Sharesies
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Stockbroking |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , |
Area served | New Zealand and Australia |
| Products | Stockbroker, micro-investing trading platform, KiwiSaver, savings accounts |
| Owners |
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| Website | www |
Sharesies is a New Zealand stockbroker and micro-investing app that allows users to buy and sell fractions of shares on the stock market rather than requiring users to buy or sell entire shares.[1] It was launched in 2017.
As of 2024[update], it had 700,000 clients in New Zealand and Australia.
History
[edit]The company was founded by Richard Clark, Ben Crotty, Brooke Roberts, Leighton Roberts, Martyn Smith and Sonya Williams in 2017.[2][3] The founders were working corporate jobs as they started the company, and pitched it to a business accelerator programme run by Kiwibank and Creative HQ.[4][5]
The platform saw a big rise in the number of users during the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020.[6] By 2022, Sharesies reached 500,000 users, meaning that about 11 per cent of the country's population used the platform.[7][8] By late 2024, Sharesies had 700,000 users in New Zealand and Australia and was managing $5 billion invested by its users.[1] During the last quarter of 2024, about $3.1 billion was traded using Sharesies.[4]
In 2021 Sharesies started allowing Australian clients to use the platform, and also allowed users to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.[9] In 2023 Sharesies launched no-fees savings accounts.[10] In 2024, Sharesies bought the Auckland-based investor management platform start-up Orchestra.[11] That year the company started allowing users to trade shares of the Fonterra co-operative, which can only be traded by dairy farmers. Sharesies has suggested that they may allow trading of shares of other co-operatives on the Unlisted Securities Exchange such as Zespri in the future.[12]
In 2020, Sharesies raised $25 million, including from Trade Me, Icehouse Ventures and Stephen Tindall's company K1W1. In 2020, the largest shareholders were Trade Me (15.4 per cent) and Discount Nominees (9.5 per cent). Co-founders Brooke Roberts, Leighton Roberts and Sonya Williams each owned 6.26 per cent.[13] A funding round in 2021 valued the company at $500 million.[1]
In August 2021, the Financial Markets Authority issued a formal warning to the company for deficiencies in their compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. Sharesies cooperated with the regulator and began a programme to strengthen its customer-identification and due diligence processes.[14][15]
Williams has said that her first ever investment was on Sharesies, because she did not have enough capital to use the more traditional means of investing.[8]
In 2023, Sharesies broadened its business beyond share trading, launching a savings product and its own KiwiSaver scheme. By the end of 2024, its KiwiSaver scheme had almost 10,000 members and approximately NZ$300 million in funds under management.[16]
Sharesies made its first acquisition in April 2024, acquiring Auckland-based equity-management platform Orchestra. The acquisition expanded Sharesies' business-to-business services into private company share registries and employee share schemes.[17]
In October 2024, Sharesies expanded its KiwiSaver offering by launching a US500 fund providing exposure to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and allowing members to invest part of their KiwiSaver portfolio directly in selected US-listed companies.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Democraticising stocks: Brooke Roberts leads an investment platform valued at $500 million". RNZ. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ↑ "My money: Brooke Roberts". Stuff. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ↑ "New start up wants all Kiwis to start investing, even if it's just $5". Stuff. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- 1 2 "Record trading on Sharesies platform". RNZ. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies the love: how an online investing startup took flight". The Spinoff. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ↑ "Capital Markets report: Pandemic boosts interest in online investment platform Sharesies". The New Zealand Herald. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies adds 500,000th user as retail boom continues". Business Desk. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- 1 2 "Sharesies co-founder Sonya Williams' first ever investment was on the platform she built". Stuff. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies expands to offer investors access to Australian Stock Exchange". RNZ. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies expands offering with new no-fees savings account". RNZ. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies buys investor management platform Orchestra". Business Desk. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies to host online trading of Fonterra shares". RNZ. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ↑ "Sharesies raises $25 million to expand across the ditch". The New Zealand Herald. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ↑ "FMA issues warning to Sharesies for AML/CFT breaches". Financial Markets Authority. 23 August 2021.
- ↑ Stock, Rob (23 August 2021). "Sharesies given anti-money laundering warning by Financial Markets Authority". Stuff.
- ↑ Somers, Ella (20 December 2024). "Trading volumes on Sharesies double to over $7 billion in 2024, driven by market recovery and new product launches". interest.co.nz.
- ↑ Mitchell, Jonathan (12 April 2024). "Sharesies acquires equity platform Orchestra". National Business Review.
- ↑ Edmunds, Susan (8 October 2024). "Sharesies launches new US500 fund for KiwiSaver members". RNZ.
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