TITAN

Max Bernardy is CTO and co-fouder of TITAN, the platform uses an algorithm to analyze 13-F disclosures from the leading hedge funds and formulates an equally-weighted portfolio of the top twenty companies held by those major funds. As for the hedging part of the portfolio, depending on an investor’s risk tolerance they can allocate up to 20 percent of their funds to shorting the S&P 500. Unlike Robinhood’s unsuccessful Checking and Saving accounts, Titan’s portfolio is SIPC insured up to $500,000.
Hedge funds are usually reserved for accredited and institutional investors with large sums of money ($500,000 minimum). Titan’s minimum investment is just $1,000 and only charges a 1 percent annual fee.
Titan’s new approach to mobile-investing made it one of the hottest members of YC’s Spring 2018 batch. According to TechCrunch, it had about $10 million in assets under management four months ago when it graduated from the startup accelerator.
I’m interested to see how Titan will fare in 2019 if the economy shifts into a recession. According to its fact sheet, Titan’s portfolio has a long-term focus so it’s investments stay largely the same from quarter-to-quarter.
Robo-advisers like Wealthfront, Betterment and Acorns are in for a rough ride when the economy turns in the next few years. The algorithms that power these platforms and the entrepreneurs who started them have yet to experience a recession. That’s a danger for most of today’s young entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Titan has the opportunity to grab up millennials looking for a safer place to put their money in 2019 thanks to its hedge-fund like investment philosophy. Everyone who invests with Titan is buying into the same portfolio of stocks. Titan also sends investors deep dives on specific companies and quarterly reports.
As TechCrunch’s John Constine pointed out, Robinhood helped democratize access to stock trading, and Titan is doing that for a more advanced financial vehicle.




Daniel Strauss

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