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Hi, We're Fennel
4 min read
18 Jul, 2022
By Fennel
A year ago, we started building an investing app to bring power back to the stakeholders.
Back then, we were just a handful of people — activists, engineers, grad students, and retail investors — who felt jaded by the system. We felt like we were being used by other investing platforms. When multiple platforms paused trades during the GameStop saga, it seemed like the system was rigged. When we learned that companies were profiting off payment for order flow and securities lending, it seemed like we were being bought and sold. We wanted an investing platform where the cards weren’t stacked against us.
So, we built our own.
We designed an investing app that we’d actually want to use. One where you can invest in stocks and ETFs, know more about a company’s impact on the world, and have a say in the companies you invest in.
We wanted to discover companies that care about the same things that we do — whether that’s a diverse workforce, renewable energy usage, or human rights protections — and, from there, decide whether or not to invest in them. So we integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) tools to help people understand a company’s impact and its corporate structure.
On top of that, we wanted to highlight shareholder voting as a direct line for retail investors to lobby for meaningful change in companies. So we built a platform that shines a light on past and upcoming shareholder votes.
This way, we, as shareholders, can advocate for everyone who has a stake in the game — from workers, to investors, to the rest of our global community.
What's at stake
Companies often take shortcuts in order to maximize profits. There are many examples of large companies that have built their supply chain on unethical working conditions, dumped toxic chemicals into the environment, or knowingly sold dangerous products. They may not do these things explicitly to hurt people — but people end up hurt.
The government can intervene through laws to hold companies accountable for these actions. But regulation is a slow process and often happens after the damage is already done. We need additional ways to hold companies accountable — that’s where shareholder voting comes in.
Shareholder voting enables us to raise concerns to company leadership and engage them in conversations about what matters to us.
Owning shares of a publicly traded company can allow you to vote on important company decisions during annual shareholder meetings. These votes help companies determine things like board appointments and internal audits. But they can also help companies make decisions that directly affect us.
For example, shareholders can vote on whether a company should:
- Report on gender and racial pay gaps
- Disclose money spent on political lobbying
- Tie executive compensation to greenhouse gas reduction
- Add civil rights leaders to the board of directors
- Report failed sexual harassment interventions
- Hold itself accountable for online child exploitation
- Report on steps taken to reduce its carbon footprint
If these examples seem specific, it’s because they are all actual proposals that were voted on in shareholder meetings last year — and not one of them passed.
So what gives? Don’t people care about reducing carbon emissions and promoting social equity? Of course they do. But whether or not they actually vote on these proposals is another story.
One report found that only 28% of shares held by retail investors were used to vote in 2020. Meanwhile, 92% of shares held by institutional investors were used to vote that year. This means, it’s the hedge funds, mutual funds, large banks, and financial institutions voting on these issues — not everyday people.
Our goal is to make it easier for more people like you and me to vote on these issues. We believe, if more people are engaging with the companies they invest in, those companies will be incentivized to act, or face backlash from their stakeholders.
That’s just the beginning. We think that this process can have a ripple effect on the ways companies address things like climate change and human rights. It’s up to all of us to hold these companies accountable.
The engaged shareholder movement is here. Will you be a part of it?
Expand your knowledge further
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">20 months ago I had a simple idea: What if capital markets could change?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What if capitalism (the same system that has driven us towards infinite growth at the cost of environmental devastation, wealth inequality, exploitation of workers, marginalization of people, and a sense of deriving one’s very purpose by the value of their productivity) could be used to solve the same problems it’s created?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But I had my doubts. Maybe I was just being naive.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was September 2020. At the time, I was living in the Bay Area. The fires in California were so bad that I couldn’t see the sun through all the smoke. I was getting my PhD in physics, trying to find dark matter with 200 of the smartest people I’ve ever met. We were trying to solve one of the universe’s biggest mysteries — but something didn’t feel right. The world around us seemed to be disintegrating. Maybe I was just getting older and my eyes were starting to focus on the reality of the world I was living in. Was discovering dark matter really the problem I wanted to spend my time on? It couldn’t be. It felt so far away. There were more pressing issues that filled me with a sense of dread, like those thick gray clouds casting gloomy shadows on what should’ve been a sunny, late summer day.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then something interesting happened. The Governor of California announced that the state would </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/cars/california-2035-zev-mandate/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">end the sale of all gas-powered cars by 2035</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Then, New Jersey </span><a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2020/10/only-electric-cars-sold-by-2035-heres-how-nj-gets-there.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that it too would end the sale of gas-powered cars. And then </span><a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35104768/massachusetts-ban-new-gas-cars-2035/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Massachusetts</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> made a similar pledge. It seemed like </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-eu-transport/eu-to-target-30-million-electric-cars-by-2030-draft-idUSKBN28E2KM"><span style="font-weight: 400;">other countries</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> were aiming for the same goal too. Even China </span><a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/china-aims-for-evs-to-account-for-50-of-all-car-sales-by-2035-60954964"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pledged</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to make electric vehicles account for 50% of all new car sales by 2035. Politicians across the world came together, and pledged to reach a seemingly impossible goal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I asked myself, “Why now?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, not long after, </span><a href="https://electrek.co/2021/02/04/ford-doubles-electric-vehicle-investment-22-billion-through-2025/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ford</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/gm-accelerating-ev-plans-with-additional-7-billion-announces-new-pickup.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">GM</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> both announced that they were doubling down in the EV space. It clicked. When Tesla’s valuation had skyrocketed, it sent a message to the rest of the world that something was changing. A new generation of investors didn’t care if Tesla’s business was profitable or not, they just knew that a world without EVs wouldn’t exist in 25 years. It was that simple. The concept of “value” was changing for the younger generation. What a company did for the planet mattered more than the profit it made. I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where every companies’ mission was aligned with the values of their investors?” I wondered how we could get there.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I still had my doubts. Money was at the heart of this movement (these were for-profit businesses, after all). How could that be sustainable?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But something else happened around the same time. Investment firm Engine No. 1 </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/exxon-shareholders-engine-no-1/exxon-faces-proxy-fight-launched-by-new-activist-firm-engine-no-1-idUSKBN28H1IO"><span style="font-weight: 400;">launched a bid</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to take over 4 of the 12 board seats within Exxon Mobil, with the sole intent of reducing the company’s carbon emissions. </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/business/exxon-mobil-engine-no1-activist.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">They succeeded</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. How did they succeed? The boardroom challenge caught the attention of BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street — some of the most powerful asset managers in the world — who all voted in favor of Engine No. 1’s board members during the Exxon meeting. These giant funds understood that there was an environmental </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">and</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> economic risk for the continued neglect of unmonitored carbon emissions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I went to </span><a href="https://www.proxymonitor.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Proxy Monitor</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a site dedicated to tracking shareholder votes, to see all of the votes taking place besides the Exxon Mobil one. What I saw shocked me. I saw shareholders voting on things like whether </span><a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312521298757/d189481ddef14a.htm#toc189481_35"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Microsoft should report on its gender pay gap disparity</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or whether </span><a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000132680121000022/facebook2021definitiveprox.htm#ic3434e614c6d4661abc9f5e608f438ab_58"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook should report on the sexual exploitation of children on its platform</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. These were big issues that impacted real people, but the proposals weren’t getting enough votes to pass.