Les grandes tendances du métier de CGP

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / OVERVIEW

Les CGP ont su contenir l’inquiétude de leurs clients en profitant de la période de confinement pour mieux les accompagner, mais aussi pour innover et digitaliser leurs cabinets. Les clients se sont montrés plus attentifs aux risques et aux placements responsables et produits de prévoyance retraite. Ils envisagent l’avenir comme étant plus digital et responsable, sans compromettre la rentabilité de leurs investissements ni la personnalisation des services. Dans le monde d’après qui se dessine, la relation client, l’exercice quotidien plus digitalisé mais aussi le renouvellement des générations vont compter tout autant que le devoir de conseil des CGP.

1 – USER

Une sensibilité à l’investissement responsable, mais pas au prix de la rentabilité

On observe une sensibilité accrue des clients aux critères ISR (Investissement Socialement Responsable).

46 % des professionnels de la gestion de patrimoine s’attendent à voir leurs clients prêter une attention de plus en plus grande à cette dimension responsable dans le choix de leur assurance-vie, et dans la diversification de leurs placements selon le baromètre Cardif BNP Paribas [1].

  • L’enquête d’Aprédia « Covid-19 : comment les CGP gèrent la crise ? », relève que « l’investissement au travers des produits ISR figure, selon les CGP, parmi les marchés d’avenir » [5].

  • Une étude d’EY sur des investisseurs canadiens révèle que, si 73 % des répondants ont des objectifs de développement durable (essentiellement axés sur l’environnement), environ la moitié déclarent que leurs conseillers n’y sont pas sensibles. Il y a là une demande à combler [6].

Cette demande des clients se retrouve donc dans l’offre :

  • Environ 40% des nouveaux fonds créés en 2020 étaient des fonds responsables [5].

  • L’industrie des fonds immobiliers s’est elle aussi dotée d’un label ISR [5].

La loi Pacte a aidé dans ce sens, son article 72 imposant que les contrats d’assurance vie multi-support conclus à partir du 1er janvier 2020 fassent référence à au moins un fonds labellisé Solidaire, Greenfin, ou Investissement socialement responsable (ISR).

Cependant, si les clients veulent donner du sens à leur épargne, pour la plupart cela ne se fera pas au détriment de la rentabilité de leur investissement [6].

Vers plus de diversification

La crise nous a permis d’observer que, plus sensibles au risque, les clients recherchent une diversification accrue de leurs investissements (61% des clients ont opté pour la diversification de leurs avoirs durant la crise sanitaire) [1].

Les investisseurs souhaitent avoir accès à une plus grande gamme de produits. Actuellement, ils utilisent en moyenne 4,1 produits de placement, mais ils s’attendent à adopter une moyenne de 5,5 produits d’ici 2024 [6].

De leur côté, les CGP veulent plus de diversification au sein des contrats d’assurance vie et scrutent les nouvelles opportunités, notamment dans l’immobilier (SCPI, SCI, OPCI) et les produits alternatifs [5].

Les investisseurs veulent plus de personnalisation

Au-delà du conseil financier, les investisseurs souhaitent un accompagnement plus personnalisé de leurs conseillers en gestion de patrimoine. La tendance est vers un véritable accompagnement durable dans chaque moment de vie [3]. Cette tendance à la personnalisation répond aussi à une démographie des clients changeante.

Les CGP font face à une population de plus en plus fragmentée : célibataires, millennials, familles monoparentales… et la personnalisation est de mise pour bien répondre à chaque attente. L’enjeu à l’avenir est la relation humaine et le contact direct avec les investisseurs, pour personnaliser les conseils et l’accompagnement [4].

2 – TECH

La digitalisation, accélérée par la crise, pour un modèle hybride à l’avenir

Pendant la crise, 85% des CGP ont opté pour des outils digitaux donnés par leurs fournisseurs pour la gestion des dossiers et 82% ont travaillé en télétravail. A l’avenir, plus des trois quarts des CGP anticipent un renforcement des usages digitaux par leurs clients après cette crise, que ce soit pour effectuer des démarches administratives, gérer l’après-vente ou simplement communiquer [1].

Les CGP ont dû adapter leurs modes de communication pour accompagner directement avec le client : 3 CGP sur 4 ont ainsi adapté leurs modes de communication (visioconférence, téléphone, tchat) [1].

Cette digitalisation, vue dans un premier temps comme un risque pour le métier, permet aujourd’hui aux CGP de se délester des tâches les plus fastidieuses pour apporter de nouveaux services à leurs clients, et se concentrer sur la partie conseil de leur métier [3].

Cette digitalisation permet aussi d’améliorer la personnalisation du service, grâce au partage de données [6]. L’intelligence artificielle, quant à elle, représente une opportunité pour les CGP pour l’analyse des allocations d’actifs en fonction des profils de risque par exemple (mis en place chez Cyrus) [8].

Les cabinets ayant tiré parti de ces outils digitaux ont pu prendre des parts de marché pour se développer rapidement, ainsi qu’améliorer leur ROI (ROI compris entre « 25 et 40 % de croissance organique d’ici septembre 2020 » pour Equance) [8].

En revanche, si plus de la moitié (56%) des clients se disent intéressés à utiliser davantage d’outils numériques et virtuels à l’avenir (surtout les millennials et les membres de la génération X), la relation physique reste importante pour ce métier. Lorsqu’il s’agit de trouver réponse à des interrogations ou de planifier les plus grands moments de la vie, les clients manifestent un plus grand intérêt à préserver des interactions personnalisées et authentiques avec un vrai conseiller [6]. Le challenge sera de trouver le bon équilibre entre les outils numériques et les conseils en face à face.

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Découlant de l’hybridation du métier :

Les robo-advisor

La digitalisation du métier a permis l’émergence des robo-advisor. Ce sont des plateformes digitales entièrement automatisées. Dans le cadre de la gestion de patrimoine, ils assistent à l’aide d’algorithmes et certains peuvent même conclure quelques opérations financières à la place du client. En plus, ils demeurent disponibles à toute heure et à n’importe quel jour [7].

S’inscrivant dans le cadre de l’hybridation du métier soulignée plus haut, ils ne remplacent pas totalement l’intervention humaine, mais ils assistent les conseillers à mieux se concentrer sur les objectifs principaux. La substitution, par rapport à l’enregistrement des données par exemple, aide drastiquement dans cette optique [7].

La synchronisation des services

Avec le développement de solutions digitales de gestion de patrimoine, la clientèle peut, à présent, directement gérer son portefeuille patrimonial.

