With acquisition of Clearfunds, Mobikwik forays into wealth management

Digital payments firm Mobikwik has acquired wealth management app Clearfunds. The deal also paves the way for the Sequoia-backed company in wealth management space.

The development comes soon after, Mobikwik's announcement of instant credit loan called 'Boost' in the range of Rs 5,000-60,000 for its customers.

Mobikwik hasn't revealed the actual amount for the acquisition of the Mumbai-based online mutual fund investment platform, however, it said it would be investing $15 million over the next year to scale up its wealth management business.

The acquisition will heat up competition with its arch rival Paytm and slew of others including ET Money and Zerodha.

Like Paytm, MobiKwik’s 107 million customers would be able to choose a mutual fund plan via the mobile app.

Following the acquisition, the founder and CEO of Clearfunds, Kunal Bajaj will lead MobiKwik’s wealth management business, said Mobikwik CEO Bipin Preet Singh in a blog post.

Founded in 2016, Clearfunds is a direct mutual fund investment platform that uses powerful data analytics and automated processes to deliver the best possible investment experience at the lowest possible cost.

With the acquisition, Mobikwik will leverage Clearfunds's $45 million worth of Assets Under Advisory. The platform allows clients to access over 3,000 direct mutual fund schemes across all 36 Mutual Fund Companies (AMCs) and four Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs).

During a recent interview, Mobikwik disclosed that it has almost doubled its revenue to Rs 85 crore in FY18  from Rs 44 crore last fiscal. The losses during the same period also reduced to Rs 132 crore from Rs 150 crore.

On comparison front, Paytm, which launched its wealth management app Paytm Money has been increasing its footprint in India and got a decent response from the audience. The Pravin Jadhav-led entity has around 30 AMC's under its umbrella in just one month of launch.