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Would these proposals only succeed if an activist group like Engine No. 1 was backing them? What would it take to get the big institutional firms like BlackRock and Vanguard to show support again?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was beginning to lose hope that this would happen, that is, until a movement started among retail investors (the everyday people buying stocks as an investment in their financial future). Retail investors began entering the stock market in droves throughout 2020 for a variety of reasons, which seemed to reach a climax during </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xj0EJ8fxk"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the GameStop short squeeze</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in early 2021. Not only were average people getting involved in capital markets like never before, these same retail investors were beginning to wise up to the system that was built around them. In the aftermath of the initial GameStop squeeze, retail investors began learning about things like payment for order flow and securities lending. They were paying attention to how hedge funds and market makers were processing their transactions. Their scrutiny even helped push these issues </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/robinhood-gamestop-reddit-hearing-congress/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">to the floor of congress</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This group of retail investors — millions of people who are just like you and me — could be the ones who help push large corporations towards meaningful change. After all, it was our lives that were impacted by the decisions of these companies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But this was just the tip of the iceberg. The more retail investors found out about the system, the more they were motivated to reform it. I was right there too. After starting my personal investing journey a few years ago, I went deeper down the rabbit hole in 2020, and even further in 2021. Eventually, I learned that my shares — and the shares of other retail investors too — could be lent out without me knowing. That’s because brokerage firms </span><a href="https://www.sonnlaw.com/faq/can-my-broker-lend-my-shares/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">are able to lend out the shares</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that their retail investors buy, if that investor signed up for a margin account and agreed to </span><a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/staff-fully-paid-lending"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“fully-paid securities lending”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in the terms and conditions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This throws a major wrench in the retail investing movement, because if retail investors’ shares are lent out, they lose the ability to vote with those shares. Without the ability to vote, retail investors can’t be the voting bloc that pushes companies towards meaningful change during shareholder meetings.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I knew something had to be done. Retail investors had to band together and use the system in order to change it. It was time to create something for this world that could allow people to truly help it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s what led to </span><a href="https://www.fennel.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fennel</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just like when I was researching dark matter, I surrounded myself with a team of intelligent people in order to tackle this mission. This time, it was a group of tech developers, financial professionals, and retail investors who felt motivated to make an impact as much as I did.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Together, we aimed to build a brokerage that had the interests of retail investors in mind. But more than that, we wanted to build a platform where people could come together and stand up for what they believe in. A place to fight for the planet, for our communities, and for the very society we all worked to build up. I hope that this platform motivates more people who align with our vision.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Join us and be part of this growing community. We hope to grow so big that our voices can no longer be ignored. Until every company truly understands the wishes of those who support them, Fennel will be there to fight alongside you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thank you to all of those who have joined me in this journey so far, and to all of you who have worked hard to make something truly special.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See you all soon.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daniel Naim</span></p>
Fennel
A Note From Our Founder
20 months ago I had a simple idea: What if capital markets could change?
19 Jul, 2022
6 min read
<p id="a86c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">The name “Fennel” is inspired by <a class="au li" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Prometheus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus</a>. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was one of the titans — a race of giant deities that predated the Olympian gods. When Zeus and the other Olympians fought to overthrow the primordial titans, Prometheus (whose name means “forethought”), knew that Zeus would win the war with the titans, and sided with the Olympians.</p>
<p id="9f6a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">After fighting for 10 years, the Olympian gods did win the war, and they banished most of the titans to the depths of the underworld. However, Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were spared. Zeus, with his newfound power, tasked Prometheus and Epimetheus with the creation of life on earth. Together the brothers created all forms of animal life, and gave each animal a unique gift. Birds were given the gift of flight. Fish were given the ability to swim. Some animals were given size and strength, others were given sharp teeth and claws.</p>
<p id="ba01" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">But when it was time to give humans their gift, Prometheus wanted them to have something special. Prometheus had handcrafted the humans out of clay, and was very fond of them. So fond that he wanted to give humans the most powerful gift he could think of — the ability to wield fire.</p>
<p id="3b03" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">Prometheus snuck into the workshop of gods Hephaistos and Athena and stole their sacred fire. Prometheus then hid the flame in a hollow stalk of Fennel, and smuggled it down from Mt. Olympus to the humans on earth.</p>
<p id="22a5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">The gift of fire was a boon to humankind. With fire, they were able to keep warm, cook their food, and forge metal weapons and tools. The gift of fire set humans apart from other animals by allowing them to harness the power of the natural world and create societies.</p>
<p id="1117" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">That fire represented the birth of technology, and with it they were able to build civilizations.</p>
<p id="5062" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">However, the gods weren’t happy when they found out about this. Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a boulder, and sending an eagle to peck out his liver. Every day the eagle would feed on Prometheus’ liver, and every night it would grow back. Since Prometheus was immortal, Zeus left him to suffer this punishment for eternity.</p>
<p id="7cae" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">Although Prometheus had to endure this perpetual torment from the gods, he was seen as a hero by the humans, and a martyr for his sacrifice.</p>
<p id="3abc" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">We <a class="au li" href="https://fennel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">named our company Fennel</a> after the fennel that Prometheus used to smuggle fire. While fire was the central focus of the story, it was fennel that functioned as a vessel for the fire. One hollow stalk of fennel contained the flame that enabled humans to build the world we know today. Without it, humans would still be in the dark.</p>
<p id="a761" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">In the myth, fire was a tool that could have benefited the masses, but access to it was limited to the powerful. This serves as an important metaphor for us. There are many different “fires” in our world today — things like education, natural resources, technology, and wealth.</p>
<p id="11e2" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">In Fennel’s case, we believe that the power of capital markets is one of those fires. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data, financial tools, and shareholder voting are all things that could be used for the greater good if they were made more accessible to everyone.</p>
<p id="0831" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">So how do you make these things more accessible? With a hollow stalk of fennel, of course. We built Fennel to make it easier to use these resources. But our platform is just one piece of technology providing access to a handful of things. There are plenty of other fires out there being guarded, and many stalks of fennel that need to be carried.</p>
<p id="28d6" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">What’s important is to keep Prometheus’ mission alive. To capture the proverbial fire and give it as a gift to all of humanity — so everyone can use it.</p>
<p id="e6bc" class="pw-post-body-paragraph kk kl iz km b kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh is gb" data-selectable-paragraph="">Because once the fire is in your control, what to do with that power is up to you.</p>
Fennel
Where Does the Name Fennel Come From?