Dans le cadre d’un modèle hybride de gestion de patrimoine, le challenge sera de correctement synchroniser les diverses entrées disponibles à travers la multiplicité d’appareils digitaux, et le partage digital/physique d’informations. Cela implique la nécessité d’une meilleure connectivité entre le conseiller et la clientèle à travers ces divers points d’entrées [7].

3 – BUSINESS

Importance accrue du conseil pluridisciplinaire

Les CGP veulent placer les missions de conseil au cœur de leur activité, dans un rôle comparable à celui d’un médecin de famille. En se plaçant en opposition aux conseillers bancaires, une relation impersonnelle et changeant régulièrement, les CGP souhaite promouvoir une relation de confiance durable avec leurs clients [3].

C’est ainsi que les CGP interrogés dans le cadre de l’étude Apredia « considèrent que leur rôle va se renforcer pour aider leurs clients à définir leurs objectifs patrimoniaux ». Ce sont donc des missions de conseil « qu’une majorité de CGP souhaite mettre particulièrement en valeur dans les mois à venir en essayant de développer plus qu’aujourd’hui une rémunération en honoraires de conseil » [5].

La nature de leur conseil évolue également, et leur champ de compétences dépasse désormais la traditionnelle sphère financière. De mieux en mieux formés, anciens fiscalistes, notaires, avocats ou banquiers privés, ces professionnels sont désormais nombreux à maîtriser les différentes disciplines qui composent le métier : droit, fiscalité, finance et immobilier [3].

Concentration du marché

Signe de maturité de l’industrie, on observe une concentration du marché de la gestion de patrimoine, surtout au niveau des grands acteurs régionaux (ex. Astoria Finance qui rachète Les Comptoirs du Patrimoine) [3].

Celle-ci est liée à l’augmentation des coûts liés à la réglementation ainsi qu’à l’acquisition d’outils digitaux et de systèmes d’information plus performants [3].

Grâce au partage des savoir-faire technologiques [1] et la mise en commun des connaissances par spécialité ou par outil [2], cette concentration répond à plusieurs nécessités :

  • Amortir le choc Covid [1]

  • Améliorer l’expérience client [1]

  • Pérenniser et améliorer la résilience durable de l’activité [2]

Segmentation du marché

La concentration du marché met en lumière une segmentation de ce dernier entre d’un côté des cabinets de gestion de patrimoine qui cultivent une vision entrepreneuriale et dont le principal objectif est de continuer à grandir, et de l’autre, des acteurs qui entretiennent un esprit « profession libérale », des cabinets de taille plus modeste qui se sont constitué une base de clientèle très fidèle [3].

En termes de taille, selon les données publiées en 2018 par l’AMF, la grande majorité des encours gérés est captée par les quelque 50 cabinets les plus importants qui, à l’instar de Crystal, Olifan Group, Cyrus Conseil ou Astoria Finance, réalisent la moitié du chiffre d'affaires [8]. Les 4 641 cabinets de conseillers en investissements et CGP indépendants en France, quant à eux, gèrent environ 12 % de la collecte et 10 % des parts de marché pour un chiffre d’affaires total de 2,6 Md€ [8].

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Diversité des modèles de croissance

Si la croissance externe est particulièrement importante dans ce marché, comme souligné précédemment, elle est loin d’être le seul modèle de développement pour les cabinets. Parmi les cabinets les plus importants, certains se sont développés grâce à une croissance organique très forte liée à leurs qualités techniques, commerciales et managériales [8].

Par exemple, Witam MFO a misé sur un modèle d’incubation : leur croissance organique s’est faite en association avec de jeunes gérants qui ont créé leur cabinet. Ils s’associent avec eux en mettant à leur disposition leur compétence en matière d’ingénierie. En échange, Witam prend une participation de l’ordre de 30 % dans leur capital car le but est de développer leur chiffre d’affaires pour qu’ils puissent conquérir leur propre clientèle.

Renouvellement générationnel

La profession de CGP est à un carrefour : d’un côté se trouvent les professionnels matures, qui tiennent les rênes du métier, avec une forte expérience. De l’autre, la nouvelle génération, tout juste diplômée, avec une formation aboutie, mais une expérience moins développée [2]. Face à une règlementation changeante (MIF II, DDA, PRIPS) qui engendre une nécessité de formation accrue, les jeunes conseillers bien formés compléteront bien l’expérience des professionnels matures dans les cabinets.

APPENDIX - SOURCES

1. « Vers un avenir plus digital et responsable pour les CGP ? », L’Assurance en Mouvement, Nov 2020.

2. « Les évolutions à venir pour le métier de CGP », Profession CGP, Août 2020.

3. « Conseillers en gestion de patrimoine : l’avenir leur appartient-il ? », Magazine Décideurs, Fev 2020.

4. « Gestion de patrimoine : la société française évolue, les épargnants également », Argus de l’assurance, Oct 2019.

5. « Assurance vie : quelles tendances pour la gestion de patrimoine ? », Argus de l’assurance, Oct 2020.

6. « Les quatre tendances clés en gestion de patrimoine », Conseiller, Juin 2021. Les chiffres proviennent d’une étude réalisée par EY sur 500 investisseurs canadiens.

7. « Fintech : Les tendances au sein de la gestion de patrimoine », Euodia, Juillet 2019.

8. « Les secrets de croissance des CGP stars », Gestion de Fortune, Avril 2019.

Mandalore's Regtech Venture Map - 2021

Mandalore’s research team has taken effort to map another emerging technology sector - Regulatory tech, or Regtech.

The map is divided into 4 key areas that are corresponding to the flow of digital processes:

  1. Identify. This area consists of ID Proofing and Verification (KYC/KYB) and Electronic Signature.

  2. Manage. Digital Transaction Management and Electronic Documents are part of this section.

  3. Comply. This area has two sub elements that are Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud Management and Risk and Compliance Management.

  4. Report. This final step can be categorised into two parts: Reporting Dashboards and Platforms, and Regulatory Intelligence Tools.

While most of the ventures have identified more than one area of focus, majority is focused on the Identify and Comply areas, with other, no less important, players specialised in Manage and Report areas.

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About Mandalore Partners

Mandalore Partners specialises in innovation-as-a-service. As an asset creator for companies, we reduce the risk of innovation through strategic and impact investments by partnering in innovative technology companies tailored to our partners' innovation programmes.


Contact Mandalore Partners to discuss a partnership or for more information:

Minh Q. Tran, minh@mandalorepartners.com

Mandalore Partners is proud to present its 2021 European Wealthtech Map

Find below our mapping of European players in Wealthtech.

