Orchestra joins the Sharesies team

I’m sold on the idea that businesses are a vehicle for meaningful and creative service to society. They can play a key role in fostering innovation, creating opportunities and driving economic prosperity.

Ownership in a business helps us be more accountable to its impact and can be a path to creating wealth over time. It is also an asset that incentivises us towards becoming a more productive economy.

With the average time to save for a home deposit in New Zealand now standing at 9.3 years, up 55% over the last 20 years, Kiwis are seeking alternative avenues to build wealth beyond traditional real estate investments, which have become increasingly inaccessible.

Equity (ownership) arrangements in business are becoming more innovative and dynamic. For example, equity financing is becoming a more common means of funding business growth. And employee share schemes are employed across a wide range of industries to attract and engage valued team members (now table stakes in the high-growth startup sector). 

But the know-how and administrative burden - particularly for unlisted SMEs - are typical barriers to distributing equity across a diverse number of shareholders in a private business. 

Orchestra has a direct impact on helping remove these barriers by providing equity and share ownership solutions for businesses, their investors, and their employees, empowering business growth. As a team, we’ve spent the last three years harmonising equity ownership for unlisted businesses across New Zealand and Australia.

I’m personally proud of the traction we have made in such a short amount of time. We’ve broadened our offering to service a diverse range of unlisted companies from start-ups to multinational corporations, such as Les Mills, Beca, Parkable, Auror, and HNRY. 

We now service over five hundred businesses across New Zealand and Australia, with a network of over 60,000 investors, including over 9,000 staff with shares or share options across our partnerships. 

Teaming up with Sharesies

Sharesies offers a B2B service for listed companies across the ASX and NZX and already has over 10,000 staff with shares. By teaming up with Sharesies, we are now well-positioned to support companies of all sizes, whether listed or unlisted, at any stage of their business lifecycle. 

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For companies already on Orchestra, nothing changes. We’re the same team committed to providing you with an exceptional product experience and support. As we prepare for a seamless transition to Sharesies over the mid-term, we’ll be sure to notify you of any changes to your experience. 

To thank our customers for their continued partnership, we’re hosting an in-person event to share more about our joint vision and how we can help multiply success for businesses. I’ll be there with Sharesies co-founder and co-CEO Brooke Roberts and Sharesies Head of Company Partnerships Susannah Batley at special events in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or online.

We would love to see you there! If you can make it, please register here.

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