The name "Fennel" is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus.
25 Jul, 2022
4 min read
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fennel is joining forces with We The Investors to provide engaging educational content to help retail investors learn more about capital markets. This introduction is the first post in an ongoing series.</span></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The main reason we launched Fennel was to ensure that we, as retail investors, are represented in capital markets. As a result, we pay close attention to other groups advocating for the same ideals, which is how we learned of </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/advocacy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">We The Investors</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (WTI), a grassroots organization pushing for market reforms on the behalf of retail investors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Earlier this year, WTI </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/advocacy/we-the-investors-pfof-sign-on"><span style="font-weight: 400;">wrote a letter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to the SEC asking the agency to address payment for order flow (PFOF) and excessive off-exchange trading. Both of these practices are legal in the US, but their questionable ethics have </span><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-08/sec-chief-takes-aim-at-payment-for-order-flow-in-sweeping-plans#xj4y7vzkg"><span style="font-weight: 400;">led to increased scrutiny</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by regulators.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of us at Fennel signed WTI’s SEC letter, along with more than 71,000 other retail investors. Inspired by this action, we reached out to two of WTI’s founders, Dave Lauer and Alex Cohen, to learn more.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In the world of social media, the largest companies in history have attained their size by productizing their users. They pitted their interests against the interests of their users, through selling user data and exploiting their market power. I think we see a lot of the same things in capital markets,” We The Investors co-founder Dave Lauer told Fennel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He continued, “People need to think about [payment for order flow] like they do with big tech. If you’re paying for a tech service with your privacy, you might think that’s not an explicit cost, but it very much is. It’s just like payment for order flow. You might think you're getting free trading because there's no explicit cost. But implicit costs can add up to be even more than the explicit costs you’d pay otherwise.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This stance and the support it received has helped WTI </span><a href="https://twitter.com/UrvinTerminal/status/1534927667761491974"><span style="font-weight: 400;">get meetings</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with the SEC chairman Gary Gensler, and allowed them to advocate for change </span><a href="https://twitter.com/UrvinTerminal/status/1539230563659239424"><span style="font-weight: 400;">in front of Congress</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But this is just one initiative spearheaded by the group.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We The Investors aims to help individual investors learn about how structural issues with capital markets affect their daily lives. Through this education, the group encourages investors to push for reform in order to create fairer markets. Lauer and Cohen are also co-founders of </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Urvin Finance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a startup that is building a market data platform called </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/mission"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Terminal</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which aims to give individual investors professional-quality data analytics, educational resources, and tools.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think the answer to a lot of problems in markets is more transparency. That's always been a guiding principle of the reforms I've been pushing for,” Lauer explained. “As a capitalist, I believe in transparency and competition. I think if you put everyone on a level playing field and open things up, that tends to give you the best outcomes.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">WTI has put together an </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/advocacy#preamble1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Investor Bill of Rights</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with several guiding principles to organize its advocacy efforts and directions for possible reform. The principles include:</span></p>
<pre> </pre>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Transparency:</strong> Investors should be able to gather all important information regarding their brokers’ practices, including costs, how their securities are held, and more</li>
</ul>
<pre> </pre>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Simplicity & Fairness:</strong> Markets should be easier to understand and trust, without unnecessary complexity and excessive intermediation.</li>
</ul>
<pre> </pre>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Choice & Control:</strong> Investors should have control over their orders, trades, accounts and investments.</li>
</ul>
<pre> </pre>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Best Execution:</strong> Brokers must be held to a true best execution standard, not a “good enough” standard. Conflicts-of-interest must be fully disclosed or eliminated.</li>
</ul>
<pre> </pre>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Better Settlement & Clearing:</strong> Investors should be offered a choice about how their purchase orders are settled. Barriers that affect an investor’s choice should be removed.</li>
</ul>
<pre> </pre>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These five principles are meant as guidelines to make markets fairer, and WTI identifies different issues that need to be addressed in order to push for each one. The organization also helps walk retail investors through the process of how they too can help, like sending their own letters to the SEC or members of Congress.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reaching out to government representatives is one way to advocate for systemic change, but it can also be intimidating if you’ve never done it before. That’s why WTI walks people through the process, with </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/advocacy-issues/comment-letters"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a guide on how to write an SEC comment letter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/683960170?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=168392146"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a helpful video</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The SEC is required by law to read these comment letters, which is why WTI encourages people to write them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">WTI’s resources are valuable assets for investors who want fairer markets, and for those who want to get directly involved in reform. As Lauer puts it, “Let's just get the right information into people's hands so that they can make good decisions.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s why in collaboration with We The Investors, Fennel will be publishing a series of articles exploring topics such as the difference between investing and trading, forms of risk, and how markets function. Through these articles, we hope to give retail investors a better understanding of how capital markets work and ways they can improve. Keep an eye out for more educational content and check out We The Investors website to </span><a href="https://www.urvin.finance/advocacy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">join the movement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
Fennel
An Introduction to We The Investors
Fennel is joining forces with We The Investors to provide engaging educational content to help retail investors learn more about capital markets.
