Securities lending and capital markets infrastructure fintech Sharegain has raised $64 million in a series B round led by WestCap and joined by Citi, EJF Capital LLC and Optiver PSI.
Securities lending is a $3 trillion market but has traditionally been confined to a small number of large institutional investors, who loan out their stocks, bonds and ETFs in return for a payment known as ‘lending revenue’.
Founded in 2015, Sharegain has been working to open the practice to a wider market via its Securities-Lending-as-a-Service offering, enabling online brokers, private banks, asset managers and custodians to enter the market and generate additional income on assets that would otherwise sit idle.
Citi was an early adopter of Sharegain, rolling out the product to wealth management custody clients, giving them the opportunity to earn additional revenue on their stocks, bonds and ETFs, without developing an internal programme from scratch.
Boaz Yaari, founder and CEO of Sharegain, says: “We believe that lending your stocks, bonds and ETFs is a basic ownership right that should be made available to all. As private investor participation increases in capital markets, we are leveling the playing field so that private investors, through their brokers and banks, can benefit from income generating solutions that have been largely restricted to big financial institutions."