The map is built in 6 main sections:

  • Software

  • Investment Tool

  • Portfolio management

  • Data analytics

  • Digital brokerage

  • Robo-advisor

  • Software

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About Mandalore Partners

Mandalore Partners specialises in innovation-as-a-service. As an asset creator for companies, we reduce the risk of innovation through strategic and impact investments by partnering in innovative technology companies tailored to our partners' innovation programmes.


Contact Mandalore Partners to discuss a partnership or for more information:

Minh Q. Tran, minh@mandalorepartners.com

A view on the 2021 PropTech market

Proptech Capital, an investment platform managed by Mandalore Partners, shares its view on the Proptech market today through a mapping of various startups involved in Proptech. This mapping is built mostly through Proptech Capital’s network and dealflow, and from the attendees of MIPIM 2019 & 2020. The geographical scope is mainly Europe, North America and Asia. The startups represented operate both in the commercial and residential real estate markets.

A definition of Proptech given by CB Insights is the following: Proptech (also referred to as property technology or real estate technology) is a set of cross-industry technologies changing the way we research, rent, buy, and manage property.

The map is divided in three main areas: Search, Supervise and Sell. These three concepts refer to the different steps in the commercial or residential real estate customer journey, both for real estate professionals and end-customers.

This article first provides explanations on each area and sub-area, and then gives further insights from Proptech Capital on some solutions of particular interest to the fund. It also gives a brief overview on some of the use cases Proptech Capital built on these solutions, and for which it is looking for strategic partners – contact Proptech Capital for detailed information.

I/ Proptech Venture Map 2021

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1. Search Phase

The Search phase corresponds to activities related to searching for a property – for the end-customer to buy or for real estate agents to list them.

Brokerage Services: list and search activities carried out by an individual or a firm related to the sale or purchase of a property in exchange for a commission on the transaction.

Marketplaces: companies offering a platform designed to match two populations and make a transaction happen between them.

Data, Valuation and Analytics: companies whose activity consists of providing data, analytics and valuation tools to property managers and investors in order to enhance their opportunity-screening process and automate the valuation process, sometimes using Artificial Intelligence and data science techniques.

Virtual Viewing solutions: services dedicated at offering cutting-edge viewing technologies such as 3D and VR/AR/MR, to tour a property or improve the collaboration process in a development project.

Lease Guarantee and Financing solutions: companies offering innovative solutions to have financial access to a property, either by providing a lease guarantor or securing the financial deposit required.


2. Supervise Phase

The Supervise phase corresponds to activities carried out in the day-to-day activities of real estate professionals or related to the supervision of their core activities.

Investment and Crowdfinancing: this category includes platforms that allow individuals to invest in real estate, notably using blockchain, and also crowdfunding platforms that list investment opportunities for individuals to take a part in.

Manage & Operation solutions: companies in this category are providing products and services that help manage a property and supervise the relationship between landlords and tenants.

Space-as-a-Service and Smart Buildings solutions: this category includes startups building or operating a network of shared spaces – co-working and co-living, or offering smart building solutions using Internet of Things to improve one’s use of a building.

Agent tools: companies in this category are providing real estate agents with tools to assist them in their activity.

Project Management solutions: this category refers to startups that are building products designed to help construction stakeholders manage a real estate project by offering digital and technological solutions.


3. Sell Phase

The Sell phase corresponds to the last step of the customer journey, where a property is sold through different channels.

iBuyer solutions: the term iBuyer refers to online estate companies able to purchase a house in a quick period of time at a discounted price and then sell it through an online channel.

Hybrid agents: this category gathers startups that are offering online brokerage services disrupting the traditional estate agency model, with no physical touchpoints and low-fixed costs to sell a property.

Insurance & Closing: startups in this category are offering insurance for homebuyers and legal services aiming at protecting the buyer against any risks during the selling process.


II/ Insights from Proptech Capital

From its investment theses and its convictions on where the highest growth and most innovative opportunities are, Proptech Capital has taken an interest in some of these sub-areas beyond the broader overview and done further analysis and research on relevant trends.


1) iBuyers

iBuyer solutions are one of these sub-areas.

As mentioned, the term iBuyer refers to companies able to make quick online offers at a discounted price for properties, and which then sell it at a profit through an online channel. Companies in the US such as Opendoor or Offerpad have shown that this offer could fill a gap in the market as they provided distressed sellers with a convenient and quick process to sell their property, while still having a price around 90% of the market value. They quickly gained exceptional traction and revenues, with investors confident that they would keep growing. Opendoor raised $400 million in funding in May of 2018, totalling a $1 billion dollars in equity funding, while Offerpad raised $150 million dollars in both debt and equity. Knock also raised $400m in 2018.

The iBuyer market started in the US in 2014, with the inception of Opendoor. In 2018, in the United States, iBuyer companies accounted for c. 15,000 purchases and c. 10,000 sales, for a 0.2% market share in the country. This figure comes, for a large part, from the very limited geographies in which iBuyers currently operate.

However, in Phoenix, currently the main market for iBuyers, these companies accounted for c. 6% of all transactions, showing the large potential of these companies in the US.

Their growth also led traditional actors like Zillow or Redfin to launch their own iBuyer solutions. Meanwhile, the exceptional traction of US iBuyers is contributing to the emergence of a similar trend in Europe. For example, French iBuyer VendezVotreMaison.fr has reached €12 million in revenues in 2020, and ibuyers are emerging in most EU countries such as Greece (Protio), Spain (Prontopiso), Italy (Casa.io), UK (Nested), Finland (Kodit.io), and France(Unlatch, Homeloop).

Proptech Capital's analysis shows indeed that similar opportunities exist in Europe, where only few actors have this type of offer, often without having significantly scaled so far. Market trends show a growing demand for quick and efficient processes in real estate transactions, as an alternative to lengthy closes in purchases, as well as endless showings and negotiations, at a discount of 8 to 12%, which is well below those offered by traditional agents targeting"distressed" sellers. Indeed, selling a real estate asset through traditional means takes on average 4 to 6 months in Europe, with uncertainty that can make the process even longer, and a large part of sellers are ready to accept a moderate discount to avoid this. New valuation technologies using machine learning and data analytics algorithms are able to fill this gap and provide a meaningful competition to traditional real estate agents.