12 Sep, 2022
3 min read
<p><em>Backed by Jeff Cruttenden, founder of Acorns, Capital Factory, Temerity Capital Partners and more, Fennel has raised over $5M in funding to provide transparent financial and ESG-data to investors.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--<a href="https://fennel.com/"><u>Fennel</u></a>, an ESG-focused platform that gives retail investors access to tools to better engage with companies, today launched their mobile investing app with $5M in seed funding. Fennel’s key feature is its in-app ESG data and rankings, which provides useful information to retail investors on public companies’ environmental, social and governance practices. With Fennel, users can invest in publicly-listed stocks and ETFs as they analyze detailed ESG data and further understand how the companies they invest in impact the world they live in.</p>
<p>Today, with over 82% of all global retail investors interested in sustainable and socially-responsible investing, and global sustainable fund assets reaching $2.7 trillion by December of last year, the call for ESG-driven investing will keep growing louder as the next generation continually challenges current institutions and power structures. Fennel’s ESG data can also help inform investors ahead of shareholder votes. Shareholder voting creates a communication channel between companies and investors, yet <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/few-individuals-participate-in-shareholder-voting-but-that-may-change.html"><u>only 28%</u></a> of shares owned by retail investors were used to vote in 2020.</p>
<p>“The retail revolution is only just getting started. The next generation of investors are yearning for their voices to be heard. Today, the shareholder voting process is an overlooked method of invoking positive corporate change. Our mission is to give everyone a voice in the companies they invest in, not just the top 1% with formidable seats at the table,” said Daniel Naim, founder and CEO of Fennel.</p>
<p>With Fennel, retail investors can easily invest in alignment with their values and with the ESG-related issues they are passionate about, covering a plethora of issues such as the gender and cultural identity wage gaps, carbon emissions, and climate change. Fennel provides information about past and upcoming shareholder votes in order to show investors how they can play a part in guiding a company’s decisions. It also allows investors to follow specific ballots to track their outcomes. Additional voting features will be rolled out after Fennel’s initial launch. In addition, Fennel does not lend out their users’ securities, ensuring that the investor’s votes follow their shares. Out of principle, Fennel does not participate in payment for order flow (PFOF) either.</p>
<p>“Fennel is truly bringing a new model for investing into the marketplace. Most brokerage firms are using two ethically questionable methods, PFOF and doing securities lending, which is what sets Fennel apart. Fennel aims to be a channel for retail investors to organize on a platform and develop investment tribes, surrounding issues from gender equality and zero carbon waste,” said Strategic Business Advisor Hitch McDermid.</p>
<p>Fennel was founded by Daniel Naim, a former Physics PhD student and dark matter researcher. Growing up in Beirut, Lebanon, he witnessed firsthand the socioeconomic inequities that fester right under individuals’ noses. Later in his life, his career in the sciences exposed him to the grave threat of climate change. Daniel hopes that he can use Fennel to help address both of these issues.</p>
<p>“Investing is about ownership. To have ownership is a special privilege, and to actually make an impact by interacting with companies, not just understanding what you’re buying, is integral to that special privilege,” said Fennel investor and Acorns co-founder, Jeffrey Cruttenden. “Fennel has given everyday investors the tools to evaluate companies from a socially good perspective. It’s an ambitious project but Daniel and his team are the right people to lead the way.”</p>
<p>Fennel has raised $5M from a collective of strategic investors and advisors, including Larry Sonsini, founding partner of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, former Managing Director of Trading at Blue River Asset Management Paul Sinsar and John Rundle, Distinguished Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics at UC Davis. Temerity Capital Partners, co-founder of Acorns and Say Technologies Jeffrey Cruttenden, and Preston Butcher, former board member of Schwab and former Chairman and CEO of Legacy Partners Preston Butcher have also invested in Fennel.</p>
<p><strong>About Fennel</strong></p>
<p>Fennel is a mobile investing app that helps people understand a company’s impact through digestible ESG data, as well as past and upcoming shareholder votes. With this information, Fennel allows investors to learn more about how companies operate and how they affect the world. Fennel refers to Fennel Markets, Inc., and Fennel Financials LLC. Securities offered through Fennel Financials LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.</p>
<p><strong>Disclosures:</strong></p>
<p>The information provided is for information purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment or financial product. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. The price and value of any the investments referenced and the income from such investments may fluctuate, and investors may realize losses on these investments, including a loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. Fennel does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this communication have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. Fennel Financials LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a member of FINRA and a member of SIPC.</p>
<p><strong>Contacts</strong></p>
<p><em>Bevel <br />Caden Kinard <br /><u>fennel@bevelpr.com</u> </em></p>
Fennel
Fennel Launches ESG-Data Driven Investment Platform for Everyday Retail Investors
Backed by Jeff Cruttenden, founder of Acorns, Capital Factory, Temerity Capital Partners and more, Fennel has raised over $5M in funding to provide transparent financial and ESG-data to investors.
