Nearly 50% of 2017’s Initial Coin Offerings are currently failing, and one serious factor in this lack of success comes from the lack of trust in a business. Investing in ICOs is risky. Little regulation results in a vulnerability to fraud, and is putting off people from contributing - and rightly so, why would you want to just throw away money?

With that said, ICOs can prove an incredible investment opportunity, with huge potential for growth starting at the pre-sale; and if a potential contributor has trust in a project, there is absolutely no reason for them not to invest.

So how can you earn investors’ trust? This week Tomislav Matic, CEO of Crypto Future, provides Finance Monthly with his top five ways to incite trust in potential investors.

1. Be transparent

One key factor in convincing others of your legitimacy is through being as transparent as possible. Of course, not every detail can be given away, but letting potential contributors understand the inner workings of your company can go a long way to showing them all the work being put into your ICO.

Being transparent develops a unique relationship with investors. Show them you align with legal compliance - you could even go as far as showing off clips of on-site testing; whatever it takes to show the world that you are genuine in your efforts, working hard to make this project a success - it goes much further than you might think.

2. Go social

On average, people spend 116 minutes of their day on social media - just under two hours checking what other people are doing. Only a fool would miss out on this opportunity for both exposure, and a chance to involve future contributors.

Use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter - and other social media sites too - to give people regular updates on product details, blog posts, interviews, information; anything you can think of. Frequent updates through a channel that people will be checking regardless go a long way to making investors feel involved in the progression of the project, connected and valued - that extra insight only helps towards bridging that relationship.

3. Introduce your team

By now, contributors feel the platform is safe, they know the inner workings of your product, and they feel involved with the project; it’s time to show them the team behind it. It’s all well and good having a brilliant product, but if you’ve got someone running the ICO who isn’t capable of delivering it, how can an investor trust it?

Roll out the blogs, the interviews, the Q&As, and get their social media accounts active too. Does your CEO have an incredible track record of getting ICOs off the ground? Shout about it. And an inexperienced leadership team isn’t necessarily a bad thing either - you just need to show to contributors why they are in the position they hold.

4. Create an extensive whitepaper

Not everyone will go through the entire whitepaper from front to back, but having a detailed outline of everything to do with your project gives contributors access to any specific information they might need.

Having a strong, comprehensive whitepaper in place allows investors to complete their due diligence at their own leisure. It’s a recurring theme: access to information. The more access, the more allowance you give for trust to blossom.

5. Outlining a clearly defined roadmap

Actions speak louder than words, but if you’re showing future contributors exactly what you’re planning and how you’re going to implement that plan, and then following through on it, there is absolutely no reason for them to believe that you can’t continue in that vein.

Outlining your strategy is a brilliant way of proving that you follow up on promises, and if you can do it before the ICO even starts, even with the smallest steps, investors will be more inclined to put their faith in you once the sale has kicked off.

Building trust is by no means easy, but it is incredibly vital to aiding your ICO’s success. It can without doubt be the difference between an ICO that hits the ground running, and one that flops completely.

The process starts early, and requires a huge amount of time and effort - much like building trust face to face - but the rewards are tremendous.

Phil Sugden, Director at flexible workspace solutions provider, Portal Group, discusses below how the Managed Office Solutions concept has reduced the risk of capital expenditure for fast-growing companies when relocating offices.

In a rapidly evolving market place, businesses are often growing at an entirely unpredictable rate. While growth is one of the most highly valued characteristics of any successful organisation, it often causes logistical and financial challenges when relocating to a larger workspace under the traditional office lease and the serviced model.

Businesses that opt for the traditional lease model are highly restricted in terms of flexibility, fit out and capital expenditure, thus limiting future developments and changes. While the serviced model offers more flexibility, businesses still face limitations on how they can use the office environment to reflect their brand.

Selecting an integrated service offering, such as Managed Office Solutions (MOS), offers a ‘third way’ for businesses to relocate to larger premises. Using MOS, offices are tailored to the client’s exact needs with the added advantages of risk mitigation, the removal of capex requirements and contract terms to meet business planning horizons.

The typical challenge for a small business that has outgrown its existing premises is finding and setting up an alternative location with access to high-calibre talent in a short space of time. In addition, extensive lease lengths can restrict SMEs from finding a new workspace that is wholly suited to their growth strategy.

Historically, companies opting for the traditional lease model have committed to the security of lengthy 10, 15 or even 20 year leases. As business plans often change several times over lengthy lease terms, this certainty has come at a critical price of flexibility in an often volatile economic climate.

The contract lengths for MOS, however, typically range from 3-5 years and therefore enable companies that require a high number of workstations, to more closely align their accommodation requirements with their actual business needs, allowing them to expand or downsize as required.

When expanding under the traditional office lease, businesses are required to self-source and invest substantial capital expenditure in what would be a large, ‘from-scratch’ project. Outsourcing fit-out and facilities management providers when relocating offices can be a costly and time-consuming process.

In addition, the exit fees and dilapidation costs can present even the most well-established businesses with a weighty unnecessary expenditure at the end of a lease.

As a result, small to medium sized businesses are now viewing their office space requirements as a strategic component of their business plan, and thus opting for more flexible leasing options at a fixed price, with no additional costs.

