DealBook: Fintech's Power Grab

Hedge Funds Are the New Venture Firms

Funds are pouring millions into start-ups, particularly financial tech companies using the Internet and automation to replace traditional banking.

By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON

Investing With a Conscience, but Done by a Robot

It’s called ESG investing, for environmental, social and governance factors, and firms are feeding this data to an algorithm to decide where to invest.

By DAVID GELLES

For Fintech Start-Ups, Efforts to Rethink Rules That Cramp Innovation

Many current laws were built for older forms of finance, like Western Union, meaning that modern companies must adapt to 19th-century regulations.

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED

Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Revamps 401(k) Accounts in New Job

The ex-banker, Greg Smith, now oversees marketing and business development as the president of Blooom, a start-up that guides savers to appropriate retirement investments.

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.

From Wall Street Banking, a New Wave of Fintech Investors

Onetime stars of banking are betting millions on new financial technologies that range from lending to payments to investing.

By LIZ MOYER

Ripple Aims to Put Every Transaction on One Ledger

Companies are moving beyond the new currency idea of Bitcoin to focus on “distributed ledgers” where every piece of a global transaction is recorded.

By QUENTIN HARDY

Start-Ups Aim at Overlooked Demographic: The Unbanked

An organization called the Financial Solutions Lab teaches interested start-ups how to address the problems of low-income consumers.

By NATHANIEL POPPER

Technology Transforms How Insurers Calculate Risk

New methods of collecting and evaluating information allow insurers to determine more precise premiums based on each customer’s particular risk.

By QUENTIN HARDY

Short-Term Thinking

From Wall Street to Washington and in the towers of academia, people are buzzing about what some say is the pernicious focus in corporate America on short-term profits.