Wealth & Finance International - Fintech Awards 2017

2017 Fintech Awards 16 Best Alternative Trading System Provider – California San Francisco-based SharesPost supports late-stage, private growth companies and the entrepreneurs that build them by providing liquidity and a better private capital market. We spoke to Rohit Kulkarni to further explore the services the company provides. Contact: Rohit Kulkarni Contact Email: [email protected] Address: 221 Pine St., 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA Phone: 0016502737905 Website: www.sharespost.com SharesPost help investors gain exposure to this class of alternative investments by offering a variety of differentiated services, including solutions in the Marketplace, investment management, research and technology platform. Rohit outlines the service that the firm offers within the marketplace, along with the other sectors that the company deals in. “SharesPost is the largest trading platform for investors seeking to buy and sell shares of private companies. Our brokerage team matches sellers looking to get liquidity with buyers willing to acquire equity in that company. Our institutional team of trading experts makes it easy for investors by helping them from start to end of the transaction. SharesPost has executed more than $2 billion in transactions for more than 150 late-stage, venture-backed companies. Importantly, because of strong investor demand for companies with high-growth rates, the number of institutions investing in private tech growth companies has grown significantly over the past year and is likely to continue growing. “With regard to Investment Management, SharesPost 100 Fund (PRIVX) is a closed-end interval fund that manages over $100 million in assets. Focused on late-stage, venture-backed private companies, the Fund enables retail investors to gain access to this asset category through a professionally managed, diversified fund. The SharesPost 100 Fund team identifies and invests in companies with high-growth potential and continuously update the portfolio based on new information. The Fund, which provides a daily Net Asset Value, recently partnered with Crossroads Capital to grow its wholesale distribution. The Fund is now available to advisors clearing through institutional platforms. “Fundamentally, the firm possesses a strong grasp regarding the Research sector of the industry, as the team covers over 160 private companies and provides complete cap tables and dynamic waterfalls. SharesPost’s unmatched research capabilities have contributed to a significant increase in the number of institutions registering and engaging with the platform this year. The research team’s growing reputation for excellence has increased steadily in the past year with the publication of comprehensive, company-specific reports (Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest) as well as industry overviews and webinars with industry thought leaders. The team recently released the SharesPost Private Tech Growth Index, a first-of-its-kind barometer of changes in the valuation of companies in the asset category. “Looking after the client, we keep them updated constantly as our online platform serves as a secure communication channel to investors. It includes internal trading screens to better match buyers and sellers, private company and portfolio valuation tools, and the ability for the transactions team to search client records and prior transactions. We also provide regular email digests curated with content specifically for investors interested in private marketplace.” Discussing how the company differentiates itself from its competitors within the industry, Rohit comments on SharesPost ability to always be ahead of the game, being an innovative firm within the market and being a well-recognised brand, investing significantly in marketing in order to accelerate its brand awareness. “We believe that SharesPost’s competitive advantage in several ways. 1) SharesPost was first-to-market with a solution to help investors get liquidity. The firm has invested significant resources in building the trading platform and the SharesPost 100 Fund. This has created relationships with issuers and has created a virtuous cycle between the marketplace and investment advisor. We think this will be difficult to replicate quickly or with less capital. 2) SharesPost is an innovator in the space. SharesPost’s trading platform is the first of its kind and provides data, information and other capabilities not readily available to investors in a single, online location. The firm’s robust research capabilities and the SharesPost 100 Fund highlight the firm’s ability to FIN17015