Singapore-based fractional share trading startup Gotrade has raised $15.5 million in a Series A round led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures.
MUFG, BeeNext, Kibo Ventures, Picus Capital, LocalGlobe, Social Leverage, and Raptor joined the round.
Launched in 2019, the Gotrade app lets users invest as little as $1 in ETFs and fractional shares of US stocks, commission free.
In its first year, the firm has racked up over 500,000 users from over 140 countries, transacting more than $400 million across five million trades.
Gotrade likens its service to Robinhood but without the "controversial" practice of monetising order flow. Instead, it makes money from charging 0.5% to 1.2% in FX fees if users choose to deposit their funds in local currency that is then converted into US dollars for trading.
The firm is also testing a premium membership product that gives its users access to features including candlestick charts, analyst ratings, target prices and a risk measurement, for a $2 monthly membership fee.
The funding will be used to expand a team that currently has 40 members and to launch localised versions of the product, starting with Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia.
Gotrade founder Rohit Mulani says: "Investing in Southeast Asia is broken. Over 600 million people can't access quality investment products at fair prices.
"They are subject to mutual funds with expense ratios exceeding 5%, savings products like gold with 3% spreads and hidden fees peppered across their portfolios - not just by the incumbents but also by the companies that are meant to be the disruptors.
"We believe that investing should be fair and users should not have to bear these predatory costs."