Aura Group

Haast Secures Series A Funding

Aura Ventures portfolio company Haast has closed a US$12 million Series A, with Peak XV Partners leading and DST Global Partners, Airtree and Black Sheep Capital joining, funding product development and international expansion.

Our people. Our investors. Our IPO.

Aura Group's letter says the firm is preparing an ASX listing within two years, credits its 66-strong multinational team and 1,600 clients, and points to compound growth and 2024 net inflows.

Aura Group Appoints Advisers to Explore ASX Listing

Aura Group has hired brokers, lawyers and an auditor as it weighs floating on the ASX within two years, alongside a planned pre-listing capital raise to fuel expansion.

Aura Group Welcomes Jason Coggins to Advisory Board

Aura Group has appointed investment industry veteran Jason Coggins, formerly of Koda Capital, to its advisory board, adding research and governance experience as the manager grows its Asia-Pacific alternative assets business.

Cynthia Koh joins Aura Group as Risk & Compliance Manager

Aura Group has hired Cynthia Koh, a compliance veteran of more than 20 years in asset management, to strengthen governance and regulatory compliance across its Asia-Pacific operations.

Nathan Harris Appointed COO

Aura Group's compliance chief since 2020, Nathan Harris, steps up to the newly created chief operating officer role, taking effect at once while temporarily keeping his regulatory oversight duties.

Digital currency exchange BetterX mints $2.3 million pre-Series A

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Aura Group, Venture Capital, and a Success Story in Smarter Retail Logistics

Aura Group's promotional piece showcases portfolio company Shippit's capital-efficient logistics growth and announces that Aura Venture Fund III is opening to investors; no amounts, closings or new company raises are stated.

Partnering for Growth: Mina Rafla's Contribution to Australia's Financial Sector

Aura Group announces Mina Rafla joining as Associate Director in its private credit arm, recounting his earlier roles at Macquarie, Commonwealth Bank and Greensill Capital and his lending focus.

Eyes on the Horizon, Heads Down in Focus: 2024 Year in Review

Aura Group's 2024 retrospective: team growth, a senior distribution appointment, award-winning fund performance, nine startups added to its portfolio, a SPAC funding round with OSK-SBI leading, exits, divestments, plus a new XT Ventures alliance.

Aura Ventures Achieves its Third Exit in the Last 12 Months

Aura Ventures has signed a deal to sell its Integrated Portfolio Solutions stake to DASH Technology Group, its third divestment within a year, after DASH raised $20m from Bailador in July.

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New Hire will be Instrumental in Driving Aura’s Growth

Aura Group has hired Dan Annan, a two-decade funds management veteran from BlackRock, BetaShares and Cosmos Asset Management, to lead distribution across its institutional and high-net-worth channels.

Aura Group welcomes Jack Remond as Analyst for the Private Credit team

Aura Group announces Jack Remond has joined as an analyst on its private credit team, handling investor reporting, portfolio analysis and deal due diligence; he previously worked on securitisation trusts at Perpetual.

Welcome to the team Sabrina

Aura Ventures announces Sabrina Zeng has joined as corporate development manager, citing her background across banking, Fishburners and UNSW, and the firm's funds and regional presence.

Elijah Su'a Joins Aura Group as Quantitative Researcher

Aura Group introduces Elijah Su'a as a quantitative researcher, citing his modelling and forecasting projects and honours study in maths and statistics at Macquarie University.

Aura Group welcomes Sabrina Zeng as Corporate Development Manager

Aura Group announces Sabrina Zeng has joined Aura Ventures in a corporate development role, bringing banking, startup ecosystem and academic experience.

Aura Group welcomes Dino Pesce as Property Credit Head of Origination

Aura Group has appointed Dino Pesce, a financial services sales veteran, as Head of Origination in its Property Credit team, where he will help expand lending for commercial asset purchases.

Investment Notes: Hatch

Jelix Ventures explains why it joined Hatch's December 2023 funding round, citing the founders' track record, an AI job-matching product, strong customer feedback and a large addressable market.

The Rise of Family Offices

Aura's column traces family offices' rise into major capital players, their philanthropy and succession challenges, and notes the closure of its Shippit co-investment vehicle plus Dan Annan's appointment as Distribution Director.

Aura Ventures welcomes Annie Liao as Investment Associate

Aura Ventures announces Annie Liao has joined as Investment Associate, covering deal origination and platform strategy, with an interview tracing her prior roles at Westpac, BCG and Archangel Ventures.

Aura Group appoints Elizabeth Dinh as new Head of Property Credit

Aura Group has hired Elizabeth Dinh, previously CEO of Acceler8 Capital, to lead its Australian real estate credit strategy serving corporate borrowers.

2022 Year in Review: Innovate. Sustain. Grow.

Aura Group's managing director reflects on 2022, citing funds under management growth, new portfolio additions, and exits including Finsure Group's sale to MA Financial and Avanseus's announced NASDAQ SPAC merger.

5 Decisions to Make When Setting Up Your Family Office

Aura Group announces Darryl Tom joining to lead private wealth and family office services, then walks through five choices families face when establishing a family office, covering charters, assets, services, structures and governance.

Aura Ventures is hiring an Investment Associate

Aura Group's venture arm Aura Ventures is advertising a Sydney-based Investment Associate role to support its investing in Australian technology startups. The post is a recruitment notice with standard legal disclaimers, naming no funding.

Riding the Wave: Redundancy in 2022 and Beyond

Aura Group's Calvin Ng reflects on his own 2008 layoff, discusses current tech layoff trends and economic conditions, and encourages redundant workers to see job loss as an opportunity, noting his firm's recent team growth.

Aura Tactical Opportunities Fund Turns Two

Aura Group marks the second anniversary of its Tactical Opportunities Fund, citing performance against falling benchmarks, monthly investor distributions, donated fees, and an ongoing charitable partnership with Opportunity International Australia.

Changing World Order 3.0 – Could Bitcoin become a Reserve Currency?

Aura Group announces Calvin Ng's appointment as a director of portfolio company BNK Banking, then analyses Ray Dalio's work on shifting world orders and whether Bitcoin could become a global reserve currency.

Leonie Hill Ai invests in PlayItForward DAO

Successful Closure of Shippit Co-investment Vehicle

Aura's venture arm has closed a $10 million special-purpose vehicle set up to co-invest in Shippit's planned Series B2 round, with support from existing and new institutional limited partners.

BNK Banking Corporation Limited sells Finsure to MA Financial Group Ltd

Aura Group reports BNK Banking Corporation has agreed to sell mortgage aggregator Finsure to MA Financial Group for $151.6 million, with APRA approval received and completion expected in early February 2022.

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Shippit rejects $5M and secures a strategic $2.2M Series A

Shipping platform Shippit took a AU$2.2 million Series A led by Aura Group, with Addventure Fund and RTL Group participating, turning down a larger oversubscribed offer to bankroll Asia-Pacific expansion and hiring.

Also Startup Daily

Shippit raises US$1.6m in new funding | Post & Parcel

Sydney logistics software firm Shippit has secured US$1.6 million in fresh backing, with Aura Group leading the round; the money is earmarked for new staff and international growth.

Also Tech in Asia