Wealth Migrate

Ukraine Conflict: Investors should move their money to safe bets

Blog, Media, Press Release, Real Estate, Real Estate Investment /

by Scott Picken, Founder and CEO of Wealth Migrate

The conflict in Ukraine has impacted all industries and, in turn, global trade and investment. Clashes such as the Russian capture of the Zaporizhia nuclear power station have had ripple effects on the world’s stock markets, with the FTSE 100 dropping by over 250 points in a single day – the biggest dip since March 2020. The turmoil has also seen the Dow Jones falling by 11% in the year to date, the S&P500 by 13.4% and the Nasdaq by 19%. With there being no end in sight to the war, it’s easy to see why investors are concerned. This is not to mention the impact it is now having on inflation, with America experiencing a 40-year inflation high in May 2022, causing further volatility in the stock market. However, it is vital that they don’t get distracted by the noise when it comes to mitigating the impact of volatility.

Markets will always be affected by current affairs, with recent events including South African prime interest rates climbing above 25% in the late-1990s; September 11; the dot com boom and bust; the global financial crisis, Brexit, and now, the Ukraine war. In turbulent times, there are three strategies investors must adopt:

Look to the long-term
What disruptive events of the past reveal is that markets move in cycles and so too do industries, assets, countries, and cities. In times like these, investors tend to struggle with analysis paralysis or take money out of the market, buying high and selling low. But investors must consider long-term cycles and trends when making decisions. What might happen in the next month, the next three months or even the next year, is irrelevant. Rather, think about the long term – the next five, 10, 20 or even 30-year cycles – to maximise that investment.

Opt for safe haven investments
When faced with uncertainty in global world economies, savvy investors make a flight towards safety by diverting capital into assets like property and gold which are safe and predictable. These assets are expected to retain or increase in value during times of market turbulence. The current crisis, for instance, has very little to no direct bearing on real estate portfolios. That said, implications of the conflict are indirect and based on broader macroeconomic impacts such as interest rate hikes. As these tend to fluctuate, again investors will need to maintain a long-term view.

Assets like property are also a hedge against inflation – another side effect of the war. This is because over time, property values tend to remain on a steady, upward trajectory and rent/income or yields are often pegged to inflation.

Moreover, a predictable income has been proven to be one of the best strategies for riding out uncertainty. Investors should opt for assets that can help them earn this – another reason why property is a preferred asset. For instance, regardless of the state of the market, people will always need places to live, buildings where they can receive medical treatment or logistic centres to service e-commerce.

Diversify
Diversification is crucial for building a portfolio that is resilient in unexpected conditions and so investors should diversify their investments across countries, currencies, and assets. US billionaire and investor Ray Dalio says investors should have 15 quality investments that are not tied together, and as long as they do that, they will reduce their risk by 80%. Plus, they’ll increase their risk return ratio by a factor of five. What this means is a very resilient investment strategy.

Technology is enabling people to diversify their portfolios more easily. Previously, investors were stuck investing in one country, in one currency and one asset. Now, with $100, ordinary South Africans can invest in 10 different deals, in 10 different assets, in 10 different countries and in many different currencies.

Uncertainty represents an enormous opportunity for investors. Investing in diversified, sustainable assets for the long term can not only help them weather any storm regardless of whether there’s another war, global financial crisis, rising inflation cycle or crypto boom and bust, but also profit once calmer waters return.

For more information, go to https://wealthmigrate.com

About Wealth Migrate
Established in 2010, Wealth Migrate is a leading FinTech real estate investment platform that helps the 99% invest like the top 1% to create more financial freedom in their lives. In so doing, the company is closing the wealth gap, brick by brick. Wealth Migrate’s mission is to put the power of smart investing in everyone’s pockets by providing people with a safe and easy way of not only investing in residential and commercial real estate markets, and alternative assets globally, but also by diversifying their investment on one platform. This is achieved through the use of technology and crowdfunding. They have facilitated over $1,2bn in deals on 5 continents and with members in 171 countries.

For more information, or to invest, go to https://wealthmigrate.com.

Ukraine Conflict: Investors should move their money to safe bets Read More »

Wealth Migrate: Know Your Client (KYC) Process And Its Importance

Blog, Company, Investing, Investor Basics, Knowledge Base, Portfolio, Resources, Uncategorized /

As an investor you want the peace of mind to know that any financial transactions you complete on the Wealth Migrate platform are secure and comply with all necessary legal regulations. It’s for this reason that Wealth Migrate requires you to complete the Know your client (KYC) process before you can officially start crowdfunding real estate and structured note investments online. 

