Sharesight raises $1.8m in funding round

Online portfolio management start-up Sharesight has completed a $1.8 million funding round led by the firm's clients. 

Sharesight raises $1.8m in funding round

tstewart

Last Updated: 22 December 2015 Published: 22 December 2015

More than 75 per cent of the $1.8 million capital raising was funded by Sharesight's users, with the remainder funded by existing clients.

Sharesight chief executive Doug Morris said the start-up was "overwhelmed" by the interest from its user base and "could have raised more money if Government sanctioned crowd-funding had been legalised".

"The most important thing for us was to involve our customers in this raise, who after all, are investors themselves," Mr Morris said.

"We did that and raised more than enough to execute our growth plan, so we're thrilled with the result," he said.

The minimum investment for the funding round was $50,000 to "control the number of new shareholders brought on board", Mr Morris said.

"Based on a survey we sent to our client base, I'd estimate that had it been possible from an administrative standpoint to handle a higher number of investors and accept smaller amounts, we could have raised twice what we did," he said.

Sharesight was founded in Wellington, New Zealand by father and son team Tony and Scott Ryburn. The company provides online share management software for DIY and self-directed investors.