A new retail investor wallet has been announced in the UK by Pynk, the startup helping people invest better together. The company’s Thesis Portfolio will be available by their app, Placeholder.
Retail investors will be able to deposit money with Pynk and access a 0% Fee Fully Managed Portfolio. This is the world’s first People Powered Investment Portfolio, that utilises investment insights garnered from Pynk’s Crowd Wisdom system. Investors can access fee-free investing up to £20,000 as well as supplement their investment earnings by making market forecasts and predictions that earn them additional monetary rewards.
Pynk’s first investment product, the Thesis Portfolio is a diversified “go-anywhere” portfolio made up of multiple investment theses including electric vehicles, renewable energy, efficient food supply, emerging markets, global warming solutions, the move towards virtual working, eGaming and more.
With their Wisdom IN Crowds approach, Pynk is tapping into a global financial trend that sees retail investors working together to beat wall street at their own game. Through collective action, investors have been able to reap up the financial benefits of wealth management and have driven up the price of stocks including GameStop, which recently increased in value by over 700%.
“We’ve long understood the power of Crowd Wisdom and to see it play out so explicitly in the markets is an interesting dynamic. The ‘genie is out of the bottle’ and we are likely to see this behaviour repeat itself throughout 2021 and beyond, as everyday investors take back the advantage from institutions by working together and ‘doing it ourselves’. But there isn’t a platform to do that in a responsible manner and too many inexperienced investors are getting hurt in the process; that’s where the collaboration between Pynk and Placeholder comes in.” said Seth Ward, co-founder and CEO at Pynk.
A surge in savings, market volatility, lockdown boredom and financial interest during the pandemic has rapidly accelerated the number of individuals to trading platforms, as it’s estimated the number of UK investors in the UK grew 15% in 2020 to 6.5 million. In what is a concern to regulators, over 75% of retail investors lose money, highlighting the urgent need for financial literacy in the UK.
Pynk’s mission is to empower people everywhere to join forces and create a more sustainable financial future for all. Pynk does this by providing all with easy access to institutional-grade investment knowledge, technology & financial opportunities, such as Placeholder’s Thesis Portfolio.
Users access all the system has to offer by making predictions and forecasts in a risk free, gamified app. Pynk aggregates the data, uses various statistical and AI techniques, to help find the Wisdom IN Crowds – enabling a more equitable investment model for everyone.
Pynk harnesses the stock prediction and forecast data from it’s community of over 50,000 financial enthusiasts from across 190 countries. It’s AI ‘Rose’ analyses the data and identifies who to listen to and, at any point in time, for any given asset – making the Pynk Investment Committee better equipped to understand future price action across asset classes.
“COVID-19 has fuelled an appetite for trading and investing, as amateur investors flocked to DIY wealth management platforms in 2020. Whilst DIY trading is entertaining and can be rewarding, too often the risk of losing your money is extremely high and the perils are becoming increasingly apparent.” said Mark Borwick, Chief Investment Officer at Pynk.
“The Pynk Thesis Portfolio covers multiple investment themes and is diversified by design, lowering risk. And in these heady markets, we will hold above average cash – ready to capitalise on opportunities as they present themselves. Investment works best when we all work together, which is why at Pynk we are building a new investment model, combining AI and Crowd Wisdom techniques so we can find the Wisdom IN Crowds.”
Notable supporters of Pynk include Founders Institute, Natwest Accelerator and 365.fintech VC. To date Pynk has raised $2million.