KYC is an important part of the trust-building process between Wealth Migrate and its investors, as it allows potential investors to identify and verify themselves.1 This is the first step in Wealth Migrate’s due diligence process which ensures that not only do our investors have peace of mind with their financial transactions, but that Wealth Migrate is a licenced company that upholds the laws applicable to its business and investors. On behalf of the company, it also needs to ensure it’s not dealing with investors that may be involved in illegal activities such as money laundering or fraud.2 

A crucial part of this process is by aggregating our global investors into a compliant special purpose vehicle (SPV) to create an investment network. This system screens and regulates against anti-money laundering (AML) and know your client (KYC) processes upon member registration. The financial transaction system handles all payments from investors and distributions back to investors. With America’s strict countenance on counter-terrorism and anti-fraud laws, Wealth Migrate isn’t prepared to accept the risks of investors from the United States of America. 
 

Additionally, Wealth Migrate has a valid Category 1 licence (FSP 47394) as granted by the Financial Services Conduct Authority, and this licence allows Wealth Migrate to provide its crowdfunding offering on an intermediary services basis using shares as a financial product category.3 The company is therefore held liable by the Financial Services Conduct Authority for complying with laws regarding its financial transactions.  

The KYC onboarding process is therefore a significant step to reduce the potential risks for both parties and ensure that the company and its investors are interacting in a trustworthy manner.4 The company is taking due care to ensure that the potential investor is who they claim to be and is using funds obtained legally for a legitimate purpose. This also works in the favour of an investor as the company must uphold its duties and responsibilities as well as provide transparency about its business as a licenced financial services provider. 

What information is needed to KYC? 

Some basic information is needed to ensure the investor’s identity is correct such as their full name, date of birth address and identification number. The documentation for submission needs to provide proof of the person’s identity, place of residence, and the funds for investment.5 

Typical documents include:6 

  • A driver’s licence 
  • A passport 
  • An identity document 
  • Utility statements for a mobile phone, electricity, or water 
  • Rental contract  
  • Bank statements 

How to KYC on the Wealth Migrate platform 

We’ve made this process easier and simpler as all the documentation can be submitted online. Investors will firstly need to sign up and create an account on Wealth Migrate and then undergo the KYC process. Within three days from submission, the KYC Team will do a preliminary cross-reference check and provide feedback via e-mail. 

Follow these steps to achieve a successful KYC process: 

Step one: 

  1. Create your investor account – register with your chosen e-mail address and password. 
  1. Country of residence – select the country on the drop-down menu. 
  1. Select your investor category – click on the type of investor profile that suits your investment style. 

Step two: 

You will be required to upload the following documents: 

  • Two forms of identification including the front and back of:
    • a driver’s licence 
    • an ID card 
    • and/or a colour copy of your valid passport 
  • A recent proof of address, no older than three months of either: 
    • a utility bill,  
    • a rates and taxes bill or Council Tax bill 
    • a mobile phone statement 
  • Bank statements will not be accepted as proof of address 
  • A full-page bank statement, no older than three months 

Step three: 

  1. You will receive an automated e-mail once your profile has been verified. 
  1. Your KYC status will display as ‘approved’ on your profile. 

We’ve also made some visual guides available as a downloadable PDF or video to help our members with this process so that they can start investing with ease. Download our thorough step-by-step guide here for an in-depth overview of the KYC process or view our quick “How to KYC” tutorial video here. 

Explore the investment deals available on Wealth Migrate’s Fintech platform and use these visual tutorials as a guide on your wealth creation journey – click here to learn how to invest, and learn to understand and interpret your investment portfolio, here. 

Wealth Migrate: Know Your Client (KYC) Process And Its Importance Read More »

Global Wealth Group and Wealth Migrate: Business Growth and Scaling

Blog, Investing, Online Investment /

Written by: Mariken Jansen van Vuuren, Head of Marketing at the Global Wealth Group and Wealth Migrate.

Amazon needs no introduction, their CEO and founder, Jeff Bezos, created a popular growth strategy called the “flywheel.” Based on the core concept of a virtuous cycle, a flywheel takes a lot of effort to move initially, but once it starts, it gains momentum and quickly spins faster.


To grow and scale both the Global Wealth Group and Wealth Migrate business, we decided to map out our own virtuous cycle with guidance from the Amazon archetype. We looked at how our virtuous cycles turn, what the various sequences look like, and how we move our different drivers to create unstoppable momentum.

