5 Canadian FinTech companies selected as Finalists out of 11

Jacoline B. Loewen, Disruptive Technology in Fintech

From TechFest happening in Vancouver to the Waterloo Innovation Summit and Elevate Toronto, it was the week of innovation and entrepreneurs.

During the same week, I got an amazing phone call from Switzerland. Our UBS Global Fintech Challenge was done.  UBS was now releasing the details about the finalists selected to go to New York.

The eleven finalist companies will receive mentoring about their technology and brain storm about how they could work with our UBS information technology team members.

The finalists will spend several days in New York And hang out with the UBS key players and decision makers for UBS Bank around the world. This is worth more than the prize money for both the startups but also for UBS. It is an amazing way to engage with the best, most disruptive and the most relevant innovative fintech companies from around the world.

The 11 finalists will then be helped to prep and then to present their Pitch Deck to the judges. One winner will be selected to get the investment capital award. Probably the mentoring and networking is of far greater value but someone has to won the podium. This is all coming up in November, 2017.

I must say, I was stunned to hear the numbers behind the competition and how much the Canadian FinTech is hitting above its weight. For your interest, here is a quick numbers break down:

• 1,000 applicants across the globe.
• 125 were looked at closely
• Out of the 11 finalists in the Americas going to New York - a whopping 5 are Canadian.
• 2 of these Fintech companies are female founded and led.

It would be amazing if a Canadian won. I will keep you posted!

Self-made billionaire reveals his number one secret to success

The Billionaire, Ray Dalio, one of the world's largest and best-performing hedge funds has published his autobiography which I recommend. A true entrepreneurial success story, Dalio started his company in a tiny apartment. He was a self-described poor student. Forty years after starting his company, Dalio decided to share his success secrets in his new book,Principles.

Ray says the most important chapter that reveals the number one roadblock to success that is so engrained in the human experience, and in our DNA, it's difficult to overcome. But those who recognize it and take steps to knock down the barrier will be in a much stronger position to get what they want out of life.

Dalio's advice: Be radically open-minded

Good decisions aren't necessarily the ones that stroke your ego. A good decision is what's best for you and your company. To make good decisions, argues Dalio, a person must have the ability to explore different points of view and different possibilities, regardless of whether it hurts your ego.

Ask any of your friends or any entrepreneur if he or she is open-minded, and most--if not all--will say they are. But are they? Are you? According to Dalio, here are some cues that will tell if you are truly open-minded.

• Close-minded people don't want their ideas challenged; open-minded people are not angry when someone disagrees.
• Close-minded people are more likely to make statements than ask questions; open-minded people genuinely believe they could be wrong.
• Close-minded people focus much more on being understood than on understanding others; open-minded people always feel compelled to see things through others' eyes.
• Close-minded people lack a deep sense of humility; open-minded people approach everything with a deep-seated fear that they may be wrong.

Dalio believes that recognizing these traits in yourself is just the first step. The second step is recognizing them in others. Once you do, "surround yourself with the open-minded ones," he says.

Imagine a trustworthy world of money - imagine blockchain and crypto-currency

Imagine a world where everyone was perfectly honest and trustworthy when it came to money.  This is where banks arose to help trusted intermediaries to able to protect and transact with money. Now, imagine a world with a single, universal, absolutely trustworthy and completely indestructible financial ledger. This is where blockchain is arising. It is to create a simplified, single ledger for transfer of value.

Jacoline Loewen at the Blockchain and Crypto-Currency Event, 2017

With these points in mind, I put together an event discussing these themes and how blockchain is gaining in achieving this lofty vision. Crypto-currencies and blockchain technologies are attracting tremendous interest from new and traditional participants across all sectors, and banks are at the forefront of understanding the potential applications of these technologies - which will change how banks operate at an organizational level, not just at a technology level.
Efforts like UBS's Blockchain and Innovation Lab in London, UK will drive innovation through unique partnerships with fintechs and other large banks as blockchain technologies are better understood by regulators and clients and industry standards emerge.
In 2015, UBS started a pathfinding journey to explore, harness and share the potential of blockchain. As a leading financial organization, it is our duty to understand the technology and its implications, to share the knowledge and benefits with clients, the financial industry and the wider society, and become ready for blockchain in production in 2018.Thank you to our expert speaker, Peter Stephens, Head of UBS Blockchain and Innovation Lab in London, UK. A special thank you to Andre Perey, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), who hosted the fireside chat with Peter. Andre is also a director on the board of UBS Bank (Canada).If you would like more information about the Exploring Blockchain and Crypto-Currencies event held by UBS Bank (Canada) in August, 2017, or for UBS reports on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, please contact me for details.


Jacoline Loewen: 416-332-7012
You can follow me on Twitter @jacolineloewen

The Atmospheric Fund Board

I was pleased to be invited to serve for a third term on the board of directors of The Atmospheric Fund.
Being on the Investment Committee means real input into private equity investing and sustainable investing.

TAF is governed by a 12-member board. Five of these members are City Councillors and seven are citizen members appointed through the City of Toronto’s public appointments process. TAF has been fortunate to have attracted a wide range of experience and expertise to our board, including investment specialists, energy experts and community engagement professionals. The board meets five times a year and board meetings are open to the public (but may include in-camera sessions).

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee oversees both management of TAF’s endowment and mandate-related investments (loans and equity investments in enterprises that can deliver emission reductions). The committee members have a wealth of investment and legal expertise and provide recommendations to the TAF board on all investment decisions.

Members:

• Rob A. Roberti (Chair), Principal at Verde Finance
• John Campbell, City Councillor
• Bill Crossland, President and CEO at Thermal Energy International Inc.
• Jason Kotler, Entrepreneur
• Hyewon Kong, Associate Portfolio Manager at AGF Investments Inc.
• Matthew Z. Leibowitz, Partner at Plazacorp Ventures
• Jacoline Loewen, Director at UBS Bank (Canada) Wealth Management
• Graham McBride, Independent Investor and Strategist
• Bill Tapscott, Managing Director at Era2 Productions Inc.
• Terry Vaughan, Senior Consultant at Prime Quadrant

The committee’s responsibilities include:

• Selecting the investment manager(s) and any other agents or advisors needed to prudently manage the endowment
• Formulating and amending when necessary the Statement of Investment Objectives and Principles (SIOP), with consideration to TAF’s mandate and purpose of advancing solutions to climate change and air pollution, and reviewing the SIOP at least once per year
• Preparing and maintaining a Prohibited Securities List of companies whose securities cannot be held in the portfolio in keeping with the mandate and beliefs expressed in the SIOP
• Monitoring the investment manager(s) and any other agents or advisors with respect to investment performance and compliance with the SIOP
• Reviewing and advising on impact/direct investments and providing recommendations on those investments to the board
• Providing quarterly reports to the board on the performance of the endowment and any other aspects of asset management, which the Investment Committee deems appropriate or as requested by the board

How to build wealth fast

We all know that automating a monthly deposit to our nest egg bank account is a proven method to build wealth. It's fairly painless as you do not notice the withdrawals and you rapidly adjust your lifestyle. Pretty quickly, your wealth does grow, particularly if you choose lower risk investments with a decent interest rate?
How about something more specific?
I like the table below that shows monthly savings rate with interest earned. It is over a 25 year period which my not serve your needs but will be good to show your adult children to inspire them to at least start with the automatic monthly savings to their TFSA.