Leases are rapidly becoming an outdated concept, and under more flexible workspace contracts such as Managed Office Solutions (MOS), agreements can be negotiated so they are based on inclusive managed contracts that are priced on a per workstation basis with no capital expenditure or risk.

By having a single cost for the property, facilities management, fit out and ongoing management, flexible methods like MOS remove what can be considerable associated upfront capital expenditure costs, while allowing business funds to be utilised more effectively on operational costs for the property itself.

Simply put, the new wave of shared offices options are allowing SMEs to not only access all the services they need at a cost-certain price, but to work within a flexible financial model that actively encourages their individual development and culture.

The UK’s passion for innovation means it is now seen as a global leader in the development of financial services that are powered by prepaid technology, according to data released by Prepaid International Forum (PIF).

PIF, the not-for-profit trade body representing the prepaid sector, reports that the percentage of UK adults using tech-based financial services has risen to 42% (up from 14% in 2015). The UK is at the forefront of this growing market in Europe, ahead of Spain (37%) and Germany (35%). The UK is third globally to only China (69%) and India (52%).

Fueling this growth in the UK is prepaid, which has become a driving force for the fintech companies who are rapidly transforming the way we pay and get paid. The prepaid sector in Europe is growing faster than anywhere else in the world (up 18% since 2014 compared to just 6% growth in the US) is now worth $131bn*.

Experts believe that the UK’s passion for innovation may help to offset the potential negative effects of a no-deal Brexit, should UK financial service providers lose its right of automatic access to EU markets.

Diane Brocklebank, spokesperson for PIF, says: “The UK is a globally significant player in the creation of prepaid-enabled financial services with consumers keen to adopt new and innovative services and a growing industry of experts with the knowledge needed to develop such products and bring them to market.

“In a global sector, the UK stands out as being a key market and one that should retain its prized status even if it loses its financial passporting rights as a result of a no-deal Brexit.”

The UK’s status in prepaid is significant as it is a sector that is growing much faster than other financial services. In Europe, the 18.6% growth in prepaid since 2014, compares to just 7.8% growth in consumer debit and 5.8% growth in consumer credit markets*.

Diane Brocklebank, continues: “Prepaid and Fintech are the areas where people looking to invest in financial service businesses are seeing the most potential. This is being driven by increased dissatisfaction with mainstream financial services and a desire for greater innovation and flexibility, particularly amongst consumers looking for lower costs and fees as well as smartphone accessible products.

“The UK’s status as a global player is therefore crucial to it continuing to be seen as a key market for such investment. To maintain this, it must continue to be a positive environment for innovation with a supportive regulatory environment and strong skills base.”

(Source: PIF)

This week Finance Monthly benefits from expert insight into the financial world, with a close look at the development of fintechs and the increasing need for these to come together for the sake of progress. Here Ian Stone, CEO of Vuealta, describes some of the challenges ahead, and the solutions that are already possible.

Between 2010 and 2015, the financial services industry changed drastically. In just those five years, four of today’s most successful fintech companies were launched; namely Stripe, Revolut, Starling Bank and Monzo. These launches all had one thing in common; putting the customer at the centre of the operation, untied to legacy or history. Fast forward and the fintech industry is coming of age, with the UK’s fintech sector alone attracting £1.34 billion of venture capital funding in 2017, and new companies launching into market every day.

Scaling up

This success means that the challenge these companies now face is one of scale. To keep moving forward, they need to be able to expand and scale up quickly and easily to support their growing customer bases. They need to do this at the same time as maintaining the flawless, fully-digitised customer service that they have become synonymous for. No easy feat.

How they play this growth period is therefore vital. They need to be fast in making decisions and flexible enough to adapt to the constant changes that are now part and parcel of today’s market. That means arming themselves with the tools and information that will help them achieve that.

A new age of planning

The key is in the planning. As digital companies, fintechs already benefit from high levels of flexibility and adaptability. These traits must also be reflected in how they approach their business planning if they stand a chance of still being relevant five years down the road. A recent survey by Ernst & Young revealed that a third of UK fintech companies believe that they’re likely to IPO in that timeframe – a clear demonstration of the rewards that can be reaped from staying successful. What will set the successes apart from the failures is connectivity. A more connected company with a more connected approach to how it plans will be more successful.

Realising a connected approach to planning

By connecting their people, processes and data, fintech companies will be able to more accurately forecast their revenue, costs and liquidity on a monthly if not weekly or daily basis. They’ll be able to model and digest significant variations in activity and resources, as well as changes in operating models and growth scenarios.

Holding information in different siloes makes it almost impossible for a business to have an accurate view of where money is being spent, meaning the value of forecasts are limited. For those looking to scale up their operations, both from a size and geography point of view, these forecast insights are invaluable. Expansion is an expensive business, so using the company’s data, connecting it and breaking down those silos to make more informed, accurate decisions will help ensure that they don’t burn through valuable capital.

It will also help them stay nimble. This is a period of significant change, with new regulations, political fluctuations affecting currency rates, access to skills and trade deals, amongst other things. The future is unclear so staying nimble means having a clear view and plan for what multiple futures could look like. By having a holistic view of how the entire business is performing and then using that data to forecast where it is likely to be in one, three, ten years’ time, the future becomes much more predictable and achievable. Suddenly, a fintech company can start making decisions now that before may have seemed too risky.

