Friday October 15, 2021
Trade Republic founder Hecker
“Negative interest rates are a fire”
A new generation of investors is pouring into the capital market – and the online broker Trade Republic is one of the beneficiaries: with over a million users, the Berlin-based company is one of the most successful German fintechs. Co-founder Christian Hecker talks about the risk of the pension gap and his ambition to make private provision more popular
Online brokers are often under general suspicion: Is this not just about gambling, about getting a quick deal, about playing with securities? The Berlin company Trade Republic, which claims to have more than a million customers by now, wants its platform to be understood as a long-term offer instead. “Our mission is to get millions of people to let money work for them,” says co-founder Christian Hecker in the podcast “The Zero Hour”. The aim is to become the “savings platform for millions of Europeans”.
Far too often, the Germans in particular leave their money in their accounts with no chance of growth and thus become victims of interest rate developments. “Negative interest rates are a burning fire,” said Hecker. It is about finding an answer to the looming pension gap, a task for which Hecker also sees the future federal government as responsible: “In America, in Asia, massive amounts of value and prosperity are currently being created. And we in Germany are missing out on that little because people simply cannot participate in the capital market. ” In other countries there are high tax allowances for savers, a concept that is also conceivable for Germany.
At least Hecker’s own company cannot complain about too little money for the future at the moment. Donors such as the Californian venture capital company Sequoia have already invested 750 million euros in Trade Republic, and rapid expansion in Europe is firmly planned. The platform should be active in all countries in the euro zone by the end of next year. With a valuation of more than $ 5 billion, the fintech has reached staggering heights.
Part of the money is to flow primarily into new staff in order to implement the expansion. Trade Republic already has 500 employees and the number is set to grow many more. “I spend a third of my time just hiring,” said Hecker.
Hear in the new episode of “The Zero Hour”:
- Why Christian Hecker doesn’t want to be Luisa Neubauer
- What he talks about with his financier Peter Thiel
- What Hecker thinks about cryptocurrencies
You can find all episodes directly at Audio Now, Apple or Spotify or via Google.