Investment in US fintechs increases two-fold
Investments in US fintech firms totalled $5bn in Q3 2017, according to a report from KPMG. The figure is double that reported in Q2, with financiers putting to work $2.6bn during the preceding period. Advice platforms in particular garnered attention during the period, the report noted. More in-demand than pure robo-advisory platforms, however, were those making use of both human advisers and algorithm-powered advice. 
Investments in U.S. fintech companies nearly doubled during the third quarter to $5 billion, up from $2.6 billion in the second quarter, according to KPMG’s recent Pulse of Fintech report. There were a total of 142 deals during the quarter, up from 125 deals in the prior year quarter and 147 deals last quarter. KPMG attributes the jump to robust venture capital funding, an increase in deal value and strong performance by the private equity sector. The automated advice platform technology was a big bet during the quarter, with hybrid models—those using a combination of humans and technology—gaining more traction over pure robo advisors, the report said. “We see a lot of optimism in the U.S. Fintech market – from the maturation and adoption of early stage technologies like Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and IoT to the rapid acceleration of others, such as Insurtech, Robo-advisory, Blockchain and Regtech,” said Anthony Rjeily, leader for Financial Services’ Digital and Fintech practice in the U.S. at KPMG.

The Trump Stock Market

One year after President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become President of the United States, the stock market has risen 21.2 percent. That’s the third-best rise in the S&P 500 of any first-term president since 1952, according to CNBC. Trump trails President John F. Kennedy’s 26.5 percent rise in the markets following his election and President George H.W. Bush’s 22.7 percent hike. Measuring every election since 1952, the Trump rally is bumped down to fifth place, following President Bill Clinton’s 28.1 percent hike after his election for a second term, then Kennedy, followed by President Barack Obama’s 23.8 percent rise after his election for a second term and then Bush. The worst stock market performance came after President Jimmy Carter was elected, when stocks fell 10.2 percent during his first year in office.

InvestCloud, Willis Towers Watson Partner

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InvestCloud and Willis Towers Watson are partnering. The cloud-based financial services platform was selected to build a bespoke solution for the WTW Asset Management Exchange that will enable clients to better access and monitor roughly $2 billion, according to a statement. The exchange provides asset managers easy access to significant capital on a global basis and seeks to plug “value leakage” caused by inefficiencies in the investment supply. InvestCloud will look to enhance the user experience for both the asset owners and the managers.