Below is a map summarizing the main existing iBuyers – or companies with a similar hybrid model, such as Nested – identified by Proptech Capital in the US and in Europe – i.e. a focus on the "iBuyer solutions" sub-area of the whole map:

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In the context of Odysseus Alternative Venture’s Asset Building approach, Proptech Capital is considering the launch of a real estate fund that could leverage this trend with investments in residential real estate assets at a discount. This fund could target the growing demand for quicker online processes, as well as for equity release, which is another growing real estate trend in Europe caused by the aging population and the projected growth in old-age dependency ratios. Equity release indeed offers new liquidity means to seniors, as it enables owners to access their property's value for more cash in retirement, and similarly to iBuyers, equity release platforms are appearing to answer this growing demand.

With the required funding, Proptech Capital could invest in European iBuyer and equity release platforms and co-develop its own real estate valuation algorithms and sourcing strategies with them, to build a real estate portfolio and ultimately conduct an IPO that would bring NAV premium returns to its investors.


2) Alternative real estate financing

Another trend Proptech Capital looks at with a particular interest is the alternative financing options for property investments, both on the supply side (property development and construction) and the demand side (mortgage loans), as well as the new valuation and investment methods relative to blockchain and real estate asset tokenization.

Proptech Capital mapped the main European actors in these three areas below - i.e. a focus on the "investment & crowdfinancing" sub-area of the whole map. This mapping focuses exclusively on Europe.

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a. Real Estate Asset Tokenization

The rise of blockchain, tokenization of assets and smart contracts can facilitate the development of real estate investment platforms and reduce transaction costs, making such investment more accessible. Most of the applications of blockchain in Proptech focus on using blockchain for data management or applying it for transactions.

Proptech Capital observed that there is a growing base of users that are more eager to have access to real-estate investment. On the business side, similarly to iBuyer trends, there is an incentive for real estate stakeholders to make transactions directly to reduce the cost structure in the distribution process of a real estate product. Blockchain thereby enables users to trade directly real estate assets using tokenized assets.

Meanwhile, smart contracts allow fast, secured and recorded transactions in a digital ledger that cannot be hacked, drastically reducing the number of required intermediaries.

b. Mortgage Loans

Proptech Capital noticed a growing number of real estate debt platforms which facilitate mortgage loans for individuals or companies with debt capital from alternative financing sources, such as crowdfunding, P2P lending, or non-bank institutional debt funds. These individuals back their loans on the property they are purchasing it with or on a property they already possess. Lenders invest in these loans with flexible amounts, fast processes and low fees.

A growing demand trend for these products is based on the buy-to-let approach, for individuals seeking to increase their rental portfolio and willing to secure a bridging loan in order to purchase a property. Some platforms, such as Landbay, are specialized in these buy-to-let mortgage loans.

Indeed, traditional credit actors are increasingly selective in their mortgage financing offers for individuals or companies looking to purchase real estate assets or make property-backed loans, offering an opportunity to these platforms.

This trend is especially attractive to Proptech Capital, which identified around 10 of these alternative finance mortgage credit platforms in the EU and mapped the main ones of the graph above.

Some of the mapped actors focus exclusively on mortgage loans, while others, such as LendInvest or EstateGuru have them as one of multiple offers.

With the necessary funding, Proptech Capital aims to aggregate some of these platforms and co-develop a build-up strategy in credit mortgage with them in Europe, to accelerate their growth and to create business synergies through tech integrations and consolidations.

c. Property Development Credit

Many actors have identified a need for property development credit and have developed platforms to provide that. Their observation is that traditional credit actors have become very rigid with credit to SMEs in construction or property development after the 2008 crisis and many of these property professionals struggle to find credit options.

These platforms provide professional property developers with access to equity and debt capital coming from private institutional investors, P2P lending and/or crowdfunding finance, depending on the platforms. As for mortgage loans, amounts are usually flexible, processes aim to be as fast as possible and fees are reduced to a minimum, in order to provide a convincing alternative to traditional investment options for investors, and to traditional liquidity means for borrowers.

As summarized by Wellesley Finance, the applications for these credit loans include:

  • New residential construction/developments

  • Commercial / mixed-use developments

  • Medium to heavy refurbishment

  • Permitted development rights

  • Bespoke Bridging opportunities

  • Structured finance

Similarly to credit mortgage, this opportunity could lead Proptech Capital to adopt a built-to-scale strategy with strategic funding partners, by investing with an SPV in this vertical and enabling these property development loan platforms to scale together in the European market.

About Proptech Capital

Proptech Capital is an investment platform managed by Mandalore Partners (formerly known as Odysseus Alternative Ventures) for real estate and insurance investors to derisk strategic investments and access new properties with technology.

Contact Proptech Capital to discuss a partnership or for more information:

Minh Q. Tran, minh@proptech.capital

Alchemy Research: Enhancing People Safety

Alchemy is the research lab for Mandalore Partners.

Accidents in the industrial space have always been a reality. Although their number has largely decreased since the industrial revolution and work-related accidents are much better treated, they remain a problem for companies and employees. 

Hopefully, galore new technologies are addressing that issue. Insurers are important players in that field. How can they best cater to employees needs after an accident? How can they reward good behaviour from companies leading to fewer accidents? How can more companies help reduce work-related accidents more broadly?

These are all essential questions that this report tries to assess. Below is a snapshot of the report.

For more information please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

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Alchemy Research: From Sustainable Agendas to Growth Opportunities

Alchemy is the research lab of Mandalore Partners. Below is a summary of the research on the future of insurance in search of a sustainable world.

Global warming, climate change and more broadly shifting towards a sustainable world are top priorities, especially among young people. They are directly linked to the activities of insurances who are deeply affected by secondary effects: property damage linked to extreme weather events, changing liabilities, health and life insurances impacted by new diseases etc. 

However, there is room for improvement and innovation to make a better world in a future. But this requires innovation, coordination, adequate transition and assessment of the right priorities. 

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Content of the report:

  • Snapshot of the situation and statement of the problem

  • Future opportunities

  • Strategies & initiatives

  • Innovation Pillars

  • De-risking decision making

  • From competitors to emerging players

  • Next steps

For more information, please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

Alchemy Research: The Digital Nomad

Alchemy is the research lab of Mandalore Partners. Below is the preview of our research report on the digital nomads.

The COVID-19 crisis and its consequences have shed light on a specific category of workers: the digital nomads. Although that kind of working habit has existed for some time, as they are gaining momentum, it becomes more and more important to understand and address their needs. 

How different are working conditions for digital nomads compared to regular workers? How specific are their needs? Where do digital nomads tend to establish themselves? How can global companies take advantage of this trend?

