Index provider MerQube has raised USD5 million Series A round led by JP Morgan.
It brings together the venture investing firm, ThirdStream Partners, veteran hedge fund managers Benjamin Smith and Sheehan Maduraperuma, co-founders of Laurion Capital Management, and several other seasoned financial market professionals. MerQube has previously raised USD2 million in its seed rounds in August 2019 and October 2020, with historical investors.
The evolving USD15 trillion index-linked investing market that MerQube serves has moved rapidly from simple market-capitalisation based equity indices 20 years ago to multi-asset strategies. More recently, demand is driving increased customisation with the rise of more complex strategies, such as defined outcome ETFs. As a result, index providers increasingly need to offer reliability, flexibility, and customisation to develop and run involved indices at scale. MerQube was launched two years ago to fill that gap in the market. Its unique, cloud-based technology is enabling faster, more cost-effective index solutions to be implemented in markets globally.
As index-linked investing looks set to expand by six times the rate of actively managed assets, MerQube will use the funding round to accelerate its momentum through expansion into key markets such as Europe, platform development and scaling up its workforce, in particular with further key hires from the technology and financial industries.
Vinit Srivastava, CEO at MerQube, says: “As we pioneer the innovative fintech that is enabling the next generation of index-linked investing, we are thrilled to welcome J.P. Morgan and ThirdStream Partners as investors. The support of these important global players in financial services will help us to build on our momentum, as we make indexing 2.0 available to investors all over the world.”
Jason Sippel, Head of Global Equities at JP Morgan, adds: “This investment underscores JP Morgan’s continued focus on investable indices and structured products. Globally, our clients are looking for exposure to ever more agile index strategies. JP Morgan’s collaboration with the MerQube team will further enhance our work to deliver market-leading, next generation index solutions.“
MerQube is a US-based index provider that was launched in 2019 to bring advanced technology and an innovative mindset to a fast-growing space. MerQube covers multi-asset, equities, futures and options, offering design and calculation services for a wide range of complex indices, including thematic, ESG, factor and retirement.
