wallstreet:online, Alibaba, Novavax - Digital pioneers and old hands

wallstreet:online - Good business with Smartbroker

Around 12.1 million people in Germany own shares, equity funds and ETFs. One-third of equity savers are female, and 49,000 people under 30 have started investing, according to the Deutsches Aktieninstitut (DAI). While some investors used to have to go through the cumbersome process of calling and faxing in their stock orders, neobrokers now make buying and selling stocks a breeze. Meanwhile, investors can register with a new broker in less than fifteen minutes using digital online identity credentials and get started right away.

**One of these neobrokers with a simultaneous newsfeed is wallstreet:online AG. The Group operates "Smartbroker" - an online broker that offers a comprehensive range of products at the conditions of a neobroker. In addition, the Group also provides its investors with financial news on various portals. With several hundred million monthly page impressions, the Group is the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in the German-speaking world and maintains the largest financial community.

The fact that neobrokers are in hot demand in the fintech scene is also evident at competitor Trade Republic. The non-listed company relies on strategic investors such as Sino AG and has just notarized a capital increase of around EUR 250 million. The new lead investor is the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan ("OTPP"). In the 1980s, the government of Ontario, Canada, initiated intensive reforms to modernize the administration and investment of public pension plans. Out came the OTPP, which invests globally as a trustee and active investor. According to the press release, with the implementation of this expanded funding round, Sino's share will decrease to approximately 2.6% of Trade Republic's common stock.

Alibaba - Advancing with digital bank in Singapore

Finally, tech stocks from China are seeing bullish prices again. After the government dropped its investigation into the Chinese Uber, 'Didi', Alibaba's share price also jumped 4.8%. That is because Alibaba has invested there: Didi closed a EUR 4.2 billion funding round in June 2016 with investors including Apple Inc, China Life Insurance Co, and a financial subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Didi Global went public in the US, last summer. But its stock price plummeted after China blocked the ride-sharing app. Last December, Didi said it wanted to delist from the US to go public in Hong Kong.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been buzzing about his web of companies surrounding the international e-commerce conglomerate. His Ant Group is now launching a digital bank in Singapore. Named ANEXT, the digital bank will focus on serving local and regional micro, small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"), especially those that operate across borders to expand globally, according to an Ant Group spokesperson. Anyone looking at Alibaba Group's business model will recognize the network of numerous merchants that use the Platform-as-a-Service to trade internationally. With ANEXT, payment flows remain in Jack Ma's sights as of now. Investors should look closely to see if the current Alibaba share price is a portfolio addition. The launch of the digital bank in Singapore is one of Ant Group's biggest ventures outside of China. Ant Group is a subsidiary of China's Alibaba Group. The Group owns China's largest digital payment platform, Alipay, which serves more than 1 billion users and 80 million merchants.

Novavax - FDA recommends vaccine for US

A panel of experts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended the Novavax corona vaccine. Although the risk of heart muscle inflammation from the vaccination was pointed out in advance, the committee decided to approve it. Emergency approval for the vaccine is expected soon. This would be the fourth vaccine approved in the United States. After FDA clearance, it will then be the responsibility of the CDC to write the appropriate guidelines.

The Novavax vaccine has been tested in two trials with nearly 45,000 participants and is used to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is already in use in the EU, Canada and the UK. The protein-based active ingredient is intended to convince people who are skeptical about an mRNA vaccination. The Company affirms that its active ingredient remains stable longer under refrigeration and is better tolerated than vaccines from Pfizer and consorts used on the market to date. Protein-based vaccines such as Novavax have been used in the pharmaceutical industry for years. They are used against influenza, hepatitis B and shingles. However, the timeline for development is longer. That is why the emergency approval of Novavax seems late from an investor's perspective.

With just 49,000 Germans under the age of 30, both the Smartbroker product offers potential for further investor growth, as does the wallstreet:online AG share. They are the only ones in the German market to combine an online broker application with various financial news portals and an active investment community. Neobrokers seem so lucrative that even proven major investors such as Canada's Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan are investing in the market. Asian stocks are also picking up slightly. Alibaba founder Jack Ma is pulling off a coup outside China with his first digital bank, ANEXT, based in Singapore, to bundle payment flows for SMEs. Streams of Novavax will also soon be flowing into the veins of countless US residents who are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 with a protein-based vaccine. The FDA has given the green light for emergency approval. As a result, four vaccines are now available in the USA.