Cashwerkz takes action to stem outflows
After announcing ambitious expansion plans in January, online term deposit marketplace Cashwerkz has paused to overhaul its board and management in the face of funds outflows.Chief executive Hector Ortiz is being relegated to head of sales. The chair Michael Hackett will become executive chair of the Cashwerkz subsidiary Trustees Australia Ltd.John Nantes, currently a non-executive director of Cashwerkz will become executive chair. Nantes has a fintech pedigree: he is executive chair of online lender Wisr, a non-executive director of tech company Thinxtra and chief executive of specialist technology investment house Adcock Private Equity.Ortiz will continue to act in the CEO role, assisting Nantes, while the company finds his replacement.The company said in a statement: "The board expects that these changes and potentially a new experienced board appointment will significantly enhance total company focus on building sales momentum and business growth." Cashwerkz was launched in 2016, with an investment platform that allows institutional and retail investors to switch between term deposit providers without having to verify their identity each time they move their accounts.Trustees Australia acquired Cashwerkz in August 2017. Two established Trustees Australia businesses, fixed income brokerage Rim Securities and advisory service Redgate Asset Management, were bundled together with Cashwerkz following the merger.Since then Cashwerkz has been promoted as a one-stop shop for defensive assets. Once investors register they can choose from a range of TD offers from a number of providers, as well as bond and other fixed income investments. A few months ago, the company introduced at-call accounts.Revenue was up 37 per cent to A$1.1 million in the year to June but the loss blew out from $1.6 million in 2017/18 to $7.3 million - largely a result of heavy investment in staff and marketing.Total funds inflow for the 2018/19 year was $2.3 billion and net inflow was $704 million.In the June quarter the company suffered net outflow of $10.6 million - an effect of falling interest rates.