When implemented properly at both a technological and an organisational level, connected planning provides an intuitive map of how decisions ripple through an entire organisation. That is only possible with a real-time overview of the business and the ability to quickly understand the impact of any market changes. This is a critical point for fintech companies.

The competition is growing and although the larger banks will never be able to match new fintechs in terms of agility, they have experience, big customer bases and money on their side. Taking a more connected approach to how fintechs plan will be key to success. Only with a clear view of how the business is performing and scenarios for when that performance is jeopardised, will these companies cement their place in the future of finance.

After some time of speculation, the Bank of England confirmed interest rate hike last week, by 0.25%. Already we have seen some banks act fast in passing this hike onto the customer, in particular mortgage buyers, as opposed to savings rates.

In this week’s Your Thoughts, Finance Monthly has collated several expert comments from UK based professionals with expert knowledge on this topic.

Richard Haymes, Head of Financial Difficulties, TDX Group:

While an interest rate rise is positive news for people living on their savings income, or holding pensions and investments, it may prove to be the tipping point for those in financial difficulty or struggling with debt.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) have reached record levels and we expect the rate of monthly IVAs and Trust Deeds to grow by around 17% this year. A rise in interest rates will make it much harder for people in these arrangements, and there’s a risk they’ll default on their strict requirements.

A large portion of people who are in personal insolvency hold a mortgage (over a fifth according to personal insolvency practice Creditfix), and a rate rise will obviously increase their mortgage repayments. Due to these people’s unfavourable credit circumstances, it’s likely that majority of mortgage holders in insolvency are tied to variable mortgage products, leaving them particularly vulnerable to a higher interest environment.

Holders of a £250,000 mortgage will have to absorb a monthly repayment increase of £31* as a result of this 0.25% hike. Modest as it may appear to many, for people in structured debt management plans or IVAs this could have a very significant impact, even resulting in their debt solution becoming defunct or in need of renegotiation.

Jon Ostler, UK CEO, finder.com:

This rate rise decision comes as no surprise. Our panel of nine leading economists unanimously predicted that the interest rate would rise by 25 base points, and this is a positive sign that the economy is growing stronger.

It’s particularly good news for savers, who have suffered ultra-low interest rates for the past decade. They can expect a rise to their savings, albeit a small one. Now is a good time to consider switching your banking products, as banks will be reviewing their rates. Make sure you keep an eye on which banks are offering the best interest rates as not all of their products will increase by the BoE’s 25 basis points.

On the other hand, borrowers and homeowners with a mortgage are likely to face extra costs. For example, those paying off the UK’s average mortgage debt with a variable rate mortgage face paying an extra £17-£18 per month, which adds up to an extra £200 per year or more than £6,000 over the life of a 30-year loan term.

Angus Dent, CEO, ArchOver:

While banks are likely to pass the rate rise straight onto borrowers, they will be less keen to pass it on immediately to savers. Aspirational borrowing such as mortgages and bank loans will get more expensive – so the man in the street needs to counter that with strong returns on savings. Only 50% of savings account rates changed after last year’s rise, so there’s good reason to be underwhelmed.

But this is certainly a step in the right direction for the cautious Bank of England. While such an incremental rise won’t shake the earth, and probably means business as usual, it nevertheless spells good news for the UK.

The country is still hungry for a stronger economy, ten years after the financial crash. Both savers and investors are now aware that to chase higher returns, they need to open the door to alternative opportunities. Alternative finance options that offer higher yields – without sacrificing security – offer savers a path to higher returns in a still-struggling economy.

Savings accounts still aren’t the safety net they once were. Despite this rate rise, savers still need to cast the net wide in the hunt for higher returns.

Markus Kuger, Senior Economist, Dun & Bradstreet:

This rate hike had been anticipated by the markets, despite inflation having fallen in recent months, as UK growth seems to have recovered from the poor performance in Q1. The effects of the rate rise will be minimal, given the Bank’s forward guidance over the past months. The progress in Brexit talks will remain the most important factor for companies and households in the near to medium term. Dun & Bradstreet maintains its current real GDP and inflation forecasts for 2018-19 and we continue to forecast a modest recovery in 2019, assuming the successful completion of the talks with the EU.

Max Lehrain, Chief Operating Officer, Relendex:

The increase in interest rates is a significant moment as it is the first time the Bank of England has raised interest rates above 0.5 in nearly a decade. However, for savers, this change should act as a wakeup call as it is not likely to have a material impact on their investment meaning that those stuck in standard savings accounts are still missing out.

This is in large part down to the rate of inflation far outstripping interest rates, even with today's increase. In simple terms this means that if your savings earn 0.75% interest they are being eaten into by the effects of inflation.

With traditional lenders offering low returns on their savings accounts and cash ISA products, savers who are looking to achieve higher rates of returns should still consider alternative options. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending for example, can offer substantially higher returns, giving a good income boost when interest rates are still relatively low.

Innovative savers will identity these options to take this interest rate rise out of the equation. In real terms, over a three year period investing £5,000 in a cash ISA is likely to render a return ranging from £15 to £113, whereas P2P providers offer prospective returns far exceeding that. For example, investing £5,000 in a provider that offers 8%, would see returns of approximately £1,300 over a three year period.

Nigel Green, CEO, deVere Group:

Hiking interest rates now – for only the second time since the financial crash – is, to my mind, premature.

