Fintech / Blockchain
Fintech, short for financial technology, refers to new and innovative technology that aims to improve the delivery and use of financial services. It includes mobile payments, digital banks, cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, etc.), blockchain and crowdfunding platforms. Read why fintech is thriving in emerging markets.
Blockgeeks.com defines blockchain as a “time-stamped series of immutable records of data that is managed by a cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. Each of these blocks of data (i.e. block) is secured and bound to each other using cryptographic principles (i.e. chain)”. Blockchain is the technology behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Visit blockgeeks.com for a great primer on blockchain technology and how it is changing the world of finance.
The following funds are focused on fintech and blockchain technology. They can be used to increase your portfolio’s exposure to nextgen financial technology.
Note: These are not recommendations, just investment ideas for further research.
| Fund | Ticker | Expense | Holdings | Inception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amplify CrowdBureau P2P Lending & Crowdfunding | LEND | 0.65% | 35 | 5/8/19 |
| Tracks a tier-weighted equity index of firms involved with direct peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding. | ||||
| Amplify Transformational Data Sharing | BLOK | 0.70% | 59 | 1/16/18 |
| An actively managed ETF that seeks to provide total return by investing at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies actively involved in the development and utilization of blockchain technologies. | ||||
| ARK Fintech Innovation | ARKF | 0.75% | 43 | 2/1/19 |
| An actively managed fund of stocks related to financial technology innovation such as transaction innovations, blockchain technology, risk transformation, frictionless funding platforms, customer facing platforms, and new intermediaries. | ||||
| ETFMG Prime Mobile Payments | IPAY | 0.75% | 44 | 7/15/15 |
| Tracks an index of global equity in credit card firms, and companies providing payment infrastructure, payment services, payment processing and payment solutions. | ||||
| First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process | LEGR | 0.65% | 103 | 1/25/18 |
| Designed to track the performance of companies that are either actively using, investing in, developing, or have products that are poised to benefit from blockchain technology and/or the potential for increased efficiency that it provides to various business processes. | ||||
| Global X FinTech | FINX | 0.68% | 41 | 9/12/16 |
| Seeks to invest in companies on the leading edge of the emerging financial technology sector, which encompasses a range of innovations helping to transform established industries like insurance, investing, fundraising, and third-party lending through unique mobile and digital solutions. | ||||
| Goldman Sachs Finance Reimagined | GFIN | 0.50% | 119 | 3/1/19 |
| Centered around companies with exposure to the changing structure of financial services. The fund’s index is constructed from three sub-themes: Digitization of Finance, Asset Management Makeover, and Blockchain. | ||||
| Innovation Shares NextGen Protocol | KOIN | 0.73% | 49 | 1/29/18 |
| Tracks an index that uses artificial intelligence to select global stocks that have current or future economic interest in blockchain technology. | ||||
| Reality Shares NASDAQ NexGen Economy | BLCN | 0.68% | 71 | 1/16/18 |
| Tracks an index of global companies involved in developing, researching, or using blockchain technologies. | ||||
| Tortoise Digital Payments Infrastructure | TPAY | 0.40% | 50 | 1/31/19 |
| The fund invests in companies that have the potential to benefit as the world continues to evolve from traditional cash payments to the speed, accuracy and efficiency of digital payments. | ||||