This report focuses on all these issues and tries to give a precise snapshot of the current situation and how to address best those needs in order to facilitate digital nomads’ lives but also to help insurers get a competitive advantage. 

For more information, please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

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Alchemy Research: Small and Medium Enterprises’ point of view on insurance solutions

Alchemy is the research lab of Mandalore Partners.

SMEs have always been a crucial part of a country’s economy. They do not only represent an important part for the country’s turnover but are also paramount in terms of employment. 

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Those classical SMEs are today joined by freelancers. 

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However, what is important to notice is that they both lack adequate services, especially regarding insurances to help them tackle their challenges. They feel that existing services do not cater to their needs, that they are too complex and inflexible. 

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It appears that those small companies tend to trust more new players who offer digitalized solutions for a more flexible and on-demand approach. From there, we can assess that historic insurers have not yet adapted their services by taking into account the interconnected value added services crucial for the development of SMEs. 

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This report focuses on the specific needs of SMEs and freelancers and how insurers ought to embrace them and adapt their solutions if they do not want to be left by the wayside.  

For more information, please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

Alchemy Research: The Elderly and Forever Young

Alchemy is the research lab of Mandalore Partners. 

 Worldwide, people live longer leading to a demographical shift and new issues. This quickly increasing greying world brings about specific implications in terms of health and well-being services. This report is an in-depth analysis of the room for innovation within the Elderly space and how insurers can build competitive advantage by addressing correctly that growing segment of the population. 

Below is a snapshot of the report, giving key answers on how to address the ageing trend of the population so that it does not become a curse. 

For more information, please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

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Alchemy Research: The future of Dental Care

Alchemy is the research lab of Mandalore Partners.

Dental care is among the top health concerns in the UK. This trend has been on the rise for and calls for innovation and adaptation.

This report focuses on the current situation of dental care especially in a COVID-19 area imposing stricter regulations for dental practices and assesses the potential for growth and innovation of the sector (in terms of services and technology) and that insurers ought to seize.

Below is a snapshot of the research.
For more information, please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

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Ninety Consulting: Insurance Innovation Blueprint

Ninety Consulting is a Partner of Alchemy, the research lab of Mandalore Partners. Below is the preview of Ninety’s report, Insurance Innovation Blueprint.

In our Insurance Innovation Blueprint, we examine the “how” of insurance innovation. How can it be more active? How can it be more productive? How can we get innovation more ‘right’?

This report addresses these questions and is designed for both innovators and non- innovators at major insurance businesses, whether they be primary carriers, reinsurers, or large broker groups. It is designed to help you assess how your organization does innovation and what might be an optimal innovation set up for your organization.

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Contents of the report

  • Building Blocks for Insurance Innovation: a toolkit for Chief Innovation Officers

  • Conquering the rollercoaster: the evolution of insurance innovation ecosystems

  • A unique model for every insurance business: a humility-led approach to innovation planning

  • Innovation ecosystem blueprints for insurers: a starting point for innovation capability design

  • Crafting the right innovation philosophy, and getting the people dimension right

  • Taking action: moving towards the Ladder model

For more information please contact us at research@mandalorepartners.com

Implications of COVID-19 on alternative workforce and remote work

 
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In this article, we explore trends in the field of human capital. It focuses on concepts of “alternative workforce” and remote work which are now frequently debated due to the current pandemic event, despite these being recurring themes over the years for companies looking to boost their operational efficiency. We also explore how organizations can measure the impact of such an event in terms of ESG and human capital.

What is the alternative workforce?

Alternative workforce is commonly divided into three groups: freelancers and independent workers (individuals who extend the core employee workforce and are paid by a unit of time, such as per hour or day), gig workers (individuals who are paid by the task to complete a specific piece of work), and crowd workers (individuals who compete to participate in a project and are paid only if they are among the top participants in a competition)[1]. These types of workers were initially applicable mostly to the IT sector but can be nowadays seen across a variety of industries, including financial services. Over the past years, there has been a significant growth in the alternative workforce. In 2016, the global market size of outsourced services, which is a proxy for the alternative workforce market, was USD 76.9 billion and in 2019 it reached USD 92.5 billion, which represents a CAGR of 6.4%. Moving forward, we expect the alternative workforce to continue to remain important as the majority of businesses, including those focused on financial services, feel positive about their outsourcing partners and financial services executives outsource a part of their services[2].

Increasingly, companies are starting to rely on outsourcing services that require more technical knowledge and a higher level of skills, which in turn create a greater impact on their performance metrics. Consequently, the global knowledge process outsourcing market size, which is a subset of the broader outsourcing market for more specialized and analytical type of work, is projected to grow from USD 28.94 billion in 2016 to USD 124.29 billion by 2025[3], which represents a CAGR of 17.6%.

Remote work trend – here to stay?

Working remotely has been a trend that COVID-19 has largely accelerated, leaving no choice and forcing digitalisation. It is too early to say what are the exact impacts on businesses, but it is clear that the trend is here to stay. According to Matt Mullenweg[4], Chief Executive Officer of WordPress and Tumblr and owner of Automattic, the culture that allows work flexibility is long overdue and “this might be a chance for a great reset in terms of how we work”. 

Remote work trend has been growing steadily before COVID-19 outbreak

Remote work trend has been growing steadily before COVID-19 outbreak

Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on organisations

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 is having a huge effect on businesses and the workforce. Organisations are already counting innumerable losses not only in terms of profits, but also in terms of human capital, and many are forced to lay-off employees and pause their expansion plans. While it is easy to quantify the financial losses incurred, it is more complicated to track the social impact of the pandemic on organisations. Even if it cannot protect the workforce, it can help better understand the situation and prepare for future critical situations. While overall impact or ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance criteria) measurement in companies is still in its development phase, there are various solutions and free tools proposed by impact measurement platform in the context of global solidarity specifically for tracking and understand the implications of COVID-19.

Socialsuite, an Australia-based impact measurement company, has made their surveying tool available for companies to measure the social impact of COVID-19, whereas Truvalue Labs, US-based ESG Data provider, has made their ESG dataset available for free.

Such data can later serve as a basis for a better crisis preparation, re-examination of business needs and the evaluation of employee wellbeing.  

Sample Dashbord of the free COVID-19 Social Impact Assessment by Socialsuite

Sample Dashbord of the free COVID-19 Social Impact Assessment by Socialsuite

Final Thoughts

The dissemination of technology experienced in the past two decades has allowed individuals to effortlessly access enormous amounts of information, and to share it almost instantly. This has rendered physical distance a non-problem in a professional context and, in turn, allowed companies to have access to the best resources, whether these are in the office next door, or a thousand miles away.