At just above the Bank’s target of 2%, inflation is not currently a key issue. In addition, major uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the looming threat of international trade wars, and absolutely average economic growth, business and consumer confidence are on the slide.

As such, there seems little real justification to increase interest rates now.

Against this back drop, why is the Bank of England raising rates today?

Has the decision been motivated in order to protect reputations and credibility after the Bank’s Governor and some of the committee had effectively already said the rise would happen?

Whilst today’s decision to hike rates is unnecessary, I think that the Bank is likely to refrain from any more increases until after Brexit.

Paul Mumford, Cavendish Asset Management:

The decision on balance might be the wrong one. While all agree that rates need to return to normality eventually, panicking and doing it for the sake of it - or just because other countries are doing it - will only make things worse.

The idea, as in these other regions, is to start incrementally escalating rates in a managed way as growth and inflation tick up. But the UK is in quite a distinct situation. To borrow some terminology from the Tories, the economy is stable, but far from strong - and certainly not booming. Higher interest rates could have very disruptive effects on sectors such as housing, where it could trigger a rush to buy at fixed rates, and motors and retail, which are performing OK but contain a lot of highly geared companies. This does not look like the sort of economy you want - or can afford - to remove demand from. Meanwhile the pound is holding firm at its lower base, so there is no immediate impetus to shore up the currency.

And of course looming behind all this is Brexit. Interest rates may be needed as a weapon to combat sudden inflation from tariffs should the worst happen and we crash out of Europe without a deal. It would make more sense to save the powder until there is more clarity on this front, and we now what sort of economic environment we're all heading into. The last thing we want is to be in a situation where we are stuck with higher and higher rates to combat inflation, while growth remains anaemic or stagnant.

These things are all swings and roundabouts, of course - one big plus from rate rises is that they will ease our mounting problem with big pension fund deficits. Whether this will make it worth the risk remains to be seen.

Stuart Law, CEO, Assetz Capital:

It looks like savers will be disappointed once again. Although the rate has risen slightly, this is unlikely to be passed on to savers, with many banks having form for just applying increases to borrowers.

What’s more, the Bank of England's statement that future increases will be at a 'gradual pace' implies that savers won't see returns that outstrip inflation for months - and potentially even years.

Rob Douglas, VP of UKI and Nordics, Adaptive Insights:

Ultimately, it is the companies that do not currently have sound financial planning processes in place that are likely to be impacted when changes like this occur, as it can upend budgeting and forecasting, making it difficult for finance and management teams to develop accurate financial plans and make business-critical decisions.

The 0.25% extra interest rate is being announced at an already uncertain time, when many fear the long-term effects of a possible no-deal Brexit or a potential trade war with the US on their business, organisations across the country will need to once again adjust their financial plans accordingly. To do this, companies must plan in real-time, with current data from across the organisation, so that they can mitigate potentially damaging consequences, such as a negative impact on profit margins.

The interest rate hike, while expected, is a reminder why businesses need to be able to continuously update their financial forecasts in real-time. Manual spreadsheets and processes simply don’t cut it anymore and finance teams need to be able to respond to economic changes such as this efficiently and effectively. With a modern, active approach to planning and forecasting, businesses will have the foresight and visibility to make better decisions faster, minimising the impact of unexpected government, regulatory or economic changes.

Paddy Osborn, Academic Dean, London Academy of Trading (LAT):

As widely expected, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the UK base rate by 0.25% today, stating that the low GDP data in Q1 2018 was just a blip, the UK labour market has tightened further and wage growth is increasing. This is the highest level of interest rates in the UK in more than nine years, and the MPC’s vote to raise rates was actually 9-0, against expectations of 8-1 or even 7-2.

There was also an unanimous vote to keep the level of government bond purchases at £435 billion, although the MPC remains cautious about the potential reactions of households, businesses and financial markets to future Brexit developments.

Assuming the economy develops in line with current projections, they stated that any future increases in the Bank rate (to return inflation to the 2% target) are likely to be “at a gradual pace and to a limited extent”.

In currency markets, GBP/USD spiked 50 pips higher from 1.3070 within 10 minutes of the announcement, but has since collapsed back below 1.3100. The longer term view for GBP/USD remains bearish, although there are a number of political and fundamental factors which may affect Cable in the coming weeks, namely Brexit developments, the developing trade war, and US interest rates.

The stock market, having fallen over 200 points since yesterday morning, failed to find any solace in the MPC comments and is currently trading at its 1-month lows around 7550. Higher interest rates mean higher cost of debt for companies, and this will often encourage investors to take some money out of their (more risky) stock market investments.

Feel free to offer Your Thoughts in the comment box below and tell us what you think.

The investing landscape has changed significantly over the last decades. Historically, the large banks have been happy enough to manage investors’ money and keep hold of the information. For those wanting to become involved, it was too tough, or too expensive. Here Finance Monthly hears from Kerim Derhalli, CEO at Invstr, on the potential for fintech to succeed in a complex evolving landscape.

Now, with an unprecedented amount of tools at our fingertips to make the process of committing cash to the stock market – or indeed other assets such as bonds – much easier, you’d expect us to be experiencing a golden age for financial independence and empowerment.

Despite this, the data tells a very different story. A recent US study by Gallup, for example, found that the combined age of adults younger than 35 with money in the stock market in 2017 and 2018 stands at 37%, down from 52% in the two years leading up to the financial crash.