The Global Wealth Group (GWG)
We make primary market investments in alternative assets accessible to anyone, anywhere, from any amount, enabling investors to safely invest and diversify globally, using technology such as collaborative SMART investing. Our meta-marketplace offers B2B and B2C opportunities for investors to crowdfund property. This unique solution provides access to digital wallets and enables people to invest in global property opportunities across the globe and alternative assets. We focus on bringing international opportunities to clients in emerging markets.

Global Wealth Group’s virtuous cycle

WealthPoint – platform as a service technology
Our starting point is our WealthPoint technology, which powers our meta-marketplaces. Wealth Migrate is our flagship platform and our proof of concept, while WealthPoint provides a white label solution to property partners, financial planners, institutions and strategic partners in both genre and geography sectors. We build on the significant demand and distribution for supplying the same products across various active marketplaces.

Active marketplaces
We have partnered with entrepreneurs who built their marketplaces on our technology. These partnerships along with an increase in transactions on their platforms lead to increased revenue for our business. So far, our meta-marketplaces extend to Wealth India, Wealth China, Wealth RSA, Wealth UK, Wealth Australia, Wealth America, Wealth Europe, Women and Wealth, Shariah Wealth, Wealth Create, and our flagship company Wealth Migrate. We are looking to grow this further in region and genre for a more robust diversification. Our active partners made us realise the importance of cultivating an entrepreneurial community.

Entrepreneurial community
Seeing our Wealth Point technology as a starting point and Wealth Migrate as our proof of concept, we have extended our entrepreneurial community, adding value to entrepreneurs and our business.

We are developing various personalised content touchpoints for our active partners. We are also in a unique position to have our partners contribute to content in webinars, articles, and success stories. This type of organic and paid content becomes a powerful touchpoint in a potential investor’s conversion journey, leading to more transactions for all marketplaces powered by WealthPoint.

More transactions
More transactions mean more revenue for our business. An increase in transactions on various active marketplaces using WealthPoint allows us to negotiate better partnership deals for investors on multiple platforms. Thanks to a growing demand for active deals, we’ll see increased traffic to the various marketplaces. This will gain momentum and lead to a more attractive option for future active partners, allowing us to sign up for new active partners and to diversify our marketplace offering even more. An increase in deal demand and a variety of deals hosted on our Wealth Point technology will help us to continue growing the marketplaces that have already signed with us.

Entrepreneurial ecosystem
To expedite growth, we have started to go beyond having only an entrepreneurial community by focusing on creating an entire entrepreneurial ecosystem. We did this by developing additional support for our active partners and our marketplaces.

We created the Affiliate Boost, a semi-personalised marketing package, for entrepreneurs with an incredibly competitive fee to assist them with setting up and running their platforms, combined with the support of an experienced marketing team. Entrepreneurs have the option of various packages based on different services and pricing models tailored to suit multiple active marketplaces and different marketing needs.

Our meta-marketplaces, such as Wealth Migrate, are fundamental revenue drivers that now operate within the competitive landscape of our partner’s active marketplaces. We created a smaller marketing cycle to increase high-intent investor traffic and conversions within our entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is a prototype that can later be leveraged for additional marketplaces.

We developed Wealth Movement, a networking event allowing like-minded people to build relationships and networks while introducing them to our various offerings. From here, a potential new client can directly become an investor with Wealth Migrate.

Sometimes novice investors won’t trust their judgment or feel confident enough to make investment decisions. To fulfil that need, we started Wealth University. This allows investors to upskill, guide them to make better investment choices and teach them how to build out their portfolios using our marketplace. While attending Wealth University, we fund an investor’s digital wallet for their first investment with Wealth Migrate. Showing confidence in our product gives the investor a risk-averse first investment to kickstart their journey with us. The goal of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is to drive more traffic and transactions for our own platforms.

More traffic and transactions
High-volume traffic and many verified members on the various active marketplaces will lead to more investments in our deal. This results in higher revenue, and a greater demand for deals. In turn, it allows us to negotiate better deal partners at a higher limit deal investment with a broader deal variety that is more likely to result in consistently solid returns.

Deal demand
This will help us negotiate firm deals with strong partners to ensure deals are fully funded, and we will be able to negotiate a higher limit of investments per deal. Going back to our WealthPoint technology, strengthening our deal offering for our active marketplaces and investors will help us improve the deals offered and keep our technology competitive. As our demand for deals increases, we will provide specialised and unique deals per marketplace. We will then further add value to the various active marketplaces by helping to differentiate the deals even more. Not only will this help us grow and scale, but it will ensure we stay ahead of new competitors.

