Spaceship crosses 100,000 customers milestone in Australia

By Edil Corneille

Sydney-based online investment platform Spaceship announced that it has surpassed an important milestone as millennial Australians do more with their money during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 100,000 Australians now invest with the Spaceship platform that was launched in 2017. The platform is said to be popular with younger investors. 40,000 individuals have joined since COVID-19 hit the Australian economy in March.

Spaceship CEO Andrew Moore said the 100,000-customer milestone was achieved in October, with the global pandemic forcing Australians under the age of 45 to become more financially sophisticated.

“It is well documented that younger Australians have been hardest hit by COVID-19 in terms of job losses and reduced working hours, but they have responded by being more committed, focused and financially savvy than they’re often given credit for,” he said.

“Spaceship’s research finds that the majority of millennial Australians in their 20s save at least 10-20 per cent of their income, and this seems to have been amplified in recent months.

“A large proportion of our funds under management has come from millennials who have responded positively to Spaceship’s simple and engaging investment approach and have taken the opportunity to invest in some of the global companies they use every day.

“Younger Australians have traditionally been disconnected from investing so there is untapped demand for investment products that align to their values, are affordable and are easy to use.”

Key Spaceship milestones:

• Funds under management (FUM) in Spaceship’s investment and superannuation products has now surpassed $530 million, an increase of $110 million since July 31, 2020.
• Funds under management have grown by 96 per cent and $260 million in the last 12 months.
  More than 40,000 new customers have joined since March, when the economic impacts of COVID-19 started.
• Consistently attracting up to 300 customers each day.

“COVID-19 has been a powerful financial wake-up call. With the Federal Budget promising a cash injection of about $2,000 for more than seven million Australians, the trend towards simplified investing is only set to continue,” Moore said.

“Simplicity is at the centre of everything we do, from the way our app operates to the products we offer. The majority of our customers are aged under 45, and historically have been underserved by incumbents offering confusing, expensive and clunky investment products. Spaceship is proud to be helping open investing up to more Aussies – especially the younger generations.”

Spaceship is backed by Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures and AirTree Ventures. It has received more than $50 million in funding since inception.