16 Nov, 2022
3 min read
<p>NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2022 – <a href="http://www.eventus.com">Eventus</a>, a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, and <a href="https://fennel.com/">Fennel Financials LLC</a>, which just launched an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-focused platform offering retail investors access to tools to better engage with companies, today announced that Fennel has chosen to deploy the Eventus Validus platform for all of its trade surveillance activities. Fennel will also be using the platform’s anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities.</p>
<p>Fennel launched its mobile investing app for equities in mid-November, providing in-app ESG data and rankings to educate retail investors on public companies’ ESG practices. Through the app, users can invest in publicly listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as they analyze the data.</p>
<p>Jenn Gatherer, Chief Compliance Officer of Fennel Financials LLC, said: “We want our customers and regulators to know that Fennel has a true culture of compliance and that we have employed best-in-class systems and compliance practices at every level of the business, aligning ourselves with companies that do the same. We will evolve as the landscape evolves, and Validus enables us to do that. I believe having a customizable, automated trade surveillance platform is imperative for a real compliance program.”</p>
<p>Eventus CEO Travis Schwab said: “We are delighted to provide the backbone for Fennel’s trade surveillance program as the firm grows its business through a truly innovative investing app. It’s exciting to continually expand into new and creative use cases in equity and other asset classes as our clients chart new territory and financial markets evolve.”</p>
<p>Gatherer has been in compliance for decades and has deployed a number of trade surveillance platforms, including Validus when in a previous role. She said: “The customer service at Eventus is second to none. The firm’s commitment to innovating, as well as hearing what’s important to clients and making that a reality are extremely important to me as a partner in compliance. We can tweak reports to our liking, and that ability to act independently or with Validus support is really powerful. Knowing what I need to find and then refining the requirements as we learn how our customers trade makes my job easier and significantly more effective.”</p>
<p>Also important to Fennel, Gatherer said, was that Eventus does not rest on its laurels and is constantly evolving to meet the needs of clients. “Many companies create a good system for the time, and they keep moving along with that system and really don’t adjust it or engage with clients. If they do, it’s often very slow to make those changes happen. The speed with which Eventus can make the changes is really impressive. If something needs addressing, the firm has demonstrated it can get that done instantaneously.”</p>
<p> </p>
<h4><strong>About Eventus</strong></h4>
<p>Eventus is a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions. Its powerful, award-winning Validus platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate across equities, options, futures, foreign exchange (FX), fixed income and digital asset markets. Validus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments of tier-1 banks, broker-dealers, futures commission merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading groups, market centers, buy-side institutions, energy and commodity trading firms, and regulators. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Validus and Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. For more, visit <a href="http://www.eventus.com">www.eventus.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<h4><strong>About Fennel </strong></h4>
<p>Launched in November 2022, Fennel is a mobile investing app that helps people understand a company’s impact through digestible ESG data, as well as past and upcoming shareholder votes. With this information, Fennel allows investors to learn more about how companies operate and how they affect the world. Fennel refers to Fennel Markets, Inc., and Fennel Financials LLC. Securities are offered through Fennel Financials LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC. Fennel Financials LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fennel Markets, Inc. and a registered broker-dealer. For more, visit <a href="http://www.fennel.com">www.fennel.com</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>RISK DISCLOSURE:</em></p>
<p><em>The risk of loss when trading any security can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider, prior to making any investment decision, whether such a transaction is suitable for you in light of your investment objectives, financial circumstances, your tolerance to risks and your investment experience. Past performance of any securities product does not guarantee future performance or returns.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>MEDIA CONTACTS:</p>
<p><strong>For Eventus:</strong></p>
<p>Ellen G. Resnick</p>
<p>Crystal Clear Communications</p>
<p>+1 773-929-9292; +1 312-399-9295 (mobile)</p>
<p>eresnick@crystalclearPR.com</p>
<p><u> </u></p>
<p><strong>For Fennel:</strong></p>
<p>Caden Kinard</p>
<p>Bevel<br /><a href="mailto:fennel@bevelpr.com">fennel@bevelpr.com</a></p>
Fennel
Fennel Financials turns to Eventus for trade surveillance on new ESG-focused equity investing platform
Fennel Financials joins forces with Eventus.
14 Dec, 2022
2 min read
<p><strong>New York, NY– March 2, 2023, —</strong> Fennel, the investing platform that gives retail investors tools to better understand and engage with companies, has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023.</p>
<p>Fennel joins a list of businesses paving the way in innovation and highlighting those at the forefront of their respective industries. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. Fennel has been recognized as one of the world’s most innovative in Personal Finance by Fast Company.</p>
<p>Backed by the founder of Acorns, Capital Factory, Temerity Capital Partners and more, Fennel has raised over $8M in capital and is on a mission to provide retail investors access to market knowledge on the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impacts of the companies they invest in. In addition, Fennel does not lend out users’ securities ensuring that the individual retains their right to vote during the shareholder voting processes. Out of principle, Fennel does not accept payment for order flow (PFOF), which sets it apart from other commission-free trading apps.</p>
<p>“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Fennel. Over the last eighteen months we have raised our Seed capital, built our team and launched a full functioning brokerage. It is because of our innovative team and passion in bringing information to retail investors that has allowed us to do so much in such a short period of time,” Fennel CEO and Founder, Daniel Naim, shared. “By providing information about the companies they are investing in, retail investors are able to make lasting change with their money and votes and invest confidently in companies that align with their values. This allows for the retail investor to have true ownership.”</p>
<p>In aligning with values, Fennel provides a community for retail investors to organize and develop investment tribes, surrounding the ESG topics most important to them. Fennel provides information about past and upcoming shareholder votes in order to show investors how they can play a part in guiding a company’s decisions. The platform also allows investors to follow specific ballots to track their outcomes.</p>
<p>Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out companies such as Fennel making the biggest strides around the globe as well as judged nominations received through their annual application process.</p>
<p>The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy.</p>
<p>“What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year’s Most Innovative Companies. This year’s list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations like McDonald’s to upstarts like MrBeast and institutions such as NASA. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.</p>
<p><strong>About Fennel </strong></p>
<p>Fennel is a mobile investing app that helps people better understand a company’s impact through digestible ESG data, as well as past and upcoming shareholder votes. With this information, Fennel allows investors to learn more about how companies operate and how they affect the world. Fennel refers to Fennel Markets, Inc., and Fennel Financials LLC. Securities offered through Fennel Financials LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.</p>
<p><strong>About Fast Company </strong></p>
<p>Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Confidential | Prepared by Bevel Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com. Media Contact Bevel Caden Kinard fennel@bevelpr.com</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>∙ ∙ ∙</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Disclosures</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>The information provided is for information purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment or financial product. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. The price and value of any the investments referenced and the income from such investments may fluctuate, and investors may realize losses on these investments, including a loss of principal. The risk of loss when trading any security can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider, prior to making any investment decision, whether such a transaction is suitable for you in light of your investment objectives, financial circumstances, your tolerance to risks and your investment experience. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. Employing ESG strategies may not result in favorable investment performance. Fennel does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this communication have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. Fennel Financials LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a member of FINRA and a member of SIPC. The World's Most Innovative Companies of 2023 were selected by the editors of Fast Company. Applications were judged on relevancy, ingenuity, and current and potential cultural and business impact. Companies and nonprofits of all sizes were considered. An application fee was not paid to be considered for the award.</em></p>
<p><strong>Contacts</strong></p>
<p><em>Bevel<br />Caden Kinard<br /><u>fennel@bevelpr.com</u> </em></p>
<p> </p>
Fennel
Fennel Named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023
Fennel has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023, joining a list of businesses paving the way in innovation and highlighting those at the forefront of their respective industries.
