7 Fintech Companies Making Waves In 2019

Every year, Benzinga showcases the most innovative and forward-looking companies shaping the fintech industry.

In preparation for the fifth annual Benzinga Global Fintech Awards in New York City on Nov. 19, Benzinga is taking a look at companies that have captured news waves this year. 

TradingView

TradingView is the largest online social networking and financial markets tool for traders.

The platform gives users access to professional charting and analysis tools, as well as trade ideas in its social network.

Aside from plans to integrate additional brokers, TradingView aims to improve the trading experience.

TradingView general manager Pierce Crosby told Benzinga the firm is working on a livestreaming service — a "Twitch for traders." 

The feature will allow for traders to follow each other's analysis, research and trading in real-time, helping bolster transparency and encouragement in a field that is often misconstrued as ambiguous and difficult.

Users should expect major additions in the coming months such as new brokers, platform features and developer tools, according to TradingView. 

iFlip

The Financial Learning Information Platform, or iFlip, is an automated and self-directed investing platform founded by Randy Tate and Kelly Korshak, after the two noticed how fee structures and poor management weigh on mutual fund growth opportunities.

iFlip leverages mathematical algorithms to “hedge people out of the market” and avoid large downturns, co-founder Randy Tate told Benzinga earlier this year. 

The technology yields impressive returns, beating the S&P 500 by 12% last year.

The service is available for a flat subscription rate, and there are plans to add custom portfolios and software enhancements.

Bambu

Bambu specializes in delivering customized robo-advisor platforms with the use of proprietary algorithms and data sets.

The firm combines independent modules to develop client-advisor dashboards.

The three main products are: an intelligent advisor for private banking clients, a white-label advisor for retail banking and wealth management consumers and an API developer hub.

The firm aims to be recognized as a leader in the space, building the best robo-advisors for institutions like HSBC and Standard Chartered. 

Option Alpha

Option Alpha is an education and technology platform for options traders.

The platform started by Kirk Du Plessis is comprised of four components: education, ideas, automated trading and community.

The education aspect covers everything from option basics to strategies. 

"One of our big things that we launched two years ago was a backtesting software so you can come in and kind of choose your strategy and see if it actually works before you put your hard earned money at risk," Du Plessis said In a statement to Benzinga.

Apart from this, a full-fledged automated trading platform is in the works in which traders will have the ability to run trades automatically, and build profiles in which they can journal trades, analyze performance and post updates to other users.

The team behind Option Alpha aims for mass adoption of data-driven strategies with the intention of helping investors survive in the trading business.

Archax

Archax is a London-based institutional-grade exchange for asset-based tokens.

The firm aims to democratize capital markets with an institutional market infrastructure developed for the cryptocurrency and tokenized asset space.

The platform is still in its early stages: the first step to integrating all assets on blockchain is to properly evolve the market. This means that mature regulations and market infrastructure are key to increasing adoption.

The movement will graduate from small, illiquid companies issuing security tokens to adoption by blue chips, market infrastructure companies and organizations higher up the liquidity structure, said founder and CEO Graham Rodford.

Eventually, Archax plans to bring to market a credible digital asset trading venue for hedge funds, corporations and accredited investors, with plans to launch a retail client-facing brokerage in the mid-to-long term.

See the biggest movers in fintech in New York City for our 5th Annual Benzinga Fintech Awards!

InvestCloud

InvestCloud is a cloud platform for the financial services industry. Launched in 2010, the firm leverages powerful analytics and data mastery to deliver automation, client communication and management solutions.

Michael Smith, co-founder and executive vice president, said in an interview that the platform is essentially “more than 300 discrete Lego building blocks that can be assembled rapidly to accelerate the delivery of unique, cloud-based digital platforms.”

With ease of customizability, large banks and asset managers can quickly go-to-market with a platform that looks nothing like the system made by the next client, he said.

Overally, InvestCloud aims to improve global portability and business efficiency by differentiating the digital proposition.

FREĠNAN

FREĠNAN is an artificial intelligence-driven investment research tool that leverages small data to create financial models and risk assessments.

The firm capitalizes on recent regulations, like the passing of MiFID II, or Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which increases transparency in European capital markets, reducing information asymmetries and increasing industry research costs.

FREĠNAN leverages AI and machine learning to exploit research inefficiencies, deriving actionable insights for the financial services industry.

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