Growth unabated - trend defied
The boom of 2020 due to the lockdowns has somewhat faded for brokers. It has also become quiet around meme stocks such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which were bought up by the wallstreetbets community on the Reddit platform. As a result, many brokers saw trading activity drop by around 20% during the year and customer growth stalled.
In contrast to the competition, the growth of the Smartbroker, in whose operating company the wallstreet:online Group holds a stake of more than 95%, continues merrily. In an interim report on 31.12.2021 the new milestones of the Berliners were announced. More than 120,000 new securities accounts were opened last year, which means a doubling compared to the previous year to now 240,000 customer portfolios.1 .
However, even more impressive, is the key figure of assets under custody, or assets under management. These shot up to EUR 8.8 billion in the reporting period. As a result, the company became by far the largest neobroker operator in Germany. It is worth noting that the average securities account volume continues to be around EUR 37,000, which is six times higher than the average neobroker securities account, which is valued at around EUR 6,000.
Outlook optimistic - portal business flourishing
Once again, the Group's product mix of information and transaction, which is unique for the sector, led to the record figures. The growth of the portal business also appears to have not yet reached the end of the road. The number of annual page impressions was increased across the Group and grew by around 15% to almost 4 billion in 2021. As a result, the company is once again by far the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in German-speaking Europe. In addition, the number of registered users in the Group's discussion forums rose to more than 836,000 users**.
According to information, the company plans to publish provisional financial figures for the fiscal year 2021 by the beginning of March, followed by the audited consolidated financial statements by the end of April. Due to the dynamic growth, it is already becoming apparent that wallstreet:online AG could close 2021 with record sales. In its guidance for 2021, the company issued a revenue target of €45-50 million - that would be an increase of at least 60% compared to 2020.
Management puts the pedal to the metal
According to CEO Matthias Hach, confidence prevails that wallstreet:online will continue to grow in all areas in the current fiscal year, and the launch of the Smartphone app in the first half of 2022 should ensure this. With the extension of the KWG license from securities trading bank to securities institution - a decision by BaFin is expected in the first half of the year - the Smartbroker's operating company is also facing a significant expansion of its business model. Another sound barrier is also likely to be broken soon. With assets under custody of EUR 10 billion, the company would further distance itself from comparable competitors.
Interim conclusion: The business model with its close integration of community and financial services is working and continues to offer high scaling and cross-selling effects. Growth should continue in the current year due to the newly set targets. Hard to track: With a market capitalization of EUR 306.55 million, wallstreet:online Group is far below the industry average (Trade Republic was valued at EUR 4.3 billion in its last financing round).
