eToro has a lofty ambition: opening up global financial markets so that everyone can invest.
The social network lets users invest in financial markets, or follow other users’ investments and copy them.
With 4m users, it’s safe to say that founder Yoni Assia is well on his way to achieving that goal.
Soon after his session at Dublin Web Summit, I chatted with the London startup’s founder about his ambitions for the company.
What did you focus on in your talk?
I was talking mostly about the fact that more people should invest.
People think investing is speculating but investing is about sculpting the future.
Wherever you invest and money, companies emerge and businesses prosper. People don’t seem to make that connection that they should invest in what they believe in.
If you believe in Apple, invest in Apple. If you drink Coke and believe in Coke, invest in Coke. It’s that simple.
Do you see eToro becoming a household name or do you think it will always be for the financially aware?
In reality, I think more of our users will always be the more financially aware.
People who have no interest in being active will also obviously make up a part of the population but it’s those who have some interest in finance, or maybe even technology, that make up the bulk.
eToro can become a household name, but our target is the more financially aware.
Is there enough warning about the risks in services like yours?
I think we communicate the risk and my impression is that people do understand them as well.
As we develop the platform, we are now putting a lot of emphasis on suitability. We want to learn more about the clients and want to personalise the platform to be more suited for each one.
If your target is to gain 20%, we will try to only show you people at the same risk level or lower.
Do you see other fintech platforms, like Nutmeg or peer-to-peer lenders, as competitors or complimentary services?
Definitely complimentary. What we are seeing is the dismantling of the traditional banks.
Great companies are now breaking down the various parts of what banks do to enable customers to use specific services.
Why did you choose London as eToro’s HQ?
The UK represents one of the leading financial centres of the world. I think that’s been true for the past 200 years.
In my opinion, the Government and regulators understand the role of new technology and have been adapting as a result of that.
It’s becoming the centre of fintech because of everything involved in the ecosystem: the UKTI, the London Stock Exchange, the Government, regulators and all the companies here.
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