The digital revolution is already well underway on Wall Street. This ongoing democratization has enabled investors of every wealth background – even those with little to no “wealth” — the option to easily invest in their favorite companies.
In the digital age, this of course can be done via their favorite app which offers the best user experience that modern technology has to offer. The heightened activity around GameStop shares seen earlier this year, plus the increased interest in and volatility around cryptocurrencies are some more examples of the growing power of the individual investor. This is all being fueled by technology.
At ViewTrade, we are on a mission to help fintech innovators and entrepreneurs from around the globe continue to grow this trend. To do so, they need to be able to offer everyday investors – from anywhere – easy and affordable access to U.S. equities. That is where we come in.
Why U.S. Equities
Buying Stocks – The allure of U.S. stocks is nothing new. The S&P 500 has outpaced most other stock indexes around the world since the financial crisis. The index has climbed over 500% since February 2009 lows*, while the MSCI All Country World Index, excluding U.S. stocks, has gained over 250%.
According to CNBC, U.S. and China stock funds have attracted the most inflows from international investors over the past two quarters. Also, according to the report, investors are currently putting billions of dollars more into U.S. stock funds than Chinese ones.
Two Decades of Building Disruptive Brokerage Solutions
While offering international investors access to U.S. equities today may seem like a simple concept, before the technology revolution, the regulations and fine print involved would consume a whole department of people – and more. Not to mention, the cost of international money transfer has typically made these types of international investment ventures to unattractive to entrepreneurs and investors.
To put it simply: We’ve come a long way.
ViewTrade Holding (comprised of subsidiaries ViewTrade Securities, Inc and Orbis Systems, Inc.) is one of the industry disruptors that helped start the revolution more than two decades ago by building solutions to these problems and more. Today, our expertise and solution set simplifies the complex for our global brokerage firm clients – including firms located in India, throughout Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East — and enables them to provide their investor clients with seamless access to U.S. securities.
Here are some other common challenges that we help clients looking to offer access to U.S. markets solve for:
- Compliance questions and issues
- Tax implications at the firm level
- Complexity of connectivity to multiple, necessary vendors
- Access to the proper technology
- Inability to open and fund fully disclosed accounts
- Affordable access to market data
- Navigating the intricacies of US securities rules
Online Investing
For example, Orbis Systems built a solution that is empowering a growing online investing platform for millennials in India. Thanks to Orbis technology, the firm’s India-based retail customers can now open an account within minutes.
Orbis also built a white-labeled platform that is enabling a large, independently-owned broker-dealer in Peru to keep up with increasing trading volumes from retail investors looking for access to U.S. equities. And our fractional technology offering is empowering investor clients of a large bank in Asia to buy fractional shares of U.S. equities.
And these are just a few examples of the many ways we are helping to power the democratization of investing across the globe. At ViewTrade, we view ourselves as more than the right vendor. Instead, we are a partner to our clients who are disrupting the industry for the better, one solution at a time. And we are just getting started. Interested in solutions and technology that can help you go to market and reduce time, expense, and risk? Contact us.
*S&P 500 data as of June 1, 2021