While it’s true that a lingering distrust of financial institutions is impacting millennial sentiment towards stock ownership there’s a bigger story here of a more fundamental failing across the fintech industry – which is still not even scratching the surface of its potential.

Let’s look at this in simple, real world terms. If I were to stand on a street corner and hand out £5 notes to anyone passing by, I'm sure I would have several million people taking up the offer of free cash. If I stood on a digital street corner, the uptake would be even higher.

However, fintech brokers who have deployed these same techniques have apparently failed to attract huge followings. What are they missing?

Well, what many of these platforms are failing to understand is that investing is a process, not an event. Understanding what is going on in the world or at an individual company level, reading the news, following the markets, looking at charts, reading research, talking to friends, peers or strangers to get investment ideas are all part of the process.

The last part, the buying and the selling, only represents 1% of the investment process, and is by far the least exciting part of it. Companies that make the transactional and comparatively dry element the focus of their product are missing the fundamental quality of what makes fintech such an exciting proposition – and doing wannabe investors a disservice in the process.

For me, fintech is the manifestation in the financial markets of the information revolution. Whether it’s about internet or social networks, the sharing economy and now cryptocurrencies – it’s all about empowering individuals.

With investing apps, this means giving users access to data that was formerly the reserve of the large financial institutions and teaching them to interpret how real world events can impact on the stock market.

This is excellent practice for investing, whether via a mobile app or otherwise, where those who truly profit chart a path by making their own investment decisions rather than relying on passive funds that track the major exchanges.

Ultimately, it’s about putting people in a position where they can manage their own money. The disruption we’ve seen in every other consumer sector, where the empowerment of individuals has done away with intermediaries is the real opportunity. If more companies in the fintech industry can capture that space then the impact on finance will be truly transformative.

Taking a closer look at the start-up industry in Europe, card processing specialists, Paymentsense, have conducted research to find out which countries have seen the most significant rise in start-ups between 2013 -2017.

 The data has been mapped out across Europe allowing users to uncover the industries that each country specialises in and how fast those industries are growing.

Paymentsense analysed 30 European countries and ranked each one of them based on how many new businesses have been registered in that 5-year period and which business types have been the most popular in these countries.

Turkey tops the list with the most start-ups registered, followed by France and then the United Kingdom. However, data reveals that the UK is the fastest growing start-up nation in Europe and has brought more than a few successful companies to Europe, including Transferwise and Deliveroo.

Top 10 countries fuelling the European start-up industry:

Among all these countries, the UK has seen the biggest growth in the number of start-ups between 2013 and 2017 at 5.09%, followed by Romania and Portugal. What all of them have in common is a business-friendly environment that gives founders the possibility to grow and nurture their company over time.

When looking at what type of start-ups have dominated Europe in the last few years, wholesale and retail have the largest presence with 3.7 million new businesses started up.

This is surprising to see when in recent years we have seen a retail crash with companies like Woolworths and ToysRUs go bust.

The type of companies that have started up in Europe between 2013-2017

Guy Moreve, Chief Marketing Officer at Paymentsense, says: “It’s interesting to see that the UK ranks among the top five countries with the highest numbers of registered new businesses. It shows that the country offers a great setting for those interested in founding their own company.

Further afield, it’s fascinating to see how Europe has changed in recent times. A number of countries are now placing more emphasis on technology which has helped create a ‘golden era’ for tech startups.

“In order to thrive a business in your respective country, make sure you analyse the market you’re addressing – what works best and what doesn’t; It’s also worth looking at the legal and environmental conditions in order to make sure your business idea is a success”.

(Source: Paymentsense)

The rapidly expanding tech startups industry is progressively becoming the future and face of the business world and those who want to nurture their inner Elon Musk are increasingly travelling abroad to emerging tech hubs. Although, Silicon Valley still remains the undisputed destination for startups and venture capitalists, a new crop of global tech hubs are rapidly expanding to match the talent oozing out of the Bay Area.

A recent study by SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk has revealed the best rising tech hubs for people who are seeking entrepreneurial opportunities. The research took into account the average internet speed, the average business valuation, and cost of living, among other metrics.

1. Boulder, US - With the second highest internet speed, Boulder has over 5,000 business investors and an average business valuation coming in at $4.3 million. Boulder is a prime location for those wanting to start their next tech-startup.

2. Bangalore, India - In spite of an average internet speed of 11mbps, Bangalore has over 6,000 investors and an average business value of $3.4 million making it one of the best locations on the Asian continent.

3. Johannesburg, South Africa - As one of the most affordable tech hubs for young innovators, Johannesburg boasts reasonable average monthly rent cost of $416. The city has an average business valuation of $3.6 million and over 1,200 investors.

4. Santiago, Chile - With 1,201 startups, Santiago is considered as a new home for tech startup companies, making it a great destination for those in the South American continent. The city has an average monthly rent cost of $372, making it the second cheapest city to live behind Colombo in Sri Lanka.

5. Stockholm, Sweden - Named the 9th happiest country in the world, Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and ranks number 5 for the World's Rising Tech Hubs. The city also scores highly for its internet connectivity with the second highest average internet speed of 42mbps behind Houston, Texas.