02 Mar, 2023
3 min read
<div class="bw-release-story">
<p>NEW YORK--<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffennel.com%2F&esheet=53357336&newsitemid=20230307005416&lan=en-US&anchor=Fennel&index=1&md5=77a0ce720bd511dfbf5907accc342203" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" shape="rect">Fennel</a>, the investing platform that gives retail investors access to tools to better understand and engage with companies, today announced the hiring of Michael Capelli as the CEO of its brokerage, Fennel Financials. With over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Capelli joins the Fennel executive team to help build a transparent brokerage for retail investors, and to continue pushing for innovation in the financial industry.</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="pull-quote"></p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Fennel refers to both Fennel Markets and its affiliated brokerage Fennel Financials. Securities offered through Fennel Financials LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Daniel Naim will continue as the CEO of Fennel Markets, while Capelli joins as CEO of Fennel Financials.)</p>
<p>“Michael brings a unique perspective to the Fennel team,” said Daniel Naim, the Founder and CEO of Fennel Markets. “He has the institutional background that is of the utmost importance in building a strong brokerage, but also has an innovative perspective which when paired together will create undeniable change in the retail brokerage industry.”</p>
<p>Capelli has a solid track record of integrating technology into the trading process and co-founding multiple companies. The first company Capelli co-founded was BidPay.com, an electronic internet payment service that allowed customers of auction websites, such as eBay, to pay for goods purchased directly on the platform. Capelli was working at ITG, an agency broker dealer, when he co-founded BidPay.com. Eventually Capelli left ITG to join Thales Fund Management, LLC as the Global Head of Trading, where he incorporated automation and performance-based metrics into the trading process. After a stint at Thales, Capelli co-founded Miletus Trading, a quantitative broker dealer which specialized in building customized algorithmic trading solutions for institutional traders. Miletus was eventually acquired by Liquidnet, where he spent 15 years in various roles with the last being the Head of the Execution and Quantitative Servicing team for the Americas.</p>
<p>Throughout his career, Capelli saw how technology could provide greater access to financial tools and services. He’s excited to see how the next chapter of fintech will open up access even further, and looking forward to chasing this goal with Fennel. Capelli will run the day-to-day operations of the brokerage while working alongside Naim on strategic vision and direction of Fennel as a whole.</p>
<p class="p1">“Retail investors are adamant that they want change with the current investment landscape and are demonstrating this desire through their voices and actions. At Fennel, we have an opportunity of providing retail investors with a better platform to foster this change,” Capelli said. “While we are in a competitive market, there are a myriad of ways Fennel is already innovating, with even more to come.”</p>
<p><strong>About Fennel</strong></p>
<p>Fennel is a mobile investing app that helps people understand a company’s impact through digestible ESG data, as well as past and upcoming shareholder votes. With this information, Fennel allows investors to learn more about how companies operate and how they affect the world. Fennel refers to Fennel Markets, Inc., and Fennel Financials LLC. Securities offered through Fennel Financials LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.</p>
<p><strong><em>Disclosures:</em></strong></p>
<p><em>The information provided is for information purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment or financial product. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. The price and value of any the investments referenced and the income from such investments may fluctuate, and investors may realize losses on these investments, including a loss of principal. The risk of loss when trading any security can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider, prior to making any investment decision, whether such a transaction is suitable for you in light of your investment objectives, financial circumstances, your tolerance to risks and your investment experience. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. Fennel does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this communication have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. Fennel Financials LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a member of FINRA and a member of SIPC.</em></p>
</div>
<div class="bw-release-contact">
<p><strong>Media contact</strong><br />Bevel<br />Caden Kinard<br /><a href="mailto:fennel@bevelpr.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" shape="rect">fennel@bevelpr.com</a></p>
</div>
Fennel
Fennel Expands Leadership Team with Key Executive Hire
The ESG-focused retail investing platform hires Michael Capelli to lead its brokerage operations
07 Mar, 2023
2 min read
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The idea is great, but why is the app the same price as my Spotify?” </span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Someone left this comment on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p4xlcHNfNw"><span style="font-weight: 400;">one of our YouTube videos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, when we officially launched Fennel to the public in May 2023.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think it’s a great question, and one that deserves a thoughtful answer. So in an attempt to explain why Fennel costs $4.99 per month, I want to take some time diving into how investing in securities can result in a handful of hidden costs—beyond the fees you see on the surface. By doing so, I hope to give extra context for why Fennel opted for its monthly subscription model as opposed to adopting the business model of many other brokerages. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Diving into the costs of trading</h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rise of zero-commission trading has gained immense popularity through both newer fintech investing apps and mainstream online brokers. The allure of trading without paying any commissions has (understandably) attracted a large number of retail investors to participate in the stock market.</span><strong> However, beneath the surface of this seemingly advantageous arrangement lies a complex issue of hidden costs and missed opportunities</strong><strong><em>.</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the trading landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, market structure and order routing is becoming increasingly complex, and very important for investors to underst</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and. As retail brokers, it's our responsibility to engage in discussions with our clients about how market structure and order routing impacts trading costs. This ensures that our clients have a clear understanding of what they are paying for.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">explicit</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> cost to trade (i.e. the commission) is on the surface, and thus the easiest cost to spot. But there are other costs associated with trading that are not immediately visible, but which you are still paying for. These are the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">implicit</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">opportunity</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> costs of trading.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some examples of implicit costs are: the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">bid-ask spread</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">impact cost</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">timing risk</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. When we say opportunity costs, we refer to the cost associated with missing out on optimal trades by trading at or close to the bid-ask spread. What does this last part mean? Let’s break it down.</span></p>
<p><br /><br /></p>
