Social trading app Shares raises £33m as it eyes European expansion

Community-driven investment app Shares has announced the closure of a $40m (£33m) Series B funding round, just four months after its Series A, which was also $40m.

Paris-founded Shares launched in the UK in May and has since been downloaded 150,000 in Britain, putting it in the top rankings for investment app downloads in the country.

The company was founded as a social trading platform where users can invest and trade stocks but also engage with an online community with chats and posts, as well as investment education content.

Benjamin Chemla, founder and CEO of Shares, said: “As part of our mission to democratise the financial world, we remain committed to being innovative, agile, and prepared to provide a first-class experience for our customers of today and tomorrow.”

Armed with new funding, Shares is now looking to continue expanding across Europe by hiring regional managers in Spain, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Netherlands.

Shares is also looking to incorporate cryptocurrency trading into its platform.

Shares’ Series B round was led by return investor Valar Ventures. James Fitzgerald, a partner at Valar Ventures, said: “The UK launch was a great achievement, and we can’t wait to see Shares growing throughout Europe.”

Fitzgerald added: “This was an opportunity for us to invest in an innovative social trading company that challenges the status quo of traditional retail investing — we look forward to working alongside Benjamin and the team in continuing this mission.”

Social trading is gaining traction among a younger generation of investors. Many online communities discussing trading already exist on forums such as Reddit, and now startups like Shares are providing one place to invest and socialise.

London-based financial services app Zeed was also founded to capitalise on this trend. Zeed, which raised £205,000 seed round in July, combines investing with TikTok-inspired video content themed around financial trading.

With the latest funding round, Shares has now raised a total of $90m, previously raising $10m in its seed round in August 2021.