On December 20, Wombat micro-investing platform announced the appointment of Chad West to its advisory board. The hiring comes at a time when the London-based company celebrates attaining 200,000 users and is preparing for its upcoming European expansion.
West, the former Communications Director at Revolut, is the latest industry experienced professional to have recently joined Wombat. In June, the investment platform hired the MD eToro, Iqbal Gandham and the former Hargreaves Lansdown CIO, David Davies for a three-year deal as part of the company’s advisory team.
Chad is tasked with addressing current business-related activities facing Wombat, analyzing workplace and industry trends as well as strategizing incorporation for best business practices, to ensure Wombat is on the forefront of service at a global, national and local level.
Chad’s appointment will, therefore, significantly help Wombat to turn around its fortunes, at a time when the firm is conducting a Series A funding. Also, the company has plans to expand its services in Europe in 2022 and launch several new products and features.
Currently, the number of users of Wombat’s investment platform has surged beyond 200,000 as demand from retail investors continues to grow. On average, Wombat’s user numbers are currently rising by 15% per quarter. According to App Radar, Wombat is the fastest growing investment app. This is based on the number of downloads that signed up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Established in 2019, Wombat has been witnessing rapid growth. Novice investors are the firm’s core customers that join the platform to access its variety of theme-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and curated UK, US and EU fractional shares.
In July, Wombat cut its annual platform charge to just 0.1%, which is a move that makes the firm the cheapest platform in the UK for ISA investors purchasing individual stocks.
Kane Harrison, the CEO and Co-Founder of Wombat, talked about the development and said: “We are proud of how many new investors have chosen Wombat to manage their money and are fully committed to ensuring they have all the tools and knowledge to continue to invest in the way that they want. The advice and guidance of our expert advisors has been instrumental in the growth of Wombat so far, and we are delighted to welcome Chad to the team as we prepare for the next stage of our development.”
Meanwhile, Chad West commented about his appointment and stated: “Wombat has proven that it is one of the most exciting new investment platforms in the UK and has laid the foundations for a very bright future. It has a compelling proposition, a fantastic user journey and a brilliant team in place, and I look forward to working with them as they continue to build on all of the great work they’ve achieved to date.”
Investing in Sustainable Food ETFs
The development by Wombat hiring Chad West comes at a time when the company is committed to unlocking opportunities across markets to meet the evolving needs of its investors. In September, the company launched a new sustainable food ETF as part of its commitment to enable investing for everyone willing to put their spare cash at risk in exchange for future gains. The investment product is similar to the Valkyrie Balance Sheet opportunities ETF. Moreover, Wombat’s sustainable food ETF provides investors with exposure to several companies that are innovating across the food value chain to develop a more sustainable, fair and secure food system for the planet.
FOOD LN lists top companies within the sustainable foods industry, including: Beyond Meat, the plant-based food company, Oatly, the world’s largest oatmilk company, Tattooed Chef, a US-based farm-to-table business which plants and manufactures all its own products. The ETF is trading on the London Stocks Exchange (LSE) with the ticker Food LN, and it is the first thematic fund of its type to be made available to UK and European investors. The premise of the fund lies in the global challenge of providing nutritious, affordable and healthy food to a rising global population while at the same time reducing the harm done to the environment.