Digital Hotspots
Connectivity is a non-negotiable in the 21st century working world, especially for tech startups. Although Houston has only having 322 public wifi hotspots, the city number one for the highest average internet speed of 65 mbps. Stockholm offers some of the highest internet speed outside of the United States at 37 mbps.

Business
Recently, there has been growing trends of millenials moving abroad for greater work opportunities. Bangalore is great for young innovators as it call home to over 7,500 startups and the largest amount of investors (6,236). While Boulder in Colorado has the highest average business valuation of $3.4 million.

Living

The cost of living is one of the biggest concerns for many young people especially when the majority of their capital is being used to fund their venture. Helsinki has the highest average monthly rent cost of $1,548, with Tel-Aviv ($1,338), and Boulder ($1,250) respectively. Whereas Lagos has the lowest infrastructure score of 2.4, with the highest being Stockholm (4.27).

Although many still regard cities such as Silicon Valley as one of the few locations where entrepreneurs can develop their untapped entrepreneurial talent. This new study gives insight to the best alternatives rising cities to live and work for innovators outside the overcrowded Bay Area.

PayPal is an American company operating a worldwide online payment system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders. PayPal is one of the world's largest Internet payment system companies.

Established in 1998, PayPal had its initial public offering in 2002, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay later that year. In 2014, eBay announced plans to spin-off PayPal into an independent company. Today, PayPal has over 200 million users worldwide. Under the kind patronage of Samuel Patterson.

Sometimes investing isn’t as straightforward as some make it out to be, and knowing the tricks behind stronger investment strategies can go a long way. This week Finance Monthly benefits from expert advice from Hannah Goldsmith DipPFS, Founder of Goldsmiths Financial Solutions and author of ‘Retire Faster’.

If you’d like your money to work harder, perhaps with a view to retiring sooner, here are five rules you need to follow. And they are probably not what you’re thinking:

1. Trust the markets

The global market is an effective information processing machine. Millions of participants worldwide buy and sell securities in the world markets every day. The real time information they bring to the market helps set the market price. With more than 98 million trades a day, the probability is miniscule that a committee, sitting in a board room and discussing where to invest your money, will spot a favourable discrepancy in a stock price. It is possible, but it is also highly improbable.

Instead, of buying retail funds selected by a fund manager, buy a diversified basket of global index tracker funds and let the markets work for you. A wide basket of stocks from around the world linked directly to market returns can reduce the risk of trying to outguess the markets or worse, paying somebody else to outguess the markets.

2. Diversification is key

Investment returns are random; they cannot be predicted with any certainty. Therefore, don’t limit your investments to a handful of stocks or one stock market. This is a concentrated strategy with high risk implications.

You cannot be certain which parts of the world will outperform others, if bonds will outperform equities, or if large stocks will outperform small stocks. So, don’t let your financial adviser visit you each year moving and changing your funds to justify their existence and their fees. They are wasting your money.

Instead, buy the global market using a diversified basket of index tracker funds and leave the speculation to the gamblers.

3. The Financial Services Industry does not have your best interest at heart

Conventional wealth management institutions are far happier when the status quo prevails; it’s more profitable for them and their shareholders. Why would they provide you with an opportunity to move your money to a competitor at their expense, even if it was in your best financial interest? These corporates are in business to maximise shareholder value – not your investment returns.

It is therefore essential to take back control of your money and ensure that the ‘hidden’ ongoing portfolio costs are kept to the bare minimum. Aim to keep the costs of managing your portfolio at under 1%. The industry average is in the region of 2.3%, so if you save yourself even 1% a year you will have made a substantial amount of money using compounding interest over the life of your portfolio.

For example; if you invested £100,000 with a traditional financial services company paying a total fee of 2.3%, and you received a 7% return on your money for 25 years, you will have a projected future value of £329,332. As £100,000 was yours to start with you will have made a £229,332 profit. The overall cost to you, to make that profit, will have been £109,912.

If you invested £100,000 in a low fee portfolio, paying a total fee of 1.11% and received a 7% return on your money for 25 years you will have a projected future value of £441,601. As £100,000 was yours to start with you will have made a £341,601 profit. The overall cost to you would be £63,718.

This additional £112,269 can be used by you and your family, rather than just giving it away to an industry that feeds the ‘fat cats’. Remember it’s your money … don’t give it away.

4. Think long term, not just about today

When there is a long slow decline in markets, investors want to jump ship and wait for the markets to recover before jumping back in. However, market timing cannot be predicted. Taking your money out in falling markets means you lose real money – thanks to fear. Most people don’t reinvest until they get their optimism back, which is often too late; by then the stocks have risen, you’ve missed out on the gains, and you still have your losses to make up.

Manage your emotions by investing in a risk portfolio that is correlated to your capacity for loss. Not one that is based purely on your search for the highest returns. Remember, investing is for the longer term. History shows that you will be rewarded for your bravery – and your patience.

5. Don’t lose money with the banks

Although the banks’ advertising agencies tell us how wonderful these institutions, I am still reminded of the chaos and misery they caused when they needed bailing out by the tax payer. This was due to what was described by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, as a ‘systematic breakdown in accountability and ethics’.

Your capital deposited in a Bank is being eaten by inflation at 2-3% every year. Over the last 10 years, whilst the stock markets have gone up, the buying power of your bank deposited savings has decreased dramatically and will continue to do so for the immediate future.

