The 10 Keys to a retail investment platform

Inversa is a retail investment platform that enables small savers to get a return on their money and finance companies in the real economy

Warren Buffett, George Soros, Charlie Munger, Carl Icahn… The legends of some of the most influential investors have settled in the collective imagination. However, the investment sector, vital to the functioning of the economy and society, goes far beyond a group of billionaire geniuses.

In addition to traditional financial institutions, investment funds, states, or the stock market, today it is possible to invest through innovative mechanisms, combining finance and cutting-edge technology, such as, for example, a retail investment platform like Inversa Invoice Market.

In the heat of the digitalization we have experienced in recent years, FinTechs have opened up new avenues of financing for companies in the real economy and of investment for savers who, until now, were kept away from the investment sector.

Thus, several FinTechs, such as Inversa, have launched projects linked to alternative financing and investment to enable access for:

• Companies in the real economy to complementary financing to that provided by banks.
• Small investors to products that meet their needs and allow them to obtain a return on their savings.

Inversa is a retail investment platform focused on crowdfactoring, i.e., offering SME invoices so that a crowd can invest in them, get a return on their money, and, incidentally, provide liquidity to companies in the real economy.

Below, we will unpack the 10 keys to a retail investment platform such as Inversa, which allows savers to enter the investment arena for as little as 20 euros.

1. Elimination of bureaucracy and streamlining of procedures

A retail investment platform such as Inversa stands out, first and foremost, for its ease of access.

Many people have stayed away from the investment sector because of the existence of obstacles and bureaucracy. The slowness of the procedures when it comes to making it possible to invest in an insurmountable barrier for thousands of potential investors who lack the time and experience to manage the bureaucracy.

In the face of this fact, a retail investment platform allows savers to start investing in a minuscule amount of time. For example, at Inversa, once the investor completes the registration form, they will receive a response in as little as 24 hours. In addition, registration is completely free of charge and without obligation. Once the investor is registered in the system, he can invest in the retail investment platform and choose the bills that fit his investment strategies.

2. The minimum capital to invest is only 20 euros

The minimum capital required is another aspect that has traditionally turned many savers away from the investment market. For example, many investment funds need five-digit figures.

Some products are designed exclusively for professional investors or at least for people with a certain level of liquidity. In contrast, a retail investment platform such as Inversa is like the iconic Coca-Cola advert: for everyone.

This desire to democratize access to investment translates into a meager minimum capital: 20 euros. What it costs to have a few wines with friends. Or what we spend at least when we go to the supermarket.

In this way, hundreds of thousands of people who have modest savings but who wish to make them profitable and value the effort they have invested in obtaining them can access a retail investment platform, contract products, and receive much higher interest than having the money without moving in the bank account.

20 euros, moreover, is such a low figure that it is an incentive, above all, for savers to try out the investment market and dare, perhaps for the first time in their lives, to design their investment strategies and obtain an exciting return on their money.

3. It is not necessary to make any deposit

Associated with the previous key, we find another exciting aspect of a retail investment platform: the requirement of a money deposit. Many people need help to afford to deposit a large amount of money and have it withheld because this can lead to liquidity problems.

On a retail investment platform such as Inversa Invoice Market, investors are not required to make any deposit. The only economic figure required is the minimum capital of 20 euros to invest.

When it comes to democratizing access to investment, a retail investment platform combines technological aspects (being able to invest easily, without leaving home, without having to go through numerous procedures) with purely economic issues, such as the capital to invest and the need or not to make a deposit beforehand.

4. The retail investor does not have to pay any commissions

Precisely, another economic aspect that discourages many potential investors is the charging of commissions by the entities or organizations that offer investment products.

Nobody likes to pay commissions. Practically the entire population can share this statement. That is why Inversa Invoice Market is a retail investment platform where investors do not have to pay any commission for purchasing invoices.

What is the objective of this decision? To promote savers' access to the investment market and to facilitate the purchase of products on the retail investment platform. That is why all commissions for investors are 0%:

• Commission for registration on the retail investment platform
• Investment fee
• Fee for depositing money into your account on the platform
• Commission for withdrawal of your money from the account on the platform to your bank
• Commission for maintenance of the account on the platform

The price of these fees on the Inversa retail investment platform is 0.

5. An easy-to-understand and tangible investment product

So far, we have addressed the conditions of access to investment through a retail investment platform, but the time has come to address an essential aspect: investment products.

As we pointed out at the beginning, in the case of Inversa, the product marketed are invoices of companies in the real economy. Everyone knows what an invoice is and is used for this kind of document. It is a simple investment product to understand, like a derivative or a future. Or whose behavior is easier to predict with a high level of knowledge, such as shares on the stock exchange.

