5 trends we’re watching this week

5 trends in finance this week

[alert type=yellow ]Every week at Tradestreaming, we’re tracking and analyzing the top trends impacting the finance industry. The following is a list of important things going on we think are worth paying attention to. For more in depth trendfollowing, subscribe to Tradestreaming’s weekly newsletter (published every Sunday).[/alert]

1. [podcast] Where Blue Elephant’s Brian Weinstein is finding opportunity investing in marketplace lending (Tradestreaming)
Brian Weinstein was a portfolio manager at BlackRock, managing a $100B portfolio of fixed income assets. He left to join Blue Elephant – a startup investment firm focused on marketplace and direct lending. He joins us on the podcast this week to discuss the investment case for this changing field (and where he’s investing).

2. SEC Approves Plan to Issue Stock Via Bitcoin’s Blockchain (Wired)
Federal regulators, in a significant shift in how financial securities will be distributed and traded, have approved a plan to issue stock via the Internet.

3. Brokers and Advisers Fight For Millennials’ Money (Fortune)
Wall Street needs millennials’ money and is trying out new ways to reach them. They need to move quickly because younger people aren’t using advisors.

4. Pave Raises $300 Million In The Latest Online Lending Push (WSJ)
Interest rates, schminterest rates. The flood of credit flowing into online lenders just won’t stop.

5. With E-Signatures in Wealth Management, Authentication Reigns (WealthManagement.com)
Often, digital documents contain financial and investment information, bank account numbers and other personally identifiable information that, when in the wrong hands, could be destructive to your client.