Businessweek Extra – Hans Morris (Bloomberg Businessweek, 23 min listen)

(You can listen to the podcast by clicking here)

Hans Morris, the founder of Venture Capital fund Nyca Partners, discusses how the Fintech start-up boom is shaping the future of finance. Founded in 2014, the fund’s goal was to bridge Silicon Valley and Wall Street – the latter at the time still unaware of the powerful tech wave emerging. Now there are some 15,000 VC-backed Fintech ventures. The catalyst for growth was the availability of technology but also the advent of the cloud, reducing infrastructure costs. Most importantly, however, was the mindset change from mass doubt to mass trust in online security. Morris’s roles as a President at Visa and CFO at Citigroup prepared him for investing in Fintech, but he explains that it’s complex to handpick a winner. He then explains his fund’s unique network base of 55 senior LPAs (Limited Partner Advisors), who both act as investors and an invaluable source of experience and advice to founders. The list includes Osama Bedier from Google and Brian Finn From Credit Suisse.

Why does this matter? Nyca Partners just raised a fresh $210m for its third Fintech focused fund, riding the surge of Fintech start-ups – last year, investment in the space reached an all-time high of more than $12 billion, with Robinhood, Coinbase, and Plaid all raising multi-hundred-million-dollar rounds. As a recent KPMG report discusses, regulators are waking up to the expansion and are calling for strict data protection and risk management.

(The commentary contained in the above article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation, or a recommendation to implement or liquidate an investment or to carry out any other transaction. It should not be used as a basis for any investment decision or other decision. Any investment decision should be based on appropriate professional advice specific to your needs.)