Investment platform Tioex gives private investors access to secondary shares

Tech stocks continue to take a beating this year, but it provides an opportunity to buy at low market prices. Swedish investment platform Tioex opens up shares in tech companies like Klarna and Einride for private investors to buy and trade.

The Stockholm-based startup launched in 2020 to allow anyone to trade shares that are only available for venture capital firms or angel investors. The company says members receive news about portfolio companies, and can submit interest in live opportunities for different cases.

Tioex CEO and Founder Johan Hägglund says they’re aiming to make the process as simple as possible for users.

“You have all of the people in the companies with a lot of value, paper value,” Hägglund said. “And then you have normal people like me and others who are very interested in these companies but they cannot access that before they are public.”

In secondary markets, investors trade with each other rather than with the issuing company. This typically drives the price of securities toward their actual value.

Tioex says the overall interest in trading secondary shares has increased recently, because it’s an alternate investment to a shaky stock market. The current market has also increased the availability of investing in top tech companies.

“More investment opportunities right now than before”

Slumping tech shares continue to be the hardest hit in this bear market because of spiking interest rates.

“This is the perfect time for retail investors to get into startups,” Hägglund said.

Hägglund says they’ve received nearly twice as many investment requests now compared to one year ago. The company has invested 100 million SEK this year so far, and plans to invest 1 billion SEK in the future.

Tioex is focused on providing access to companies that are more stable.

“We want to see that the companies have proven business models, that they have a clear go-to-market strategy, and have been earning money,” Hägglund said. “The company needs to have professionals, investors on board, a shareholder’s agreement, all those things.”

Hägglund says in the next few years he hopes the company is the provider of stocks in the unlisted market. He says they’re working on adding more logos to their portfolio.

“It would be a natural thing to have one or two stocks within the unlisted market,” Hägglund said. “You know that if you build your own portfolio in five years or so, you will have eight shares that are listed, then have one or two shares that are private, and hopefully we can be that player providing that for the whole ecosystem.”