Fintech
What Makes Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU) One of the Best Fintech Stocks to Buy Now?
We recently compiled a list of The 10 best Fintech stocks to buy now. In this article, we’ll take a look at where Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) stands compared to other fintech stocks. If interested you can also read our piece on The 12 best financial and fintech ETFs to buy.
Fintech services have become an integral part of our lives in recent years, significantly changing the financial sector. Consumers no longer need to queue at banks to get their bank statements, be involved in money transfers or carry heavy wallets to pay for groceries only in cash. Mobile banking, credit cards and digital wallets have revolutionized the way people manage their finances.
Global fintech industry
A report released in May last year by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasts that the fintech sector will grow more than sixfold to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, from its current level of $245 billion. The financial services sector’s share is also expected to rise from 2% to 7% during this period, with Asia-Pacific set to overtake the United States to become the world’s largest fintech market.
The fintech sector in Asia-Pacific is set to grow 27% between now and then, with China, India and Indonesia leading the pack due to their sizable unbanked populations and the large number of small businesses in these countries . However, North America, particularly the United States, will continue to remain a critical market and drive innovation in the industry. The market is also expected to grow significantly in the emerging economies of Latin America and Africa.
That said, although the market is expected to grow in the coming years, 2023 was a difficult year compared to the boom of previous years. According to KPMG, it was the slowest year in the global fintech sector since 2017, with approx 114 billion dollars of investments worldwide through 4,547 agreements. Financial experts say high inflation and ongoing military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have led investors to become cautious in their spending.
The decline in fintech investment was noted across various regions, with Asia-Pacific seeing the biggest drop, falling from $51 billion in 2022 to just under $11 billion in 2023. Investment also halved in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, from $49.6 billion to $24.5 billion. . In the Americas, investment slowed 22% during the period. For 2024, US ratings agency Fitch Rating forecasts mixed results for fintech companies in North America and Europe, with expected revenue growth, but EBITDA margins likely to remain modest.
The story continues
Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Fintech
Generative artificial intelligence, or Gen AI, has taken much of the global financial services industry by storm. According to McKinsey, the technology is likely to add between $200 billion and $340 billion to the market over the next few years. Fintech companies are actively keeping up with the trend and making sure they adapt to both the capabilities and risks of Gen AI. Between 2022 and 2023, the share of fintech companies that improved their AI capabilities increased from 30% to 70%. On the other hand, around 90% of fintech companies surveyed in March this year by McKinsey said they had established centralized Gen AI functions. According to experts, the use of this technology is set to make fintech companies more agile and efficient in the coming years.
Methodology
Insider Monkey’s database of 920 hedge funds was evaluated as of the first quarter of 2024. We chose the 10 best fintech stocks to buy now based on hedge fund sentiment towards each stock. Stocks are ranked in ascending order by hedge fund holders in each company.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds are piling into? The reason is simple: Our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the best stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small- and large-cap stocks each quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A wide-angle shot of a team of bankers and financial advisors evaluating an investment portfolio on a touchscreen monitor.
Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU)
Number of hedge fund owners: 63
In the first quarter of 2024, 63 hedge funds were bullish on Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU), up from 50 in the third quarter and 54 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Brazil-based digital banking company provides financial services in multiple countries, particularly in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is among the most promising stocks to buy now across various sectors, with its stock price up 40% over the past year, and is now three times what it was worth in January 2023. According to NASDAQ, one of the main reasons behind this growth has been the company’s consistent net income growth in each of the last five quarters.
Baron FinTech Fund said the following about Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) in its Q1 2024 Letter to Investors:
Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is a digital bank with operations in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Shares appreciated during the quarter after the company reported strong balance sheet growth and improved margins. New product launches and expansion into new countries are yielding favorable results. Nu also benefited from inclusion in the MSCI Brazil index, which prompted buying from passively managed funds. We continue to hold the stock because Nu is revolutionizing the financial services industry in Latin America with its digital distribution and strong focus on user experience. The company has grown to serve more than 90 million customers in less than 10 years, largely through word of mouth. We believe the company’s excellent product offerings will drive continued stock gains in large, growing markets.
Overall NU ranks 8th on our list of the best fintech stocks to buy. You can visit The 10 best Fintech stocks to buy now to see other fintech stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we recognize NU’s potential as an investment, our belief lies in the belief that AI stocks are more promising in delivering higher returns, and doing so in a shorter time frame. If you’re looking for an AI stock that’s more promising than NU but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, see our report on cheapest AI shares.
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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published on Indoor monkey.