“There’s risk everywhere and that’s why you need a high level of responsibility,” Mr Shipton, who left ASIC last year after being acquitted of an expense misuse charge, told The Australian Financial Review.
“The higher the risk, the greater the responsibility for ensuring that the platforms, the markets, the infrastructure are right … Democratization is the goal, but we are dealing with individuals, we are dealing with knowledge bases that need to be understood. ”
The Learn page.
US-based investment app Robinhood, which lent its brand name to the broader trend of Millennials and Gen Z consumers investing in markets since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, paid more than $90 million in one of Settlement imposed by regulators on aggrieved clients who argued that their lack of experience was being exploited by the broker.
But Mr Shipton said Superhero, which has been widely compared to Robinhood, has shown a commitment to encouraging good, long-term investing habits and educating its clients about markets.
“My favorite part of the Superhero website is the ‘learn’ page,” he said. “I know you are tuned into the subject [of investor risks]. I can’t speak for others in the industry, but I want to encourage them that it’s an important issue to be aware of.”
His appointment as a board member comes as Superhero develops its cryptocurrency trading offering, which could make it Australia’s first stock brokerage platform to offer access to digital asset markets.
The Commonwealth Bank shocked the business community last year by announcing that it would add crypto trading to its banking app, which was a tacit endorsement of the wild market by a major financial institution. However, the launch of CBA’s crypto offering is understood to have been delayed due to reported regulatory intervention and a significant downturn in crypto markets.
John Winters, Superhero co-founder and chief executive officer said: “It was impressive to see the largest bank being first and they have said they are going to slow that down a bit at the moment. I think we will probably be the first to bring crypto to market alongside stock trading, which is pretty exciting.”
Mr. Winters said Superhero’s own crypto trading project is “well on track” and described it as the company’s top product development priority, alongside an upcoming launch in New Zealand.
When asked for comment on the addition of crypto trading functionality, Mr. Shipton said it would be better to include responsible financial service providers in the nascent market.
“Digital assets are clearly the new frontier and there is a lot to do,” he said. “Regulators, policymakers and market participants all need to coordinate and share experiences.”
In contrast, former Labor Financial Services spokesman Stephen Jones said that an Albanian government would prioritize tighter regulation of crypto, including trading platforms that provide access to these risky markets.
Mr Shipton declined to offer a “political wish list” for the new government, but said: “It’s really important to have safeguards and a regulatory regime in place for these markets.”
He joins Mr. Winters, co-founder Wayne Baskin and non-executive director Di Challenor on the board, which is led by chairman Philip Crutchfield.
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