BUX: A Dutch Neobroker
//If you haven’t seen in the first news update, Bux is running a pre-emption campaign. Invest here (Referral link alert). Please be considerate - the pre-emption allowance is meant for existing investors; Bux has the rare trait of potentially running out of pre-emption allowance. I will write up a blog post with a bit more detail on them, but it will take a day or two, which might be too late. The pitch deck on their campaign is quite informative though, mind you. Anyway, for now, here's a summary of their AMA below (saves you 90 mins), which was essentially a product roadmap. The chat board from the Q&A was not left up, so it's quite nice to have them here for posterity.
//As always, a blog post on this will follow; It will be more ‘readable’, and may go into greater depth. As this scoop is time sensitive, here’s the gist:
Business Summary
If you want a quick summary on here to just see if the business is worth looking into, here you are (you'll have to check out their pitch deck for confidential information I can't include):
They offer CFDs, stocks , crypto, forex and social trading elements. The stock trading business (Bux 0) is a separate app to the others (Bux X). Bux 0 launched 6 months ago in the Netherlands, their Beta is live in Germany and Austria. Bux X is much older, and already live in 9 countries.
Experienced team; CEO founded BinckBank (online broker acquired by Saxobank); Engineering talent from Ripple (Blockchain company), etc.
App downloads in the millions; >150k monthly users (CFD app). Their Stock app is more modest, though. Both platforms are growing fast.
Their CFD business is profitable. They own their own broker back-end, reducing costs.
Convertible note terms (pays interest, unlike ASAs); VC co-investing ; No EIS
Do note that you have to pay for dutch company filings (~5 euros); Its also a problem if you don’t speak dutch!
BUX AMA summary (Product Roadmap)
Here is the main points on what was discussed during the AMA. As i said, it was essentially a product roadmap. I've covered the most interesting points, you can wait for the blog post or watch the Q&A if you want all the tidbits, ofcourse.
BUX X is a derivatives app (community in-app; social trading/follow each other). They offer crypto and Forex. Roadmap for BUX X below:
Bux 0 is their 0 commision stockbroker. A complement app that will not offer leverage. Roadmap below:
European expansion will be as follows: France in Q3 (Without french stocks at first), then Belgium and Nordics. Spain late 2020/early 2021.
Not launching in UK due to Brexit and License issues (Bux 0 does not have FCA license, only dutch license). Bux X (CFDs) is available in UK, though.
They have integrated with apps Tikkie and Yapily; think of these as Openbanking features (linking banking apps, etc)
All US stock trading will be free. US stock launch set for this month, fractionals included.
European stocks are 1eur for instant orders, free for end-of-day orders. Belgium, spanish, and French stocks are next up. Charges for limit orders apply. EU fractional shares coming soon.
US/EU ETFs coming soon (Emerging markets later)
Copy trading (Without income option) and News features might be added
No API on roadmap (Security concerns)
-Scalable platform (Backend written in Java); Company engineers not worried about outages, etc (As with Robinhood, etc)
No aggressive marketing campaign planned (e.g TV), prefers referrals, etc
USP over T212/Trade republic: UI/UX focus and community driven proposition
Larger public crowdfund in future
Bit of fun: You can buy Bux merch @ Buxfanshop.com (take a note, Freetrade!)
Doei-doei,
Nathan