Sharesies
{{Short description|New Zealand investing platform}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Sharesies
| logo = Sharesies logo.png
| logo_caption =
| type = Private
| industry = Stockbroking
| founded = {{Start date and age|2017}}
| founders = {{Flatlist |
- Richard Clark
- Ben Crotty
- Brooke Roberts
- Leighton Roberts
- Martyn Smith
- Sonya Williams }}
| hq_location_city = Wellington
| hq_location_country = New Zealand
| area_served = New Zealand and Australia
| key_people =
| products = Stockbroker, micro-investing trading platform
| owners = {{Flatlist |
- Trade Me (15.4%)
- Discount Nominees (9.5%)
- Brooke Roberts (6.26%)
- Leighton Roberts (6.26%)
- Sonya Williams (6.26%) }} (2020)
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year =
| parent =
| website = {{URL|https://www.sharesies.nz/}}
}}
Sharesies is a New Zealand stockbroker and micro-investing app that allows users to buy and sell fractions of shares on the stock market rather than requiring users to buy or sell entire shares.{{Cite news |date=17 September 2024 |title=Democraticising stocks: Brooke Roberts leads an investment platform valued at $500 million |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/528163/democraticising-stocks-brooke-roberts-leads-an-investment-platform-valued-at-500-million |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=RNZ}} It was launched in 2017.
{{As of |2024}}, it had 700,000 clients in New Zealand and Australia.
History
The company was founded by Richard Clark, Ben Crotty, Brooke Roberts, Leighton Roberts, Martyn Smith and Sonya Williams in 2017.{{Cite news |date=13 March 2024 |title=My money: Brooke Roberts |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350202502/my-money-brooke-roberts |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Stuff}}{{Cite news |date=18 June 2017 |title=New start up wants all Kiwis to start investing, even if it's just $5 |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/93576029/new-start-up-wants-all-kiwis-to-start-investing-even-if-its-just-5 |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=Stuff}} The founders were working corporate jobs as they started the company, and pitched it to a business accelerator programme run by Kiwibank and Creative HQ.{{Cite news |date=20 January 2025 |title=Record trading on Sharesies platform |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/539122/record-trading-on-sharesies-platform |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=RNZ}}{{Cite news |date=18 October 2017 |title=Sharesies the love: how an online investing startup took flight |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-10-2017/sharesies-the-love-how-an-online-investing-startup-took-flight |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=The Spinoff}}
The platform saw a big rise in the number of users during the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020.{{Cite news |date=31 July 2020 |title=Capital Markets report: Pandemic boosts interest in online investment platform Sharesies |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/business-reports/capital-markets-report/capital-markets-report-pandemic-boosts-interest-in-online-investment-platform-sharesies/7KPHXVUN4DLKZ4SOYJ2ENATRHU/?ref=readmore |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=The New Zealand Herald}} By 2022, Sharesies reached 500,000 users, meaning that about 11 per cent of the country's population used the platform.{{Cite news |date=17 January 2022 |title=Sharesies adds 500,000th user as retail boom continues |url=https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/markets/sharesies-adds-500000th-user-as-retail-boom-continues |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Business Desk}} By late 2024, Sharesies had 700,000 users in New Zealand and Australia and was managing $5 billion invested by its users. During the last quarter of 2024, about $3.1 billion was traded using Sharesies.
In 2021 Sharesies started allowing Australian clients to use the platform, and also allowed users to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.{{Cite news |date=20 April 2021 |title=Sharesies expands to offer investors access to Australian Stock Exchange |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/440839/sharesies-expands-to-offer-investors-access-to-australian-stock-exchange |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=RNZ}} In 2023 Sharesies launched no-fees savings accounts.{{Cite news |date=19 April 2023 |title=Sharesies expands offering with new no-fees savings account |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/488264/sharesies-expands-offering-with-new-no-fees-savings-account |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=RNZ}} In 2024, Sharesies bought the Auckland-based investor management platform start-up Orchestra.{{Cite news |date=12 April 2024 |title=Sharesies buys investor management platform Orchestra |url=https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/editors-picks/sharesies-buys-investor-management-platform-orchestra |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Business Desk}} That year the company started allowing users to trade shares of the Fonterra co-operative, which can only be traded by dairy farmers. Sharesies has suggested that they may allow trading of shares of other co-operatives on the Unlisted Securities Exchange such as Zespri in the future.{{Cite news |date=18 April 2024 |title=Sharesies to host online trading of Fonterra shares |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/514635/sharesies-to-host-online-trading-of-fonterra-shares |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=RNZ}}
In 2020, Sharesies raised $25 million, including from Trade Me, Icehouse Ventures and Stephen Tindall's company K1W1. In 2020 the largest shareholders were Trade Me (15.4 per cent) and Discount Nominees (9.5 per cent). Co-founders Brooke Roberts, Leighton Roberts and Sonya Williams each owned 6.26 per cent.{{Cite news |date=9 December 2020 |title=Sharesies raises $25 million to expand across the ditch |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/markets/sharesies-raises-25-million-to-expand-across-the-ditch/ASD6WJUULXMU47GEZLGHENSHLU/ |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=The New Zealand Herald}} A funding round in 2021 valued the company at $500 million.
Williams has said that her first ever investment was on Sharesies, because she did not have enough capital to use the more traditional means of investing.{{Cite news |date=14 September 2022 |title=Sharesies co-founder Sonya Williams' first ever investment was on the platform she built |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300686822/sharesies-cofounder-sonya-williams-first-ever-investment-was-on-the-platform-she-built |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=Stuff}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y|Money}}
{{Online brokerages}}
Category:New Zealand companies established in 2017
Category:Financial services companies established in 2017
Category:Online financial services companies of New Zealand