SoftBank invests up to $150m into Mexican platform GBM

SoftBank has invested in Grupo Bursátil Mexicano (GBM) up to $150m, the Mexican company announced on Friday.

GBM was focused on providing investment services to high net worth individuals and local and global institutions and over the last decade has ramped up digital efforts to evolve its business model. Now it offers its services to all Mexicans and not just large estates.

The investment was made by SoftBank via the Japanese conglomerate’s Latin America Fund at a valuation of "over $1bn."

According to TechCrunch, the company was planning to use its new capital in part to invest "heavily" in customer acquisition.

Mexico has a population of over 120m and a GDP of more than $1trn and therefore GBM is laser-focused on growing its presence in the country.

Co-CEO Pedro de Garay Montero told TechCrunch that last year was a “historic” one for the company and that GBM went from having 38,000 investment accounts in January 2020 to more than 650,000 by year’s end.

“We are improving our already robust financial education offering,” he added, “so that Mexicans can take control of their finances. GBM’s mission is to transform Mexico into a country of investors," Montero said.

“The financial services industry is dominated by big banks and is inefficient, expensive and provides a poor client experience. This has resulted in less than 1% of individuals having an investment account.

"We will be targeting clients through our own platform and internal advisors, as well as growing our base of external advisors to reach as many people as possible with the best investment products and user experience.”