Online trading platform Stake ready to step up growth trajectory

After a bumper pandemic period, online trading platform Stake now has $2.5bn in assets under management, and has poached Blackrock’s APAC managing director.

Stake’s new chief commercial officer Jon Howie (left), with chief operating officer Dan Silver and CEO Matt Leibowitz.

Online trading platform Stake says it is now the nation’s third-largest investment platform with more than $2.5bn in assets under management and has bolstered its executive team, tapping former Blackrock APAC managing director Jon Howie to serve as chief commercial officer.

Mr Howie, who also worked as a senior Macquarie Bank executive and was head of iShares Australia, was a key figure in bringing exchange-traded funds to Australia and said the local investment industry should be doing far more to serve Australian investors and help them achieve their financial goals.

Stake, which has targeted Gen Z and millennial investors with its online trading platform, is looking to capitalise on a bumper two-year period it enjoyed during the pandemic.

“Obviously we saw a lot of change around Covid, in which we effectively saw a tripling of Australian investors during that time,” Mr Howie said.

“That introduced a new cohort of people to the market, and we think Stake can play a huge part in helping that cohort of investors build better financial futures for themselves.

“Investing can be difficult and it can be confusing and I think Stake is one of those organisations that is uniquely positioned to remove some of those barriers, I’m super excited to be here.”

Stake co-founder and chief executive Matt Leibowitz said Mr Howie was joining at a critical time for the business, which is preparing for an overhaul of its user interface as well as the addition of several new product features in coming months, with the AI boom leading to an uptick in Wall Street trading.

Stake began life as a platform for Australian investors to trade US stocks but has since expanded its offering, growing its customer base by 120 per cent year-on-year and continuing to add new investors despite the ongoing cost-of- living crisis.

It makes most of its revenues from foreign exchange fees and $3 brokerage fees, as well as membership of its premium Stake Black platform which offers market dashboard data.

“The reason Jon is here is we have a real opportunity to take the next step as a business and go even further,” Mr Leibowitz said.

“He’s got great access and exceptional experience, he’s fitted in really seamlessly and matches the DNA that we’re all about, which is trying to provide access to investors and being a customer-led business.

“We’re not seeing any drop off in people who are engaged with the market, I think people are looking for a way to supplement their salaries. Maybe the amount they’ve got to invest is a little bit smaller, but they still see investing as a discipline and something they want to be doing.”

The executive said the cost-of-living crisis had seen investors opt more towards dividend stocks and yield-based investments rather than longer-term growth companies.

Stake most recently completed a $90m capital raise from Tiger Global and DST Global Partners in April 2022, and Mr Leibowitz said the company should no longer need any additional external capital to continue growing.

“The intention is never to have to raise again,” he said.

“We’ll continue to go higher (in headcount), we’ve got lots of growth opportunities even though the market has obviously shifted a little bit.

“Things got a little bit heated in the talent market with Covid, but we’re still hiring and there is a really good internal energy inside of this business.”

Originally published as Online trading platform Stake ready to step up growth trajectory