Wise investments and astute knowledge of the stock market help the rich get richer and the middle-class gradually build wealth towards retirement. However, the tools available to Wall Street traders and other top investors cost thousands a year, making them inaccessible to the average investor. Both Bloomberg Terminal and Thomson Reuters Eikon cost over $20,000 for a fully loaded yearly subscription, and even less expensive platforms and subscriptions tend to cost at least few thousand dollars a year, often with inadequate information.
Prior to founding Koyfin, a platform dedicated to providing market data and investment tools to the masses, Rob Koyfman worked on Wall Street. His career ranged from dealing with stocks to focusing on ETFs, options and macro trends, and he also developed an interest in data visualisation during this time.
However, once he left his final position on Wall Street, he realised just how limited the average person was when trying to access essential information about the market.
“Now that I was on my own and a company wasn’t paying the $25,000 bill, I couldn’t afford to pay for a Bloomberg especially since they require a 2-year contract…,” he recalled in an interview with Hashtag Investing. “I started to experiment with other lower priced systems and I was disappointed with the functionality and data they offered.”
Once he realised that many systems only offered data with no quality graphics or analytics, with a confusing interface on top of that, he believed that he needed to take action.
“That’s the point where I decided to start Koyfin with the mission of creating a user-friendly research platform that offers quality data and analytics, and is accessible to every investor.”
Along with co-founder Rich Meatto, Koyfman founded Koyfin in 2016. In 2018, the company launched its web-based data visualisation investment research platform, helping investors to research stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and macro trends about bonds, currencies, commodities and economics.
“Every investor needs to follow and understand macro trends even if they are primarily focused on stocks,” Koyfman explained.
Over 10,000 investors are actively using the platform to understand what is happening in the market, including research analysts, research analysts and salespeople. Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo are also counted among its clients.
Koyfin is currently free, although the company plans to roll out a premium version of the platform in 2020.
The company currently only covers US and Canadian listed stocks, but it plans to cover all global equities in the future. Koyfin also aims to increase its functionality by adding portfolio analytics and a screening tool.
The FinTech company has recently amassed $3 million in funding to expand its platform and modernise its research tools. According to Tech Startups, the funds came from Craft Ventures, Atreides Management and Valor Equity Partners, with participation from Social Leverage and additional investors.
“For an early-stage startup, Koyfin has strong traction and wide buzz in the investor community,” said Howard Lindzon, managing partner at Social Leverage. “This validates that investors want powerful analytical tools that are accessible and easy to use.”
