using its portal.“While we offer a platform to trade in securities, we also have services where people can enter their income, expenditure and requirements and have their portfolio planned accordingly”, says Ashish Kashyap, founder of INDmoney.“All money matters like expenses, savings, etc are stored in one place and the application suggests and recommends an allocation strategy in various asset classes robotically. This way anyone can manage their money and invest using the same application”, adds Kashyap.

StockGro, an application that allows people to mock-trade and pick-up stock market trading, has also started a feature where users can chat with money managers. “There are chat groups run by various money managers. These managers give our users advice as and when they approach them. This is usually pro-bono”, says Ajay Lakhotia, founder of StockGro.

Havenspire, a start-up in the financial literacy space, provides theoretical courses on the stock markets but has also created a community of traders, many experienced, who share tips and tricks, various tactics to trade in the equity markets.

It is estimated that there are over 480 start-ups in the personal finance space, some in the trading space, some in the robo-advisory space that is digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. This doesn’t come as a surprise as there has been a surge in people downloading personal finance applications on smartphones. According to an article authored by Raviteja Dodda, founder of MoEngage, there has been a 150% increase in the active users of such apps ansd use by millennials and Gen Z has increased 102%.

As for the big question of whether it will replace the certified financial planner, Suresh Sadagopan, founder of Ladder7 Financial Advisors, says that these applications would help a great deal in financial literacy and get people going on the money management front, adding that it can be used for relatively smaller transactions. “As the stakes increase, they would have to go to a financial planner and we tell our clients is that they should choose whether they want to go to a planner or go an app ”, says Sadagopan.

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(Published 08 August 2021, 16:08 IST)

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