Investment in this company is not without risks - always a...

Investment in this company is not without risks - always a bigger fish out there that could enter i.e Apple entering BNPL space makes APT look tiny.

But you pose some interesting questions which relate to RZI moat. I'll just focus my opinions on your questions:

1) Appeal of product is in the convenience rather than lowest cost - It is hard to enter ETFs based on under $1 investment amounts. Look at active user growth over last 2 years to satisfy yourself. Across regions it is high traction. They also offer in Aus savings from different retailers if use the app. Kind of like my insurance is with Suncorp and they give me discount e-gift vouchers so I'm happy that I'm getting an implied savings elsewhere at no cost to Suncorp and the retailer gets traffic. Management has said they want to also roll this out in the other regions. But again I think these fringe benefits help the ecosystem but ultimately based on convenience investing.

2 and 3) As alluded to, always possible for bigger fish to enter however IMHO there is a big benefit to being the first mover which I believe Raiz has in the SE Asian markets it's playing for. It would be a good fit for SEA Ltd to enter given their management knowhow in the region however Raiz management have been hitting these regions hard. Speaking of Afterpay, I'm sure you remember it grew out of nothing and their management team went hell to leather expanding into UK/US/Canada markets penetrating their model as fast as they can in the face of better placed, better resourced potential incumbents. And yes an Aussie company from Melbourne doing that. So I believe that's the punt with Raiz to do the same.

Also, as an aside, IMHO the value of this company is not in Australia market but the potential of SE Asia which is where the investment thesis lies. Management has said that the increased fees in Aus are to balance the Co. for it's overseas expansions. Trends catch like wildfire in these markets with huge amounts of potential users with historically low financial literacy that want to get into the market as easily as possible. I think that this product does that.

However, unfortunately in the short term all our growth markets are being hit terribly hard by the Delta Variant. Poor healthcare infrastructure, partially aid reliant vaccine supply, revolving lockdowns mean user growth and investment FUM from this region (note these emerging economies have next to nil funds for public welfare during lockdowns) may mean targets are pushed out to the longer term (when these countries can get a grip on things). Aside from the more significant humanitarian crisis looming for those in the general population, this may slow the growth and management's ability to launch within planned timelines. At the end of the day, it's a reminder that our first world investing problems pale into insignificance in current times.

Hope this helps.