Investing in invoices of companies that need to obtain liquidity and have yet to be able to collect invoices from their customers offers certainty for all investors because they understand perfectly what they are investing their money in and what its destination will be. They can investigate on their own both the company that is giving up the invoice and the business that has to pay it.

Many savers do not feel challenged by the investment industry because they do not see it as tangible; they cannot see clearly how their money will be spent. Through a crowdfactoring-focused retail investment platform like Inversa, it is effortless to understand where the money is going and to feel its impact on real-economy companies with liquidity needs.

6. All the information to design investment strategies

For a retail investment platform to work and be truly useful for savers, it must provide all the information they need to develop their investment strategies and make accurate decisions.

In this sense, technological advances have not only enabled the launch of initiatives such as a retail investment platform that savers can access from their cell phones or computers. But they have also made it easier to process companies' financial data and analyze it to provide highly accurate credit ratings and behavioral analysis.

Therefore, a retail investment platform must provide investors with all the critical data about the products they offer, whether they are invoices, as in crowdfactoring, or loans, as in crowdlending:

• The total amount of the invoice or loan
• The interest rate of the operation
• Rating or credit rating of the debtor company
• Credit opinion
• The period for recovery of the investment

With this data in front of their eyes, savers who choose to monetize their money on a retail investment platform can decide whether or not an investment fits their return, risk, or time horizon objectives.

In addition, individuals who join a retail investment platform such as Inversa Invoice Market can also know precisely which companies are linked to the transaction and research them on their own. The Internet offers us an immense wealth of information, which also helps to facilitate retail investment.

7. Full autonomy in investment management

In contrast to other investment mechanisms, where people delegate decision-making to managers or where they only have to wait for the return of the investment and interest, a retail investment platform emphasizes the process. What does this mean? The investor can monitor all his assets at any time and from anywhere, design his investment strategies, modify them, and update them.

In other words, when a saver decides to invest in Inversa, he has the power to decide on all aspects of his investments: what return he requires to invest in a bill, what is the maximum period he wishes to assume to recover his investment, what is his risk tolerance, in what type of companies he wishes to invest and in which ones he does not?

A retail investment platform not only facilitates access to the investment arena for small savers but also empowers them to manage their investments to meet their objectives autonomously. Is this time-consuming? Not at all. Managing investments on a retail investment platform can become a daily habit that takes minutes.

8. A retail investment platform that automates investments

Inversa's retail investment platform has an automation tool to facilitate investment management. What does this mean? It means that savers can set up a series of rules so that the system invests their money in invoices 100% in line with their investment strategies.

For example, a user of our retail investment platform can decide that they only want to invest a maximum of 500 euros in a single invoice and that the invoice must offer a minimum return of 6%, its expiration date must not be more than 90 days, and the rating must be average.

The retail investment platform stores the rules and invests only in those bills that comply with them. So savers retain complete control of their investment decision-making; they can forget about clicking on each bill they want to invest in. The system does it for them.

Since we live in a fast-paced world and have little time to spare between work and family obligations, automating investments is no small matter. On the contrary, it can be a determining factor in encouraging savers to use a retail investment platform to make the most of their money and earn interest.

9. Access to the secondary market to buy or sell investments

What happens to investments once they are made but have yet to be recouped? On a retail investment platform like Inversa, investments can also be bought or sold. How? Through the secondary market.

This gives savers more freedom to manage their investments.

Why? Suppose an investor wants to recover his money before the agreed deadline because he wants liquidity. In that case, he can sell some of his investments to other users of the retail investment platform.

What do savers who buy bills on the secondary market gain? The possibility of making investments that they missed in the primary market and that fit their investment strategies.

In addition, investments can be sold on the secondary market at a premium, at par, or a discount, depending on their potential and the liquidity needs of the person offering them.

10. Thousands of retail investors are financing companies in the real economy

At this point, what is left to highlight about a retail investment platform? One aspect that we have touched on throughout the article is the destination of the investment.

At Inversa Invoice Market, savers can earn interest on their money while contributing to the growth and consolidation of real economy companies that generate wealth and jobs.

Small investors generally consider not only the return or risk of a transaction but also the intended use of their money.

Through a retail investment platform, it is possible to reap interest and make an impact on the world by financing environmentally and socially sustainable companies.

In short, all the changes that have taken place in recent years have enabled the emergence of new players, such as retail investment platforms. FinTechs such as Inversa have opened the doors of the investment market to savers, allowing people to invest their money without having to make deposits, have high minimum capital, or have to delegate their investment decisions.