Online investment platform Vested Finance on Friday said that it has raised $3.6 million as part of its seed funding round, which saw participation from US-based Moving Capital, Ovo Fund and TenOneTen Ventures.
Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Catalysts in India have also participated in the round.
Two-year-old startup Vested Finance, which is based in California, with offices in Mumbai, allows Indian investors to invest in the US stock market.
“Individuals in India have been contributing to the top and bottom line of international companies for decades but have never had the chance to create wealth by investing in them. Our goal is to build the easiest U.S. investing platform for Indian investors, and our growth to date has proven that interest in the opportunity is strong and increasing.,” said Viram Shah, chief executive and co-founder, Vested Finance.
Vested Finance processed more than $100 million in trades in 2020, with more than half of its investors investing in the US market for the first time ever, said the company.
Investors can choose individual stocks or ETFs or select from a variety of “Vests’ – the platform’s curated portfolios, constructed with various goals, themes, and risk levels in mind.
“The United States is a global center of innovation, and people around the world can benefit from investing in the U.S. markets. Vested is bringing this cross-border investment opportunity to India and beyond, allowing local investors to diversify globally by spreading out their risk,” said Gil Elbaz, partner, TenOneTen Ventures.
To facilitate Indian investors to invest in US markets, Vested has partnered with more than 25 brokers, fintech, and wealth management firms in India, including Axis Securities, Kuvera, Angel Broking and 5Paisa.
“We see a lot of potential for disruption in its unique value proposition and are confident that the team at Vested Finance will continue to grow and scale,” said Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and president, Venture Catalysts.
Indian brokerage firm, Zerodha, which has more than 3 million customers has been planning to offer US stocks on its trading platform and was looking to partner with a US-based stockbroker, last year.
Other startups include Stockal, INDmoney, and Groww which have partnered with US-based stockbrokers to help customers invest in the US market.
