Roofstock, an online marketplace in the single-family rental sector, raised $20 million in Series B funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners, QED Investors and SV Angel; they plan to use the proceeds to ramp up national expansion, invest in product development and roll out an asset management platform as they intend to reach domestic and global investors. Source
Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital investor in technology, has announced executive changes that will empower a new generation of leaders for the firm; in an announcement this week Jim Goetz has named Roelof Botha as his replacement; Roelof Botha will take over Goetz's responsibilities as a Sequoia steward; Alfred Lin will also be replacing Goetz in his role managing Sequoia's United States venture business; Mr. Goetz also provided a letter to investors this week providing more insight on the changes. Source
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has pumped over $2 billion into venture capital funds and startups in the last four years; with the vote to leave the European Union, venture capitalists in the UK now fear that this important source of funding will disappear as the government looks to officially complete Brexit; the UK is not as fortunate as the US when it comes to endowments that allocate capital to funds, therefore the EIF has filled a much needed role; there currently is no plan to replace the EIF when the UK officially leaves, though lawmakers and lobbyists are looking to see if they can strike a deal to keep the flow of capital coming. Source
A new report by PitchBook details how $11.4 billion of private investment has flowed into digital wealth management companies since 2010; investment has occurred in more than 400 deals, with venture capital investment leading the way followed by private equity; the report explains some of the main reasons for this trend as active managers failed their clients while fees have continued to rise; clients are looking for a cheaper more predictable way to manage their wealth; one of the main questions going forward is will incumbents purchase, partner or build their own solutions. Source
VeriComply has announced the completion of a new funding round from investors including Jon Barlow of Eaglewood Capital and John Maute of Helios AMC and Situs Holdings; VeriComply plans to use the funding for sales and operations of the firm's automated loan verification services for lending platforms and the secondary market; it is currently building out its business for verification services in the marketplace lending industry. Source
Silver Lake Partners is leading the next financing round for SoFi that is expected to add $500 million in new capital for the growing alternative finance company; investors include Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and several other Asian investors along with DCM Ventures and Third Point; with the completion of the fundraising, SoFi will be valued at approximately $4.3 billion; recent acquisitions and product introductions have helped the firm expand its offerings from student loan refinancings to personal loans, mortgages, wealth management, life insurance and digital banking. Source
In partnership with The New York Times, CB Insights reports on the top 100 venture capitalists; top on the list is Bill Gurley from Benchmark; notable increases from 2016 include Founders Fund's Brian Singerman who moved to fifth and Lightspeed Venture Partners' Ravi Mhatre who is ranked sixth. Source
A new report from company builder and venture group Team8 shows it’s a good time for fintechs to pursue unicorn status, provided they do the groundwork.
Andy Stewart, managing partner at Motive Partners, says fintechs are overvalued in the current market environment; speaking at the UK International Fintech event in London, Stewart says the over valuations are a result of success in the market and confidence from venture capital investors; Stewart cautions investors to watch for buzzwords including machine learning or blockchain that can enhance the value proposition of the solution but may be overvaluing a company's value overall; Stewart's Motive Partners launched in 2017 and is seeking to raise $1 billion. Source
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