Wealth Migrate’s introduction
Our digital platform is GWG’s flagship brand and proof of concept, with a mature global meta-marketplace that offers multi-financial asset classes, global compliance, a payment system, and personalised digital wallets. Our meta-marketplace helps solve the wealth gap through accessible wealth using a safe and secure FinTech solution.

Wealth Migrate’s virtuous cycle

Meta-marketplaces and content touchpoints
Our starting point is our customers’ experience which comes down to our virtual meta-marketplaces and content touchpoints:

  • These meta-marketplaces should be easy to navigate and trustworthy. 
  • We should always have live deals customers can invest in with a good variety of deals, for example, an existing medical office building in the USA vs a co-living development in Australia
  • This content aims to educate, engage new markers, and guide funnel conversion both paid and organic.

Verified members
Increased traffic leads to verified members and, therefore, more transactions. We are implementing marketing automation to assist with down-funnel conversions and have an entire team to help new members through the verification process.

Transactions
Increased transactions are our primary goal to grow Wealth Migrate’s business. Through transactions, our business generates revenue once a new member is verified, targeted marketing has been put in place to urge them to invest. Once new members have invested, further marketing persuades them to re-invest in other deals or use the previously paid dividends for additional investments.

Supply
We are working with our holding company, Global Wealth Group, to increase supply and deals on our site by creating demand with a wider variety of investment deals.

Lower entry points
To expedite our growth, we are making our deals even more accessible with an even lower entry point. Now, we can accept deals for just under $100 (USD), but we are working to get that investment amount down to as little as $10 (USD). With a lower entry point, we will exponentially grow our number of transactions, leading to even more demand for various on-site deals.

More deals on site
As transactions increase and our success stories help to establish trust. Product trust will create demand for many more deals on our platform. As we gain our customers’ confidence and they’re able to see their wealth grow successfully, they will be compelled to invest significant amounts and start investing in a variety of deals.

Being disciplined
We realise that growth doesn’t happen by itself. To ensure we reach our growth goals and scale up our business, we’ve incorporated three disciplines within our leadership structure to keep us honest:

  • Purpose-driven meeting rhythms 
  • Clear business priorities through objectives and key results
  • KPIs (Key performance indicators) – using data and metrics to guide decision making

Global Wealth Group and Wealth Migrate: Business Growth and Scaling Read More »

How you should invest in commercial real estate: Crowdfunding vs REITS

Investing, Real Estate, Uncategorized /

At Wealth Migrate we believe in our offering and helping our investors navigate the world of real estate assets. To this end, we’ve examined the fundamental differences between crowdfunded and real estate investment trusts (REITS) assets, as this is a commonly asked question of which investment vehicle is better.

With real estate being one of the biggest asset classes globally and a trusted method for profitable investment, most investors are keen to invest.[1] This becomes tricky when considering which route is best and how you should invest in real estate.

What crowdfunding and REITs entails

Whenever real estate investing is discussed, there are different investment options for investors, two of the most popular methods are crowdfunding and real estate investment trusts (REITS).[2] Although both are invested in real estate, there are some fundamental differences between the two that range from liquidity, to risks, tax consequences, and barriers to entry.[3]

The key differences for both investment methods:[4]

  • A REIT is a company that owns and operates income-producing real estate. 
  • Typically, REITS are spread out over a portfolio of properties in a single asset class. 
  • Crowdfunding real estate is when a group of investors are purchasing one property and pool together their money to purchase it.
  • For crowdfunding there are only one or a few properties that the investor is invested in, and usually only accredited investors are allowed to invest.

Liquid

REITS are highly liquid, meaning that they can be bought and sold easily, so if an investor needs money, this is a convenient method of investment.[5] The same cannot be said for an investor that has a share in crowdfunded real estate that wants to sell it off quickly. Shares in a crowdfunded real estate are not transferable and the money is only received at the sale of the project or during refinancing.[6]

Risks

REITS offer a steady income that comes with the costs of having lower returns.[7] In this regard, there are REITS costs for covering the operation of the REITS and other expenses that are incurred before the investor is paid. On the other hand, crowdfunded real estate has more inherited risks because it is a single project and the equity partners in a deal.[8] As a result, the income is not as predictable, and the returns can vary from the predicted figures.

