Investment Service and Product Launches

FiComm and ProudMouth Start Podcast Creation Program for Advisers

Marketing and PR company FiComm Partners and podcast accelerator ProudMouth have launched a program to give financial advisers an end-to-end podcasting platform, the firms announced in a press release.

FiComm’s AmpliFi Podcast project provides advisers with the coaching, training and promotional aspects to get advisers up and running with a podcast, as well as create landing pages, social media posts, email campaigns and PR outreach to consumer-facing media to maximize reach while generating leads and prospect conversion, according to the release.

As part of the partnership with ProudMouth, advisers will have their podcasts professionally produced and packaged, streamlining the process of delivering their content in an effective and efficient way.

“The number of advisors launching podcasts is on the rise as consumers continue to look to digital channels for financial education, perspective and connection,” Megan Carpenter, CEO of Los Angeles-based FiComm Partners, said in the release. “In today’s digital environment, podcasts are the new blogs. Advisers need to show up in an authentic and human-first way to connect with their target audience.”

ProudMouth, which is based in Oshawa, Ontario, works with sales leaders to help make them authorities on their subjects through professionally produced podcasts and social media strategies, according to the release.

21Shares Starts Crypto Index Built for Passive Income

21Shares AG, the world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products, announced in a press release it has launched a basket of crypto assets tied to a staking index, which gives investors the option to “lock up” their crypto holding for a period of time in return for passive income without having to sell the asset.

21Shares, a subsidiary of 21.co, said its new 21Shares Staking Basket Index ETP is the world’s first crypto staking index exchange-traded product, according to the release.

The index methodology was built in collaboration with Swedish index provider Vinter and includes cryptocurrencies Binance Coin, Cardano, Cosmos, Polkadot, Solana and Tezos, according to 21Shares. The index will rebalance on a semi-annual basis in March and September to reflect market shifts.

“Staking is a long-standing feature of the blockchain ecosystem that allows crypto holders to earn rewards in exchange for locking up their assets,” Arthur Krause, the director of ETP product at 21Shares parent company 21.co, , said in the release. “Our research has shown that investors are interested in diversified, crypto-native return streams—especially amid crypto winter.”

The 21Shares Staking Basket Index ETP is available for trading on the BX Swiss exchange. Zurich, Switzerland-based 21.co has 40 products across 12 exchanges in eight countries.

Caplight Launches Platform to Monitor Private Company Valuations

Caplight Technologies Inc., which gives investors access to private companies, has launched a platform for tracking venture-backed private company stock prices, valuations and trading activity, the San Francisco-based firm announced in a press release.

Caplight Data is designed to provide visibility into private company stock prices by providing users with access to a large and growing dataset of more than 10,000 private company transactional data points. Caplight Data currently has information for 370 late-stage private companies, according to the release.

Caplight’s existing MarketPrice evaluated pricing algorithm is also a feature of Caplight Data and provides near real-time tracking of private company stock prices. MarketPrice seeks to predict the price points of future secondary-market trades and can be used to track a portfolio of private company stock prices over time, according to the release.

Caplight was founded in 2021 and has raised $10 million from investors, according to the firm.

BNY Mellon, Pershing Brings Real-Time Payments to RIAs

The combined company of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and its Pershing LLC subsidiary announced in a press release that they have added a real-time payments option to NetXInvestor, a platform used by registered investment advisers and broker/dealers to help clients manage their portfolios.

BNY Mellon and Pershing have integrated real-time payments technology into the client portal to enable real-time deposits and withdrawals, giving investors immediate access to irrevocable and secure funds (subject to funds availability), the New York-based firms announced.

“Automation and efficiency are high priorities for investment professionals and consumers, so we are continually innovating and adding to our suite of digital payables and receivables functions for NetXInvestor, like this BNY Mellon-developed RTP technology,” Ram Nagappan, CIO of Pershing, said in the release.

Pershing provides outsourcing services to wealth management and institutional firms for trading and settlement services, investment solutions, bank and brokerage custody, middle and back-office support, data insights and business consulting.