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Blossom App, a Sydney-based fintech that is expecting to hit $100 million in assets under management by the end of this year, has launched its services in New Zealand with bold ambitions after finding its stride in Australia, particularly with female investors.
Founded in 2021 by sisters Gaby and Ali Rosenberg, Blossom is looking to replicate its stellar Aussie growth across the Tasman after setting a target of NZ$25 million in funds under management (FUM) and 5,000 clients by this time next year.
The app currently has $92.9 million in FUM which CEO Gaby Rosenberg says is edging closer to the $100 million target set at the beginning of this year – up from about $50 million this time last year.
“We have three weeks left and I think we’ll get there,” says Rosenberg, who alongside her sister won the 2024 Sydney Young Entrepreneur Award - Finance.
Blossom has secured 23,600 sign-ups for its app since officially launching in June 2021 when it had just 850 customers and $3.5 million in FUM.
Rosenberg established the fintech with a view to shaking up the fixed-income sector by targeting female Millennial investors who were looking for easier access to low-risk fixed interest investments. It’s a strategy that is reaping results as women currently account for 62.3 per cent of total users of the Blossom app.
Women also dominate as regular savers with 65.71 per cent of them having the “recurring payments” feature turned on.
Blossom provides users with low-entry access to fixed-income investments which typically lock funds away for three, six and 12 months at a time, while also typically requiring minimum deposits of $20,000 or more.
The Blossom Save account has a $5 minimum initial deposit with interest accrued daily and quick withdrawals available of up to $5,000 a day. Blossom Plus offers a higher return with a $5,000 minimum entry and returns compounded quarterly.
Blossom App’s targeted returns generally track the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate with the funds invested in instruments such as government, semi-government and corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities and cash.
When the RBA’s cash rate goes up or down, Blossom’s targeted return generally changes accordingly.
Blossom Plus has a current targeted return of 5.95 per cent per annum and Blossom Plus is targeting 7 per cent. When Rosenberg kicked off in 2021, the targeted return was 3 per cent.
The Blossom App in Australia can only accept deposits from taxpaying residents of Australia, which triggered the company’s dedicated push into New Zealand.
The New Zealand investments are independent from funds under management in Australia, although the investment mix will largely align with that of Australia.
“We’re taking deposits in New Zealand dollars, investing in New Zealand dollars and clients will receive earnings in NZ dollars,” says Rosenberg.
“It’s a separate class of investments to the Australian operations although our targeted returns are the same as Australia.”
Rosenberg says the move into New Zealand has been in the pipeline for some time.
“When we had our Aussie launch, we had Kiwis jumping into our live chats asking us when we were going to launch there,” she says.
“Our move is definitely off the back of feedback we are receiving from there. There are currently some competitors in the market that don’t invest in fixed income but are investing in global equities or Kiwi equities and providing access to the ASX for New Zealand investors.
“Some of those companies are doing extraordinarily well and so we know there is an appetite for these investment products in New Zealand.”
Blossom’s FUM target of NZ$25 million for its New Zealand business by the end of next year is a carbon copy of the company’s original targets set for Australia when the app was first launched in 2021.
“I think it’s doable especially following the success we have had in Australia,” says Rosenberg.
“We have the regulatory environment to facilitate launches across the Tasman, so it makes sense for us to enter the New Zealand market.”
Rosenberg says once New Zealand is up and running, Blossom is looking to explore other international markets to grow its business, although this is not likely to occur until the end of next year once the Kiwi operation is firmly established.
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