Fintech Investors Cherry-Pick Deals in Boom’s Aftermath

In October, QED Investors managing partner Nigel Morris addressed the CEOs of several dozen fintech startups in an Alexandria, Va., hotel at the venture capital firm’s annual summit. After two days of discussions—and a cycling trip in Shenandoah National Park—he had a message for them: “These are the salad days.”

Money was flooding in from VC firms and hedge funds, Morris told the founders. Low inflation and interest rates made it easy for lending-focused fintechs to expand, and investors encouraged startups to grow as big as they could. But he cautioned: “Don’t get too giddy, because at some point it’s going to change.”

“I hope I wasn’t a harbinger,” Morris added, “because it changed very dramatically.”