<p><strong>Bid-ask spread</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Bid-ask spread:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the difference between the bid price (how much a buyer is willing to pay) and the ask price (at what price the seller is willing to sell at).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The wider the spread, the more expensive the cost to trade. For example, if the bid is $10 and the ask is $11, you can sell your stock and get $10 in return, or buy that same stock for $11. This is a $1 spread.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, if the spread narrows and the bid is $10.49 and the ask is $10.51, you can now sell your stock and receive $10.49 or buy stock for $10.51—a $0.02 spread. As a result of this narrower spread, both the buyer and seller each saved $0.49 per share.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s important to know that the bid-ask spread does not necessarily represent the best available price. There is sometimes liquidity available between the spread. Finding this liquidity can further reduce the execution cost, </span><strong>which means saving the individual investor money.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How does the individual investor get access to this hidden liquidity? </span><strong>It comes down to how the broker routes orders.</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Those brokers that have the best methodology for finding liquidity between the spread (aka </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">hidden liquidity</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">) will deliver a better price, further reducing the cost of execution.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is where the logic of a router is very critical. For example, let’s say you're a buyer and the bid is $10 and the ask is $11. If you go straight to the market you may pay that $11. However, if your broker is using a “good router” to execute your order, they may be able to find liquidity in the middle of the spread at $10.50, thus saving you $0.50 per share.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s real money saved for the individual investor and it adds up!</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Routing logic & opportunity costs</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We believe that the quality of a router is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to executing orders for the individual investor. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Routers, although not a conventional cost of execution, can either significantly increase or decrease trading cost for the individual investor. To look at it one way, bad routing of orders will take money out of the individual investors pocket whereas good logic will keep money in their pocket. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A good router will take into consideration both historical and real-time information when deciding how best to route an order. It will make decisions such as which type of venue to route to (exchanges, ATS’s, market makers or other liquidity providers) and to which specific one(s). A big factor to take into consideration when executing orders for individual investors is its ability to find hidden liquidity at the midpoint of the bid-ask spread. </span><strong>As noted earlier, finding midpoint liquidity means cost savings for the individual investor.</strong></p>
<p><strong>We believe that the quality of how a retail broker routes orders can be the biggest factor in providing their clients with the best possible price, saving them real money!</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Impact cost</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Impact cost: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">the cost incurred by investors when buying or selling a stock where the order size is large relative to the liquidity that is available in the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Large orders will push a stock either higher or lower to the point where it’s trading well beyond its expected price range. This is sometimes followed by what is known as </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">price reversion</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, where the stock price goes back to where it was trading before the large order entered the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The difference between your execution price and the price where the stock resumes trading at the completion of your order, is the </span><strong>impact cost</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although this is not a significant cost for the majority of retail orders, it’s something you may want to be aware of, especially when trading thinly traded names. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By using a router with good logic, your broker may be able to avoid this cost.</span></p>
<p><br /><br /></p>
<p><strong>Timing risk</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Timing risk:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> arises from the dynamic nature of financial markets, where prices can fluctuate significantly throughout the day. The longer it takes to execute an order, the greater the risk of price move, either in your favor or against you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For retail size orders, this comes in play as a result of:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>∙ </strong>Limits (depending on the marketability of the limit, it may take longer to execute the order)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>∙ </strong>Length of time between the time when you decided you want to enter a trade to the time you actually entered the trade.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>∙ </strong>Time needed to trade a more thinly traded security where your order is large relative to the security’s Average Daily Trading Volume (ADV)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To conclude, when analyzing the overall cost of executing a trade, it’s important to consider not only the explicit cost of commissions but also the various implicit costs and the quality of how the broker routes orders for execution. </span><strong>The implicit costs do add up and routing methodology does matter and both can make a trade expensive for the individual investor if not taken into consideration by the broker.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So don’t be lured into a false sense of security when a broker advertises “commission-free” trading, because it doesn’t necessarily mean “zero cost.” </span></p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Actually answering the opening question</h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Commission-free trading apps may appear to be friendly for retail investors, but after reading this article, hopefully you have realized that “free” doesn’t always mean free. With practices like payment for order flow becoming prevalent, there are other costs that investors may unknowingly bear.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead of solely focusing on eliminating commissions, we at Fennel have prioritized reducing the overall cost of trading by leveraging technology used by professional institutional traders. Our goal is to be fully transparent with our clients and employ innovative routing and execution models that offer the lowest possible cost to trade. This all equates to cost savings for our clients.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our $4.99 monthly fee reflects the operational costs of running Fennel. It helps us cover the expenses of operating a brokerage, executing trades (did I mention Fennel is also zero-commission?), and maintaining a team of licensed professionals.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moreover, your $4.99 subscription provides access to a wide range of financial and ESG data sourced from 90 different vendors, along with easily understandable shareholder voting information. We cover the costs of obtaining and compiling this data, which is then distributed among our users through the subscription. These tools we offer are of institutional-investor-grade quality and are available in one convenient place.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our aim as a brokerage is to be transparent and ensure that we don't hide anything from the people we serve. We hope this explanation sheds light on the total cost of execution and why Fennel operates on a subscription model.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>∙</strong><span class="s2"><strong><em> </em></strong></span><strong>∙</strong><span class="s2"><strong><em> </em></strong></span><strong>∙</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Michael Capelli is the CEO of Fennel Financials</em></p>
<p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"><strong>∙</strong><span class="s2"><strong><em> </em></strong></span><strong>∙</strong><span class="s2"><strong><em> </em></strong></span><strong>∙</strong></p>
<p class="p4"><em>The views expressed are those of the author at the time of writing, are not necessarily those of the firm as a whole and may be subject to change. The information contained in this advertisement is for informational purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. We do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this advertisement have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. This is particularly true during periods of rapidly changing market conditions. Securities offered through Fennel Financials, LLC. Member FINRA SIPC.</em></p>
Fennel
Investing
The Hidden Costs of Trading
Zero commissions doesn't mean zero costs.
