Jump to content

Draft:Public (financial services company)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Public (financial services company)

[edit]

Public Holdings, Inc., doing business as Public, is an American financial technology company headquartered in New York City[1]. The company operates an electronic trading platform accessible via mobile app and web interface, offering commission-free trading of various financial instruments including stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.[2]

History

[edit]

Public was founded in 2019 by Leif Abraham and Jannick Malling.[3] The company introduced commission-free fractional investing, allowing users to purchase partial shares of stocks in real time.[4]

In February 2021, Public announced the discontinuation of payment for order flow (PFOF) as a revenue source for standard equities trades.[5]The platform also expanded its offerings to include cryptocurrency trading, initially launching with ten coins and tokens, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.[6]

The company has continued to expand its services:

  • 2022: Launched Public Premium, a subscription service providing advanced investing tools and data.[7]
  • 2023: Introduced U.S. Treasury bills[8] trading and an AI-powered investment research assistant called Alpha.[9]The platform also began offering fractional bond investments.[10][11]
  • 2024: Launched options trading with a rebate offering that reduced members' transaction costs to below $0.[12] The company also introduced the Bond Account, allowing members to invest in a diversified portfolio of corporate bonds that generate regular interest payments.[13][14]

Business model

[edit]

After discontinuing payment for order flow in 2021[5], Public diversified its revenue streams. The company offers a premium subscription service (Public Premium) and generates interest income on uninvested cash balances.[15]

Funding

[edit]

As of February 2021, Public had raised $220 million in Series D funding from investors including Accel, Tiger Global, and Greycroft.[16] Notable individual investors include Sophia Amoruso, Scott Belsky, The Chainsmokers, Tony Hawk, and Shari Redstone although specific investment amounts are not publicly disclosed.[17]

Acquisitions

[edit]

Public has expanded through several acquisitions:

  • January 2022: Hypercharts, a stock data visualization platform[18]
  • March 2022: Otis, a platform for fractional investment in alternative assets such as fine art and collectibles[19]
  • April 2024: TradeApp brokerage accounts from Stocktwits[20][21]
  • August 2024: Carta's startup stock marketplace accounts[22]

Recognition

[edit]

Public has received several industry accolades:

  • Included in Forbes Fintech 50 list (2022)[23]
  • Recognized as one of Forbes' Best Workplaces (2023)[23]
  • Listed among CNBC's top 250 fintech companies (2024)[24]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.
Categories:
  1. ^ "Public.com | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  2. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (2021-02-17). "As expected, stock trading service Public raises $220M at unicorn valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  3. ^ "Who owns Public Holdings Inc? | Public FAQ". help.public.com. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  4. ^ Azevedo, Mary Ann (2020-03-02). "Meet Public.com, The Social Investing App That Will Smith and J.J. Watt Just Put Money In". Crunchbase News. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  5. ^ a b Wilhelm, Alex (2021-02-01). "Trading app Public drops payment for order flow in favor of tips". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  6. ^ Caitlin, McCabe. "Investing Platform Public.com Launches Crypto Trading". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Nikolova, Maria (2022-06-02). "Public.com to launch paid service Public Premium". FX News Group. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  8. ^ "Public.com Review: Easiest Way to Buy U.S. Treasury Bills - Physician on FIRE". www.physicianonfire.com. 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  9. ^ "Public Launches Alpha: OpenAI's GPT-4 Ushers in a New Era of AI-Driven Investing". Yahoo Finance. 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  10. ^ "Online Brokerage Public Lets Individual Investors Buy Pieces of Corporate Bonds". Bloomberg.com. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  11. ^ Watch Public Co-CEO on Corporate Bond Offerings to Retail Investors - Bloomberg, 2023-12-06, retrieved 2024-10-17
  12. ^ Miao, Hannah. "Investing Platform Public Launches Options Trading—And Pays Customers for Their Orders". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Public Rolls Out Bond Account, Citing Growing Interest in Fixed-Income Investments". Financial and Business News | Finance Magnates. 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  14. ^ Cingari, Piero. "Public.com Lowers Barriers To Bond Trading, Retail-Friendly Account Offers Up To 9% Yield - Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN), Boeing (NYSE:BA)". Benzinga. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  15. ^ "How does Public make money? | Public FAQ". help.public.com. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  16. ^ "Equitybee | Company Overview". equitybee.com. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  17. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (2021-02-17). "As expected, stock trading service Public raises $220M at unicorn valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  18. ^ Johnson, Carter. "Fintech Public.com just bought data-visualization site HyperCharts in a deal that'll also see a popular trading personality join the $1.2 billion social-investing app". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  19. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (2022-03-09). "Public buys Otis, bringing fractional ownership of alternative assets to its platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  20. ^ Capelj, Renato. "Public Acquires TradeApp Investment Accounts From Stocktwits, Users Gain Access To AI-Assisted Analysis". Benzinga. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  21. ^ Capelj, Renato. "Public Acquires TradeApp Investment Accounts From Stocktwits, Users Gain Access To AI-Assisted Analysis". Benzinga. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  22. ^ Bort, Julie (2024-08-30). "Carta's ill-fated secondaries business finally found a buyer". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  23. ^ a b "Public.com | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  24. ^ "The world's top 250 fintech companies: 2024". CNBC. 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Public_(financial_services_company)&oldid=1251760570"