Many enterprises, previously sceptical of the alternative workforce concept, were now forced to adopt new ways of conducting their business and creative ways have been conceived to mitigate the previously perceived issues of working remotely.

LGG Advisors and Odysseus Partners, with operational teams based in Portugal and France, respectively, support effective remote-based work solutions. For close to 3 years, both have been offering remotely a variety of services in finance and risk management to several companies in the financial services industry globally.

[1] Leading the social enterprise: Reinvent with a human focus, Deloitte, 2019

[2] https://fortunly.com/statistics/outsourcing-statistics#gref

[3] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-knowledge-process-outsourcing-kpo-market

[4] https://ma.tt/2020/03/coronavirus-remote-work/

[5] Veza Digital

Impact Investing: Why it is a growing asset class and how to scale it forward

Picture: Mark Koch

Picture: Mark Koch

KEY POINTS 

  1. Impact investing landscape in Europe is still difficult to size due to limited consensus on the definition, lack of statistical data and absent impact measurement system 

  2. Welfare policy and economic development state - main factors determining the heterogeneity of European impact investing markets  

  3. Key market building driver: collaboration between public and private sectors 

  4. Next steps for scaling the impact investing market in Europe  

 

The impact investing landscape in Europe is still difficult to size...  

Defined as an efficient blend of strong, positive, environmental and social impact alongside financial returns in an investment, Impact Investing is still considered to be a new trend in the investment world.   

Investing in opportunities in both developed and developing markets to support the economic and social development of disadvantaged communities, in areas such as health, education, housing, and financial and economic inclusion, or supporting worthwhile social objectives or environmental objectives such as encouraging diversity, developing sustainable agriculture or clean technologies with an intention to measure and manage social and environmental impact, remains a peripheral sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) strategy to most investors in Europe.   

Source: Eurosif

Source: Eurosif

However, it’s importance is rapidly increasing: according to Eurosif, impact investing continues to grow registering a 6-year CAGR of 52% in period of 2011-2017.  

Source: Eurosif

Source: Eurosif

For 2019, market size estimates vary from as low as 11,8 billion Euros (Global Impact Investor Network, GIIN) to as high as 108,6 billion Euros (Eurosif), which shows that defining European impact investing market size unilaterally is challenging...

…due to three key factors   

Limited consensus on the definition. One of the reasons for such radical difference between estimations is limited consensus among mainstream investors and specialized niche players on the definition of impact investing. The lines between different forms of Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI), ESG Investing and Impact Investing are still quite blurry, definitions and calculations vary, which demonstrates that the market is yet to mature.  

Lack of reliable aggregated statistical data. That is a known weakness of the on the impact investing market in Europe. GIIN might seem to be one of the most reliable sources for Impact Investing market data, however, it only conducts annual surveys amongst its member list, which does not include all impact investors and not all those on that list might be dedicated to only impact investing. Other sources, such as Eurosif, do report on a broader SRI market, however, recent comprehensive studies on impact investing in Europe in particular are difficult to find.  

Absent unified impact measurement system. Since there are no internationally standardized regulations for impact measurement in investments, it is quite easy to self-proclaim as an impact investor, or not categorise yourself as one, which makes it difficult to keep track of all impact investors.  

Welfare policy and economic development - main factors determining heterogeneity of European markets   

Western Europe dominance. In Europe, impact investing markets vary greatly from country to country. Impact investors have more established presence in Western Europe compared to Eastern Europe due to older traditions of institutional investing, presence of well-established financial actors such as pension funds and insurance companies as well as more engaged action against social and environmental issues.  

According to Eurosif, impact investing is notably increasing in Spain and Italy, with positive signs observed in Sweden, Belgium and the UK. In case of the Netherlands, the sharp fall in Eurosif study is “largely explained with a respondent gap rather than a shift in trends”. The country remains one of the most important hubs for developing and implementing the way forward for impact investing.  

Source: Eurosif

Source: Eurosif

UK’s leading position. In Anglo-Saxon countries with liberal welfare states such as United Kingdom, impact investing market has been developing much quicker and took a leading position with players such as Big Society Capital. In market since 2012, it manifested as an effort of the UK government to efficiently provide capital for the existing intermediaries and build the market; it remains one of the key British players in the field.   

New impact investing hub - Paris. However, due to Brexit taking place, more impact investors are seeking to establish their presence in the continental Europe. Paris, for example, has become an important hub for Impact Investing, with many impact related events taking place in the French capital. Paris Impact Investing Association has taken efforts to create an ever-evolving ecosystem map encompassing at least 30 active impact funds in Paris and beyond further fortifying its position as new impact hub.   

Largely unexplored Eastern and Central Europe. While the iron curtain is long gone, the difference between stages of development in impact investing market between Western and Eastern Europe are showing that its effects are still felt. According to the last GIIN Annual Impact Investor Survey (2019), we observe that the number of headquarters of impact investing funds in Eastern Europe combined with Russia and Central Asia reach only 1%. While that is not an indicator of a market size, it does demonstrate that local impact investing market has hardly started to form, as the main investor focusin this region has been economic growth in the past decades.  

Eastern Europe, Russia & Central Asia combined: 1%Source:https://thegiin.org/assets/Sizing%20the%20Impact%20Investing%20Market_webfile.pdf

Eastern Europe, Russia & Central Asia combined: 1%

Source:https://thegiin.org/assets/Sizing%20the%20Impact%20Investing%20Market_webfile.pdf

That does not mean, however, that the market is non-existent. Deloitte has taken on an effort to measure market readiness in Eastern and Central Europe by introducing its Social Investment Leveraging Index. It has indicated that “the highest score was calculated for the Baltic States (50.3), compared with 40.7 in the Balkans and 50.1 in the group in which Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine were included.” (Deloitte). Such scores show, according to Deloitte,that venture philanthropy and social investments would be worthwhile.  

  

Collaboration between public and private sectors as a key market building driver   

While it seems that public sectors are often lagging behind andinnovation is largely driven by the private sector, there is great interest for public sector to engage in facilitating impact investing market growth as it contributes not only to the economic development and drives metrics such as GDP up, but also solves social and environmental issues. Increasing public sector efforts have been observed across Europe not only on the national level, but also EU-wide.  

France. One way to explain the boom of impact investors in Paris, for example, is the push from the French government.Article 173 of the Loi n°2015-992 of August 17, 2015 related to the energy transition for green growth imposes impact measurement for bigger institutional investors. This law has indeed driven more investors to report on their impact, however, gaps are still noticeable: since no official methodology has been proposed, the quality of impact reports varies greatly, according to Novethic.  