10 Jul, 2023
6 min
<p class="p1"><strong><em>ESG & shareholder voting-focused brokerage becomes Certified B Corporation™, highlighting commitment to sustainable and regenerative economy </em></strong></p>
<p class="p2"><strong>NEW YORK, [August 1, 2023] </strong>– <span class="s1">Fennel</span><span class="s2">,</span> a mobile investing platform that empowers users to invest while easily integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, is proud to announce that it has received official <span class="s1">B Corp Certification</span><span class="s2">.</span> Through its app, Fennel enables investors to leverage ESG data, to gain insight into the results and impacts of shareholder votes, and to invest in alignment with their vision for the world.</p>
<p class="p3">B Corp Certification is provided to companies that have demonstrated exceptional social and environmental performance through a rigorous <span class="s1">third-party impact assessment</span> conducted by B Lab™, a global nonprofit organization.</p>
<p class="p4">"Becoming a B Corp as a fintech startup is a huge source of pride for us, especially amidst the ongoing debate around ESG in government and finance," said Daniel Naim, CEO and Founder of Fennel. “Being proactive about our impact has already had positive material results for our business. We firmly believe that the lens of sustainability will reshape the way people approach investing, and we want to commend B Lab for elevating the global standard for third-party impact assessments.”</p>
<p class="p5">Fennel joins the ranks of other notable companies dedicated to considering the interests of all stakeholders in their business operations: workers, customers, communities, and the environment. “As a still young company, we’re grateful for how this process has pushed us to continually improve our practices,” Naim expanded. “This will hopefully only display our baseline commitment to fostering a more equitable and regenerative society. We’re honored to join this movement and community of like-minded businesses.”</p>
<p class="p6">The certification also reflects Fennel's commitment to resiliency and longevity, as recertification is required every three years to prove it can meet the ever-rising standards for social and environmental performance.</p>
<p class="p7">To learn more about Fennel and B Corp Certification, please visit <a href="http://www.fennel.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="s1">www.fennel.com</span></a> and <a href="http://www.bcorporation.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="s1">www.bcorporation.net</span></a><span class="s2">.</span></p>
<p class="p7"> </p>
<p class="p8"><strong>About Fennel </strong></p>
<p class="p2">Fennel is a mobile investing app that empowers individuals to understand a company's impact through accessible ESG data and shareholder voting info. By providing investors with valuable insights into how companies operate and their broader societal impact, Fennel aims to drive positive change and create a more sustainable future. Fennel refers to Fennel Markets, Inc. and Fennel Financials LLC. Securities are offered through Fennel Financials LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p><strong>Disclosures:</strong></p>
<p>The information provided is for information purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment or financial product. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. The price and value of any the investments referenced and the income from such investments may fluctuate, and investors may realize losses on these investments, including a loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. Fennel does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this communication have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. Fennel Financials LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a member of FINRA and a member of SIPC.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="p9">For media inquiries, please contact:</p>
<p class="p10">Gordon Gottsegen</p>
<p class="p11">Head of Editorial</p>
<p class="p12"><span class="s2">gordongottsegen@fennelmarkets.com</span></p>
<p class="p13">(877) 606-3565</p>
Fennel
Fennel Receives B Corp™ Certification
ESG & shareholder voting-focused brokerage becomes Certified B Corporation™, highlighting commitment to sustainable and regenerative economy.
01 Aug, 2023
2 min
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Things that start with the word “dark” tend to have a bad reputation — the Dark Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise, the Dark Side from Star Wars, etc. — so it’s not too surprising that when individual investors learn about the existence of “dark pools” in the financial system, their skin begins to crawl.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I get it. No one bothers to break down their value to the average investor, and honestly, it feels like they weren't even designed to benefit individual investors. But like everything else, there's a fair amount of nuance when it comes to dark pools.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dark pools — also referred to as Alternative Trading Systems or ATS — are private, off-exchange trading venues that allow investors to trade securities anonymously. This is why they’re called “dark” pools. Because they are private and anonymous, they offer different benefits compared to trading on a public “lit” stock exchange.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By creating those private trading venues, dark pools can also help provide better prices than what’s publicly available.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is one of the reasons they’re used by institutional investors. Dark pools are great for handling large blocks of stock without moving the prices. That might not seem like a big deal for the individual investor, as most of these orders tend to be smaller ones, but for the large institutional investors who are trading massive orders, it's a total game-changer, saving a significant amount of money when executing trades. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A private trading venue that primarily benefits institutional investors? That doesn’t seem fair. However, I want to argue that dark pools can benefit individual investors too.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<h4><strong>What goes on in the dark pool</strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dark pools obtain liquidity and generate profits through a similar mechanism to that of a consignment store, bringing together buyers and sellers. They attract orders by offering more favorable prices to both buyers and sellers compared to what’s available on public markets. This means that they can help buyers buy at a discount while helping sellers sell at a premium, allowing participants to save on transaction costs. Dark pools charge a small fee for facilitating these transactions, enabling them to generate revenue while providing a valuable service to market participants.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is no guarantee that a dark pool will always have both a buyer and seller of a security at the same time. If not, no harm done as their anonymity means that no one knows these traders are in the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But if they do connect a buyer and seller, dark pools can bring some serious price improvement, especially when you execute your order in the middle of </span><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bid-askspread.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the bid-ask spread</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is the difference between how much a buyer is paying for a stock and how much a seller is getting when they sell. Closing this gap means saving money for both the buyer and the seller, it's a win-win for everyone. Just a few pennies saved here and there across multiple orders can really stack up over time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s why I think it’s important for individual investors to have access to dark pools too, not just the large institutional players.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<h4><strong>Fennel’s Private Trading Room</strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fennel decided to bring access to dark pools to individual investors by setting up its very own private trading venue. Fennel has created a space within a third party's dark pool where it can determine who gets access and set certain criteria, such as mid-point only execution, counterparty disclosure, and execution quality monitoring.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Think about it as a private room where Fennel gets to be the security guard — we call it the Fennel Private Trading Room.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Within Fennel’s Private Trading Room, liquidity providers (such as market makers) who have met the criteria to participate, compete directly with other liquidity providers to execute your order. To ensure an execution against your order, a more aggressive pricing (and therefore more beneficial pricing for the individual investors) is needed. This competition is geared to provide Fennel’s clients with significant savings when executing their trades, while providing Fennel with additional venues to look for better prices for your order before going to the public markets.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are several benefits of this setup. There’s anonymity for individual investors due to the private nature of dark pools. Fennel also seeks to find better prices than what’s on the public market when available. And since Fennel set up the criteria for the Private Trading Room, we are the gatekeepers of the parties who interact with your orders. Our goal is to ensure that the liquidity providers have our clients’ best interests in mind, and if they can’t keep up with the required benchmarks when providing executions, we can revoke their access.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, not every retail brokerage has to create their own private trading venue to bring the benefits of dark pools to retail investors. But as I mentioned in my </span><a href="https://fennel.com/blog/the-hidden-costs-of-trading" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hidden Costs of Trading blog post</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the more trading venues your order has access to, the greater the ability for price discovery — and potentially lower costs for you. If your brokerage doesn't have access to multiple places to send your orders, including dark pools, there’s a chance you're gonna end up paying more.</span></p>
<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>∙<em> </em>∙<em> </em>∙</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Capelli is the CEO of Fennel Financials</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>∙<em> </em>∙<em> </em>∙</strong></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The views expressed are those of the author at the time of writing, are not necessarily those of the firm as a whole and may be subject to change. The information contained in this advertisement is for informational purposes and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any. It does not constitute a recommendation or consider the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. We do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, or legal advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this advertisement have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. This is particularly true during periods of rapidly changing market conditions. Securities offered through Fennel Financials, LLC. Member FINRA SIPC.</span></em></p>
Fennel
Investing
What Are Dark Pools? How Can They Benefit Individual Investors?
Fennel aims to bring the benefits of using dark pools to individual investors.
22 Aug, 2023
4 min
Take back the power of your investment