Tax consequences

REITS are considered paper assets, with the taxation different to investing directly in real estate as a partner. REITS can be purchased with tax-deferred retirement accounts, but the dividends from REITS are taxed as ordinary income.[9] Investing in real estate directly allows investors to be considered as partners and take advantage of tax-benefits such as depreciation, this allows investors to receive tax credits to reduce their taxes.[10]

Barriers to entry between REITS and crowdfunded real estate

Purchasing REITS is like buying a share in a stock where an investor can buy as much as desired with no minimum investment amount.[11] On the other hand, crowdfunding real estate has specific requirements for a minimum investment,[12] and this needs to be considered by investors that accept and understand the nature of these investments, before investing.

With all these factors to consider, it’s important that when you invest you understand the strategy and risks between REITS vs crowdfunded real estate. Both are attractive options, but your decision will depend upon your personal preference and your level of investment.

[1] Picken, S. (2019). ”Direct Real Estate Investing vs REITs vs Syndication vs Crowdfunding vs Collaborative SMART InvestingTM”. Retrieved by Scott Picken.
[2] Bryant, S. (April 2021). ”REITs vs. Real Estate Crowdfunding”. Retrieved by Investopedia.
[3] Frankel, M. (April 2021). ” Where to Invest: Real Estate Crowdfunding vs REITs”. Retrieved by Millionacres.
[4] Bryant, S. (April 2021). ”REITs vs. Real Estate Crowdfunding”. Retrieved by Investopedia.
[5] Benson, A. (May 2021). ” Real Estate Crowdfunding: what to consider”. Retrieved by NerdWallet.
[6] Picken, S. (2019). ”Direct Real Estate Investing vs REITs vs Syndication vs Crowdfunding vs Collaborative SMART InvestingTM”. Retrieved by Scott Picken.
[7] Picken, S. (2019). ”Direct Real Estate Investing vs REITs vs Syndication vs Crowdfunding vs Collaborative SMART InvestingTM”. Retrieved by Scott Picken.
[8] Frankel, M. (April 2021). ” Where to Invest: Real Estate Crowdfunding vs REITs”. Retrieved by Millionacres.
[9] Benson, A. (May 2021). ” Real Estate Crowdfunding: what to consider”. Retrieved by NerdWallet.
[10] Frankel, M. (April 2021). ” Where to Invest: Real Estate Crowdfunding vs REITs”. Retrieved by Millionacres.
[11] Benson, A. (May 2021). ” Real Estate Crowdfunding: what to consider”. Retrieved by NerdWallet.
[12] Bryant, S. (April 2021). ”REITs vs. Real Estate Crowdfunding”. Retrieved by Investopedia.

How you should invest in commercial real estate: Crowdfunding vs REITS Read More »

Linden Booth accepted into Forbes Technology Council

Media, Press Release, Uncategorized /

Cape Town, South Africa. Global Wealth Group, a leading meta-marketplace offering opportunities for investors to crowdfund property, announced today that its Head of Product and Chief ProductOfficer of WealthPoint, Linden Booth has joined the Forbes Technology Council. This is aninvitation-only community for respected technology leaders and senior level executives, and Booth was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience.

Chairperson of Global Wealth Group Willem van der Post heralds this outstanding achievement, “we strongly believe in the potential of FinTech and are proud to have someone of Booth’s calibre as part of our leadership team”.

“We are honoured to welcome Linden Booth into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Technology Council. “Our mission with the Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”

As an accepted member of the Council, Booth believes the platform is an exciting opportunity to further explore how financial technology can continue to be a tool for social entrepreneurship. 

“As someone based in South Africa, with an internationally distributed team and client base, I look forward to contributing to the Council froma broader global perspective. Being a member of the Council provides me with a privileged position of influence to keep exploring how we can better use technology to help close the global wealth gap.”

About Forbes Councils
Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes. and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.

For more information about Forbes Technology Council, visit forbestechcouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.

About Global Wealth Group
As a global company, we are purposefully driven to help close the global wealth inequality gapwith a FinTech solution that offers commercial real estate and other asset class opportunities to investors worldwide. 

Our meta-marketplace handles all primary market transactions and grants investors and investor networks access to multi-financial asset classes, global compliance, a payment system, and personalised digital wallets. Global Wealth Group expanded this business model to offer business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) opportunities through its associate brands.

About WealthPoint
This mature global meta-marketplace is a proof of concept on the B2C side of Global Wealth Group’s offering. Investors can access a complaint and well-regulated platform to invest in a range of diverse institutional-quality property deals. Usually, individual investors lack the access and wealth to invest in such deals, but this digital platform creates an opportunity for a more accessible means of wealth creation.

Linden Booth accepted into Forbes Technology Council Read More »