Germany. Development of impact investing market has been slower in countries with strong welfare state tradition such as Germany due to “the fact that mutual adaptation between SII (Social Impact Investing) and existing state-sponsored social welfare ideals has yet to take place.” (Bertelsmannstiftung). Nevertheless, we can observe recent market-building initiatives resulting out of the cooperation between public and private sectors. According to GSG research, Germany’s nascent impact market is gaining momentum: “existing funds have raised more capital, foundations have become active impact investors, existing intermediaries are developing new investment products, impact-driven organizations are increasingly securing investment and the market has stabilized.”   

Germany’s challenges such as a small investor base, few intermediaries and little diversification, a limited number of investment products, few investment-ready impact-driven organisations are being actively tackled by a growing network of supporters and advisors, positioning it as an opportunistic growing market to be watched in 2020.  

Europe. New EU regulatory efforts such as EU taxonomy for sustainable activities will undoubtedly stimulate EU markets,including the very youngest ones like Eastern Europe. But it will take more than EU’s efforts for these markets to fully mature: stakeholder coalitions and ecosystem building efforts by local entrepreneurs, investors and supporters are necessary for these markets to become investable. 

 

Next steps for impact investing market in Europe   

There is no doubt that impact investing is becoming a very important part of the traditional investing landscape. With increasing amounts of proof that purpose-driven projects have increased financial value (Forbes), more and more institutional investors are turning towards investing in such enterprises. However, for impact investing market to flourish, few key market building milestones must be passed.   

According to PlusValue research, key priorities for impact investing agenda are, unsurprisingly, establishing common framework for impact measurement, increasing public engagement in impact investing and defining of impact investing itself. This can be achieved by a closer dialog between private and public sectors, awareness raising and active participation of all stakeholders. This would lead not only to accelerated market development in the under-tapped areas of Europe, but also scale it further all over the continent.  

Source: PlusValue

Source: PlusValue

Research by @OdysseusPartner / @MortaKaz / @Minh_Q_Tran

For more information, contact: minh@odysseuspartners.com  / @Minh_Q_Tran

A view on the 2019 Proptech market

Proptech Capital, a new venture capital fund and accelerator in Europe launched by Odysseus, shares its view on the Proptech market today through a mapping of various startups involved in Proptech. This mapping is built mostly through Proptech Capital’s network and dealflow, and from the attendees of MIPIM 2018 & 2019. The geographical scope is mainly Europe, North America and Asia. The startups represented operate both in the commercial and residential real estate markets.

A definition of Proptech given by CB Insights is the following: Proptech (also referred to as property technology or real estate technology) is a set of cross-industry technologies changing the way we research, rent, buy, and manage property.

The map is divided in three main areas: Search, Supervise and Sell. These three concepts refer to the different steps in the commercial or residential real estate customer journey, both for real estate professionals and end-customers.

This article first provides explanations on each area and sub-area, and then gives further insights from Proptech Capital on some solutions of particular interest to the fund. It also gives a brief overview on some of the use cases Proptech Capital built on these solutions, and for which it is looking for strategic partners – contact Proptech Capital for detailed information.

I/ Proptech Venture Map

20190913 Proptech_Map.PNG

1. Search Phase

The Search phase corresponds to activities related to searching for a property – for the end-customer to buy or for real estate agents to list them.

Brokerage Services: list and search activities carried out by an individual or a firm related to the sale or purchase of a property in exchange for a commission on the transaction.

Marketplaces: companies offering a platform designed to match two populations and make a transaction happen between them.

Data, Valuation and Analytics: companies whose activity consists of providing data, analytics and valuation tools to property managers and investors in order to enhance their opportunity-screening process and automate the valuation process, sometimes using Artificial Intelligence and data science techniques.

Virtual Viewing solutions: services dedicated at offering cutting-edge viewing technologies such as 3D and VR/AR/MR, to tour a property or improve the collaboration process in a development project.

Lease Guarantee and Financing solutions: companies offering innovative solutions to have financial access to a property, either by providing a lease guarantor or securing the financial deposit required.

 

2. Supervise Phase

The Supervise phase corresponds to activities carried out in the day-to-day activities of real estate professionals or related to the supervision of their core activities.

Investment and Crowdfinancing: this category includes platforms that allow individuals to invest in real estate, notably using blockchain, and also crowdfunding platforms that list investment opportunities for individuals to take a part in.

Manage & Operation solutions: companies in this category are providing products and services that help manage a property and supervise the relationship between landlords and tenants.

Space-as-a-Service and Smart Buildings solutions: this category includes startups building or operating a network of shared spaces – co-working and co-living, or offering smart building solutions using Internet of Things to improve one’s use of a building.

Agent tools: companies in this category are providing real estate agents with tools to assist them in their activity.

Project Management solutions: this category refers to startups that are building products designed to help construction stakeholders manage a real estate project by offering digital and technological solutions.

 

3. Sell Phase

The Sell phase corresponds to the last step of the customer journey, where a property is sold through different channels.

iBuyer solutions: the term iBuyer refers to online estate companies able to purchase a house in a quick period of time at a discounted price and then sell it through an online channel.

Hybrid agents: this category gathers startups that are offering online brokerage services disrupting the traditional estate agency model, with no physical touchpoints and low-fixed costs to sell a property.

Insurance & Closing: startups in this category are offering insurance for homebuyers and legal services aiming at protecting the buyer against any risks during the selling process.

II/ Insights from Proptech Capital

From its investment theses and its convictions on where the highest growth and most innovative opportunities are, Proptech Capital has taken an interest in some of these sub-areas beyond the broader overview and done further analysis and research on relevant trends.

1) iBuyers

iBuyer solutions are one of these sub-areas.

As mentioned, the term iBuyer refers to companies able to make quick online offers at a discounted price for properties, and which then sell it at a profit through an online channel. Companies in the US such as Opendoor or Offerpad have shown that this offer could fill a gap in the market as they provided distressed sellers with a convenient and quick process to sell their property, while still having a price around 90% of the market value. They quickly gained exceptional traction and revenues, with investors confident that they would keep growing. Opendoor raised $400 million in funding in May of 2018, totalling a $1 billion dollars in equity funding, while Offerpad raised $150 million dollars in both debt and equity. Knock also raised $400m in 2018.

The iBuyer market started in the US in 2014, with the inception of Opendoor. In 2018, in the United States, iBuyer companies accounted for c. 15,000 purchases and c. 10,000 sales, for a 0.2% market share in the country. This figure comes, for a large part, from the very limited geographies in which iBuyers currently operate.

