Money.Net is a multi-asset, real-time financial data & analytics platform for investors leveraging next-generation technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to mine big data. In this interview with TechBullion, Vincent Sangiovanni, CEO of Money.Net will be telling us more about the web-based financial platform for institutional and retail investors and its new feature, ScoutChat.

Tells us more about Money.Net and your role at the company.

Money.net is a financial data and analytics company providing investors with professional-grade financial information and analytics. We offer platforms for institutional investors and retail investors, ensuring that all types of investors are able to improve their strategies and better understand the markets. Social investing capabilities underpin our entire platform, helping investors connect with others and remain educated throughout their investing journey.  

More specifically, our institutional platform is designed to support a range of professional users – including sales, trading, research, banking, compliance, finance and operations – in their day-to-day activities. Our individual platform, Scout, is focused on empowering the individual investor with professional-grade information, analysis and chat solutions.

As for myself, I’m responsible for the company’s strategic and operational leadership as well as executing the company’s vision and mission to democratize access to financial information. I was previously CEO of GTX, the institutional arm of Gain Capital, and before that spent over two decades working in the foreign exchange markets.

What makes Money.Net different from other financial data platforms? 

The team at Money.Net is focused on more than just delivering high-quality financial information and analysis. We want to understand how investors use the platform to evaluate financial data, as well as what actions they take to achieve their investing goals.  

Through a combination of daily streaming broadcasts with investing professionals on Money.Net Live, on-demand tutorials, and web-based guides, Money.Net is focused on getting users access to the information they need to help them on their investing journey. For both new and seasoned investors, Money.Net provides access to a professional-grade social investing community, developed in partnership with Symphony. 

Our platform creates a sense of community for investors, all through a secure chat, to improve  investor education, exchange actionable insights and interact with other like-minded (or not!) investors.

What are some of the data sources users gain access to by using Money.net?

Money.Net combines real-time, delayed and historical information across asset classes, including equities, options, futures, fixed income, foreign exchange, and crypto.   

In addition, the platform delivers artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to mine through big data to create actionable insights using a panoramic view, market buzz, fundamental insights and/or advanced screening solutions to build a custom index.  

The data on the platform is enhanced through partnerships with Cosiac’s ChartIQ, Trading Central and Symphony.

You work with both institutional and individual traders. What are some of the similarities and differences between the two groups in terms of their investment process?  

Regardless of whether you are an institutional or individual investor, the trading process includes discovery, evaluation, investigation, validation through discussion, execution, and monitoring. Of course, each discipline has its nuances, but in the past two years, the lines between retail and institutional investors have blurred more than ever before. 

Institutional investors operate in a highly regulated environment and perform their processes to achieve the investment objectives of their clients. As a result, institutions require high-quality financial information as well as the ability to chat with counterparts in a secure environment.  

Meanwhile, individual investors, often referred to as retail investors, have taken the financial industry by storm. At Money.Net, we believe that individual investors should have equal access to financial information, analysis and social investing capabilities to support their investing journey. That belief is the genesis of our Scout platform.   

Scout empowers the individual investor, regardless of experience level, with professional-grade solutions at a cost-effective price – coupled with educational and community resources. The Scout platform includes access to Money.Net Live’s financial broadcasts, which bring investing professionals to the community, as well as the ScoutChat social investing forum.  ScoutChat is a space where individuals can interact with one another to source trade ideas and receive feedback on their decisions.

You mentioned ScoutChat, a forum where investors can connect with each other. What are some of the most common topics of conversation in ScoutChat? 

ScoutChat is a dynamic environment that supports a wide range of topics and is designed to adapt to the evolving interests of the individual investing community. Right now, our chat rooms feature conversations around investing in stocks, cryptocurrencies, options, and more.

Scout also features a moderated central room, ScoutPit, that covers breaking news and actionable insights on how to leverage that information. Around this virtual fire pit, investors can convene and chat about trending topics in real-time. 

How has the retail trading community evolved over the past two years? What’s next as we face market volatility and a more uncertain macro-environment? 

The retail trading community has already seen exponential growth over the past couple of years. Access to equities, options, crypto and more has expanded the retail brokerage business as a whole, and more individuals have jumped into trading for themselves. Equity and option volumes have grown significantly since the beginning of 2020, largely driven by individual investors.

At the same time, financial data and analysis has become increasingly fragmented, and individuals need to sign up to multiple news websites, investing apps, social media forums and other chat rooms to stay on top of news and market trends. 

Individuals are oversaturated with news and lack professional-grade educational resources that can keep up with the evolving marketplace. Through Scout, Money.Net is focused on addressing these challenges for the individual investor in real-time, creating one place to discover, plan, evaluate, communicate and monitor investments as they move along their own journey.

As crypto continues to move to the mainstream, how is Money.Net supporting users interested in this asset class? 

Leveraging AI and ML capabilities, Money.Net users are alerted to breaking news and social sentiment around crypto, which can then be researched further by users before making any type of trading decision.

We also provide users with the ability to monitor the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, as well as access to over 9,000 cryptocurrencies in a quote grid and charting solution.

The ScoutChat community is home to an active crypto room where users can interact, discuss trending topics and exchange ideas. We also host a range of cryptocurrency trading experts on Money.Net Live financial broadcasts.