Kiwi Wealth’s new digital investing platform, Hatch, has passed $25 million in investments since launching last September.
The initial public offerings (IPOs) of recognisable Silicon Valley businesses such as Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Zoom, Beyond Meat and most recently, Slack have given Hatch a boost in sign-ups and investments.
Hatch co-founder and general manager Kristen Lunman said growth in investments had exceeded expectations since the startup received its initial backing following the Kiwi Wealth Innovation Lab.
“The 2019 IPO calendar has been packed with ‘unicorns’ and Kiwis are certainly getting on board with investment opportunities in these high-profile, world-class young companies,” Lunman said.
“In just over nine months we’ve gone well beyond the targets we’d set ourselves. It’s proof that Kiwi investors want a sophisticated yet intuitive and cost-effective way to trade shares in the world’s biggest markets and companies.”
While Hatch investors were generally skewed younger, with around two-thirds under the age of 40, there was a wide variance in the amounts individual investors were trading.
“We have investors whose balances are less than $1,000, right the way through to six-figure sums,” Lunman said.
The most popular shares for Hatch investors continue to be companies and exchange traded-funds that are technology-focused, emerging sectors such as cannabis and alternative meat proteins, and mass media entertainment.