However, in Phoenix, currently the main market for iBuyers, these companies accounted for c. 6% of all transactions, showing the large potential of these companies in the US.

Their growth also led traditional actors like Zillow or Redfin to launch their own iBuyer solutions. Meanwhile, the exceptional traction of US iBuyers is contributing to the emergence of a similar trend in Europe.

Proptech Capital's analysis shows indeed that similar opportunities exist in Europe, where only few actors have this type of offer, often without having significantly scaled so far. Market trends show a growing demand for quick and efficient processes in real estate transactions, as an alternative to lengthy closes in purchases, as well as endless showings and negotiations, at a discount of 8 to 12%, which is well below those offered by traditional agents targeting "distressed" sellers. Indeed, selling a real estate asset through traditional means takes on average 4 to 6 months in Europe, with uncertainty that can make the process even longer, and a large part of sellers are ready to accept a moderate discount to avoid this. New valuation technologies using machine learning and data analytics algorithms are able to fill this gap and provide a meaningful competition to traditional real estate agents.

Below is a map summarizing the main existing iBuyers – or companies with a similar hybrid model, such as Nested – identified by Proptech Capital in the US and in Europe – i.e. a focus on the "iBuyer solutions" sub-area of the whole map:

190906 iBuyer_GeoMap_TA_v1.png

In the context of Odysseus’ Asset Building approach, Proptech Capital is considering the launch of a real estate fund that could leverage this trend with investments in residential real estate assets at a discount. This fund could target the growing demand for quicker online processes, as well as for equity release, which is another growing real estate trend in Europe caused by the aging population and the projected growth in old-age dependency ratios. Equity release indeed offers new liquidity means to seniors, as it enables owners to access their property's value for more cash in retirement, and similarly to iBuyers, equity release platforms are appearing to answer this growing demand.

With the required funding, Proptech Capital could invest in European iBuyer and equity release platforms and co-develop its own real estate valuation algorithms and sourcing strategies with them, to build a real estate portfolio and ultimately conduct an IPO that would bring NAV premium returns to its investors.

2) Alternative real estate financing

Another trend Proptech Capital looks at with a particular interest is the alternative financing options for property investments, both on the supply side (property development and construction) and the demand side (mortgage loans), as well as the new valuation and investment methods relative to blockchain and real estate asset tokenization.

Proptech Capital mapped the main European actors in these three areas below - i.e. a focus on the "investment & crowdfinancing" sub-area of the whole map. This mapping focuses exclusively on Europe.

190906 RE_Alternative_Financing_TA_v1.png

a. Real Estate Asset Tokenization

The rise of blockchain, tokenization of assets and smart contracts can facilitate the development of real estate investment platforms and reduce transaction costs, making such investment more accessible. Most of the applications of blockchain in Proptech focus on using blockchain for data management or applying it for transactions.

Proptech Capital observed that there is a growing base of users that are more eager to have access to real-estate investment. On the business side, similarly to iBuyer trends, there is an incentive for real estate stakeholders to make transactions directly to reduce the cost structure in the distribution process of a real estate product.  Blockchain thereby enables users to trade directly real estate assets using tokenized assets.

Meanwhile, smart contracts allow fast, secured and recorded transactions in a digital ledger that cannot be hacked, drastically reducing the number of required intermediaries.

 

b. Mortgage Loans

Proptech Capital noticed a growing number of real estate debt platforms which facilitate mortgage loans for individuals or companies with debt capital from alternative financing sources, such as crowdfunding, P2P lending, or non-bank institutional debt funds. These individuals back their loans on the property they are purchasing it with or on a property they already possess. Lenders invest in these loans with flexible amounts, fast processes and low fees.

A growing demand trend for these products is based on the buy-to-let approach, for individuals seeking to increase their rental portfolio and willing to secure a bridging loan in order to purchase a property. Some platforms, such as Landbay, are specialized in these buy-to-let mortgage loans.

Indeed, traditional credit actors are increasingly selective in their mortgage financing offers for individuals or companies looking to purchase real estate assets or make property-backed loans, offering an opportunity to these platforms.

This trend is especially attractive to Proptech Capital, which identified around 10 of these alternative finance mortgage credit platforms in the EU and mapped the main ones of the graph above.

Some of the mapped actors focus exclusively on mortgage loans, while others, such as LendInvest or EstateGuru have them as one of multiple offers.

With the necessary funding, Proptech Capital aims to aggregate some of these platforms and co-develop a build-up strategy in credit mortgage with them in Europe, to accelerate their growth and to create business synergies through tech integrations and consolidations.

c. Property Development Credit

Many actors have identified a need for property development credit and have developed platforms to provide that. Their observation is that traditional credit actors have become very rigid with credit to SMEs in construction or property development after the 2008 crisis and many of these property professionals struggle to find credit options.

These platforms provide professional property developers with access to equity and debt capital coming from private institutional investors, P2P lending and/or crowdfunding finance, depending on the platforms. As for mortgage loans, amounts are usually flexible, processes aim to be as fast as possible and fees are reduced to a minimum, in order to provide a convincing alternative to traditional investment options for investors, and to traditional liquidity means for borrowers.

As summarized by Wellesley Finance, the applications for these credit loans include:

  • New residential construction/developments

  • Commercial / mixed-use developments

  • Medium to heavy refurbishment

  • Permitted development rights

  • Bespoke Bridging opportunities

  • Structured finance

Similarly to credit mortgage, this opportunity could lead Proptech Capital to adopt a built-to-scale strategy with strategic funding partners, by investing with an SPV in this vertical and enabling these property development loan platforms to scale together in the European market.

 

About Proptech Capital

Proptech Capital was launched by Odysseus Partners, an Asset Builder that provides emerging businesses with access to both equity and alternative finance investments.

Proptech Capital identifies and invests in technology companies that positively impact the property environment, either through their business model or product innovation.

The Fund sources, secures and manages investments into early-stage technology ventures in Europe and across the continent, supported by a team of investment management executives with deep sector expertise and venture capital experience.

For real estate corporates willing to kickstart a VC arm to innovate in Proptech outside their organization, the Fund has been designed to complement their innovation and venturing strategies.

As a result, benefits for corporates as limited partners include exclusive access to best of emerging technology startups in Proptech and facilitating opportunities for active business partnerships.

Contact Proptech Capital to discuss a partnership or for more information:

Minh Q. Tran, minh@proptech.capital