My advice is to look at investing, rather than ‘saving’ with a bank; diversify your portfolio; let the markets work for you; and ensure you keep your management fees to around 1%. By following these rules you’ll increase your fund faster and the day you can retire (or splash the money on your dream) will arrive much sooner.

Digital transformation in finance has been the word on many people’s lips for some time now with new FinTechs being created on a daily basis. But it’s not just the FinTechs that have made a shift in this sector, it is also the big global tech firms such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft (GAFAM) that are now giving many organisations a run for their money, finance included, particularly with the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) coming into force.

Flexible and nimble challenger banks are also looking at how they can inject the market with customer-led, creative and digital solutions. Whilst there have been casualties and many failed attempts to claim a share of the market, this injection of competition has certainly stirred things up and made everyone review their brand, how they operate and engage customers more effectively.

Given the challenges over the last ten years, and the marketing-led approach that has been taken by many of these new entrants in financial services, it’s not surprising that the spotlight has returned to marketing and communications as a central component to developing a robust growth strategy.

Monzo, for example, is one such organisation that has ripped up the rule books and taken a fresh new approach to engaging a younger, digital first end customer. Having started as a digital only banking service it was granted a full banking license earlier this year.

Never has it been more relevant and important to have a robust marketing and communications process to support reputation and the development of more credible and trusted relationship with customers.

Central to this is being clear as to what your story is, and what you want to be known for. In an industry where there are many new and older organisations, having a clear point of view that is different and positions you as a credible leader is key to success.

Integral to this communication’s led approach is having a CEO and leadership team that will take the plunge and lead the discussion along this journey. As the head of an organisation, the CEO will directly influence the personality of the business. He or she will set the tone for business behaviours and be fundamental in the creation of its identity (with a little help along the way). In many ways, the CEO is an essential member of the marketing team and leading voice piece for the business, or arguably should be.

Whilst CEOs are rightly focused on growth and financial return, they also recognise the value of building the ‘good’ reputation of their business, with many seeing themselves as the reputational stewards. The KPMG 2017 Global CEO outlook report outlines how reputation and risk, alongside trust in a time of disruption, has risen on the CEO agenda to become one of the top most important issues they face today.

We recently surveyed over 500 CEOs and CMOs, and our research showed us that whilst 95% of CEOs claim to regularly engage with marketing, over 70% then go on to provide a range of reasons why this does not happen in reality. When the CMOs were asked about the levels of contact that they had with their CEO, 42% said they still struggled to engage their CEO. This was particularly interesting given the fact that 84% of CEOs believe that a robust communications strategy is critical to business growth.

It appears that whilst many leaders believe they are involved and engaged, there is a perception gap between the CEO and CMO on what this really means, and what is required of the CEO.

So, despite its growing importance in driving growth and supporting new entrants in the financial services industry and further, there is still a real challenge that needs to be overcome in educating the CEO and leadership teams around marketing and communications in practise and their need to engage actively in this. They may understand its importance, but it appears many CEOs are still unclear about the role they should play, and the value this will have.

For more information on this topic and advice about how we can help you approach this please go to: https://speedcommunications.com/xchange/leadership-marketing-gap/

China has been beating its currently forecast growth rate. According to official data, China's economy grew at an annual pace of 6.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2017.

Over the past year China has seen national economic growth that is unparalleled and unprecedented worldwide. This week Finance Monthly set out to hear Your Thoughts on the following: Is China's economic growth rate on the rise? How resilient can Chinese business maintain current growth? Will consumer demand continue to fuel its growth spurt?

Olivier Desbarres, Managing Director, 4xGlobal Research:

With mounting concerns about the impact of potential protectionist measures on global trade and growth there has been much focus on GDP data releases for the first quarter of the year. China accounted for nearly 30% of world growth last year so Q1 numbers had top billing even if doubts remain as to the reliability of Chinese GDP data.

Chinese GDP growth remained stable in Q1 2018 at 6.8% year-on-year, in line with growth in the previous 10-quarters but marginally higher than analysts’ consensus forecasts and quite a bit faster than the government’s 6.5% target for the full-year of 2018.

The stability of Chinese growth has done little to alleviate concerns that this pace of growth may not be sustainable, given the changes in the underlying driver of growth, or even advisable going forward.

In recent years, aggressive bank lending to households, companies and local government has funded rapid investment growth, including in large infrastructural projects and the property market, and driven overall Chinese growth. Property development investment growth continues to rise at above 10% yoy.

This has led to a sharp rise in public and private sector debt as well as environmental pollution. The government has responded with a raft of measures, including a crackdown on the shadow banking sector, a tightening of real estate companies’ access to credit, a tightening of the approval of local infrastructure projects and pollution controls. These measures may in the medium-term help reduce or at least stabilise debt levels, channel funds to a manufacturing sector which has seen a rapid growth slowdown (to around 6% yoy) and reduce environmental damage. Property sales growth, a leading indicator of property investment, has indeed slowed to around 3.5% yoy.

However, near-term there are concerns that these deleveraging and environmental measures could put pressure on Chinese growth at a time when net trade’s contribution to overall Chinese growth is potentially under threat. For starters, the structural shift in China has seen buoyant consumer demand and imports curb the trade surplus. Moreover, if the war of words between the US and China over import tariffs escalates into a full-blown war China’s trade surplus could erode further and household consumption run into headwinds.

