✅ Apex Has Gone Public Through A SPAC

Apex is a fintech company based in Dallas, Texas, and is owned by Peak6 Investments. Apex has gone public through a merger with Northern Star Investment Corp. Apex specializes in digital clearing and custody and supports the complete trading and investing lifecycle. They have more than 200 clients representing more than 13 million customer accounts. And they’ve opened more than 1 million crypto accounts already this year. In total generating $230 million in revenue. That’s a significant jump from last year’s pretax earnings of $85 million. Northern Star is a SPAC, or Special Purpose Acquisition Company, started by the co-owner of the New York Islanders National Hockey Team. The transaction is said to be valued at $4.7 billion dollars and will provide Apex with close to $850 million in gross cash proceeds. To make things happen, Northern Star will be raising around $450 million dollars from investors. They include Fidelity Management & Research Co., Coatue Management, and others.

—

✅ What Is Citibank Hong Kong Offering Digital Natives?

Next today, we travel to Hong Kong, where Citibank has unveiled its new product: Citi Plus. Citi Plus is a digital wealth platform offering a range of investment options including stocks, money market funds, and mutual funds. Those mutual funds will be managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments, Frank Templeton, and Allianz Global Investors. Citibank is targeting digital natives with this new platform, meaning people born after 1980. These young people have grown up with everything from personal computers to mobile phones and social media. And Citibank brought them in as co-creators with a pilot program in December 2020. The hope was to better address the target clients’ pain points and help them grow their wealth through the new service. The most distinctive feature of Citi Plus is its series of modules designed to provide wealth education.

Clients can learn about making sound financial decisions, managing money, building wealth, and achieving their financial goals. The content is bite-sized and designed to help clients approach investments with greater confidence. The new platform also includes a personalized stream of news and insights on wealth. And finally, there is “Money Goal” – a new tracking tool that will be available later this year. This tool is being designed to help clients define financial objectives and monitor their progress. All of these offerings are piled on top of the services already accessible through the Citibank mobile app. Offerings that were already available include an interest booster and a program called “flexi wealth”. Flexi wealth helps investors get started in money market funds with as little as $1 HK dollar. Also included is access to a “global wallet” that allows for the exchange of foreign currencies without handling fees.

—

✅ How Can Private Banks Succeed With Millennials?

And finally, today we address private banks that may be struggling to succeed with younger clients. In a recent Forbes.com article, author Shama Hyder shares that Millennial investors are not the speculative and aggressive investors that many picture them to be. They are actually more likely to be highly strategic and relatively conservative. In fact, data finds that Millennials are more risk-averse than previous generations. It is crucial for private banks to understand this reality and pivot their services to match what younger investors are truly interested in. And Millennials are famous for supporting businesses that embody their social and environmental values. This means that their wealth-building habits are going to reflect their commitment to sustainable investments.

In response, private banks need to incorporate social responsibility and sustainability into all of their operations and services. Millennials know that wealth is not just a matter of financial returns. True value for them is rooted in adherence to social and environmental principles. To this end, private banks can partner with individuals, families, and businesses that share a sustainable mindset. Private banking can be a great mechanism for realizing ethical and sustainable principles, in addition to growing wealth for our younger generations.