The transition from one economic model to another is challenging for any government and China’s leadership has so far avoided a potentially destabilising rapid fall in GDP growth. The increasing focus on high valued-added exports, consumption and broader quality of life indicators is unlikely to go in reverse. However, this transition may not always been smooth as policy-makers deal with the overhang from years of excessive lending and investment. This could well result in slower yet more balanced and sustainable economic growth in coming years.

David Shepherd, Visiting professor in Global Macroeconomics, Imperial College Business School:

Recent figures for Chinese GDP growth suggest the economy is expanding roughly in line with Government targets, with growth at 6.85% compared to the stated 6.5% target. Moving forward, the question is whether this kind of rate can be sustained or whether we can expect to see lower or perhaps even higher growth over the coming months and years?

The outstanding growth performance of the Chinese economy over the last 20 years stems from a successful programme of industrialisation based on market reforms, capital investment and a drive for higher exports. But that was in the past, and it is unlikely that these factors alone can be relied upon to sustain future growth, partly because of a change in the political environment in the United States, which has become increasingly antagonistic towards the Chinese trade surplus, but mainly because of purely economic factors related to high market penetration and the rise of competing low-cost producers in Asia and elsewhere. While exports and capital investment will always be important for China, if further high growth is to be sustained it will have to come either from higher domestic consumption or increased government spending.

The share of government spending in the Chinese economy is currently only 14% of GDP and the Chinese economy would undoubtedly benefit greatly from increased expenditure on health, education and other public services. While this could in principle be a significant engine for growth, in practice there are significant constraints on the ability and willingness of the government to finance increased spending, not least because of an already high fiscal deficit. The implication is that if high growth is to be sustained in the future it will almost certainly require a move towards higher consumption.

In contrast to the United States and the United Kingdom, where consumption has increased significantly over the last 20 years and now accounts for almost 70% of GDP, in China consumption spending has if anything been falling and currently accounts for only 40% of GDP. For the US and the UK, consumption is arguably too high and both economies would benefit from lower consumption and increased capital investment and exports.

In China, the opposite re-balancing is required, and the relevant consideration is how a sustainable increase in domestic consumption can be achieved. Consumption typically rises when real wages rise and when households choose to save less, but in China, saving rates are high and the share of labour income in national income has been falling. The challenge for policy makers is to find the best way to change these conditions, to reduce saving and boost wages at the expense of profits and other business incomes, all in a context of considerable uncertainty about the economic environment. It is now almost nine years since the current economic expansion began and, if history is any guide, the next recession is not too far down the road. But how that would affect China’s growth performance is another story!

Alastair Johnson, CEO and Founder, Nuggets:

Napoleon once referred to China as the ‘sleeping giant’. It’s looking, certainly in terms of its economy, like the giant is finally rearing its head. China’s unprecedented and unparallelled growth in the e-commerce sector trumps that of other nations, boasting a 35% rise in the past year (with a market twice the size of that of the rest of the world).

There is a great deal of focus, not only in online retail commerce in and of itself, but in the bridges built to link it to peripheral services. China dominates the O2O (online-to-offline) model, strengthening the connection between strictly digital commerce and brick-and-mortar merchants. Instead of displacing traditional commerce, the nation’s retail industry is instead evolving by combining physical stores with increasingly innovative online solutions.

Development of applications such as WeChat and Alipay have lead to a seamless user experience, whereby individuals can simply access stores and make purchases from within the app. It integrates with some of the biggest players in ecommerce, including the behemoths that are Alibaba, JD.com and ULE.

Worth considering on the telecommunications front is China’s plan to bootstrap a new network for 5G (versus simply building atop existing ones). Given that 80% of online purchases are done on mobile (versus under half in the rest of the world), this development will only serve to further strengthen the connection between mobile devices and e-commerce.

It’s hard to see the trend dying down anytime soon. Businesses appear to have grasped the importance of user experience, and identified the lifeblood of the industry: consumer demand. New wealth in the nation is fuelling purchasing power. To maintain this hugely successful uptrend, companies in the sector should continue to foster an ecosystem of interconnectivity, both with retailers and tech companies. Smartphone manufacturers anticipate that their growth in 2018 will be slow in China, due to saturation and slow upgrade cycles. Brands will need to look to Western markets for continued development.

Jehan Chu, Chief Strategy Officer, Caspian:

China's rise is not only measured by its achievements, but also by its insatiable appetite to develop new industries. Despite the ban on ICO's and cryptocurrency exchange trading in China, there has been a surge in interest and development in Blockchain technology - the underlying rails of crypto.

From new startups like Nervos (blockchain protocol) and veterans like Neo (US$5bil coin market cap tech) to institutions like Tencent (Blockchain as a Service) and Ping An (internal infrastructure projects), China is leading the world in developing efficient solutions using Blockchain technology. In addition, increased restrictions inside of China have spurred ambitious Chinese developers and entrepreneurs to decamp to crypto-friendly cities like Singapore and San Francisco, creating expert and cultural diaspora networks that span the globe but lead back to China.

Looking forward, it is clear that the sheer volume of engineering talent combined with its seamless adoption and endless ambition to build the new Internet on top of blockchain will keep China at the forefront of technology for decades to come.

We would also love to hear more of Your Thoughts on this, so feel free to comment below and tell us what you think!