The Evolution of Digital Wealth, Investment and Retirement

Vanguard plans to expand to digital-only robo-advice

Vanguard, one of the most prominent US-based investment advisors, is planning to enter the digital-only advisor space by creating a new offering to complement its…

US-based Betterment launches checking and savings accounts

Online wealth advisor Betterment launches checking and savings accounts. The new offering is called Betterment Everyday™, and it contains Betterment Everyday Savings (savings account) and…

VinaCapital acquires Singaporean robo-advisor Smartly

Vietnamese investment management and real estate development firm VinaCapital, founded in 2003, acquired Smartly in mid-July 2019. Smartly was founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs Keir Veskivali,…

Moneyfarm expanding in Germany; Allianz and 1822direkt as partners

UK-based digital wealth manager Moneyfarm is planning to expand to Germany in late 2019. Moneyfarm acquired German robo-advisor Vaamo in late 2018. The trial period…

BofA adds hybrid to its robo-advisory offering; expands research functionalities

BofA, which launched a self-directed robo-advisory platform Merill Edge Guided Investing couple of years ago, has added automated equity research to its platform and built…

GS planning to leverage Marcus in building a new digital wealth management tool

Goldman Sach’s COO John Waldron told at an industry event in New York on Friday, May 31, that the bank is now building a new…

Goldman Sachs acquires United Capital for $750M

Goldman Sachs announced in mid-May that it will buy a boutique wealth manager United Capital Partners (AUM $25BN) for $750M. In 2018, United Capital Partners…

Investec shuts down its robo-advisory business in the UK

Investec, an international specialist banking and asset management group founded in 1974, announced in mid-May 2019 that it will close down its robo-advisory business, Click…

Envestnet acquires PIEtech for $500M

In mid-March 2019, Envestnet announced that they will be acquiring PIEtech, the company behind MoneyGuide, for $500 million. News from Envestnet left some industry observers…

Envestnet | Tamarac acquires Schwab’s PortfolioCenter

Envestnet | Tamarac announced on 21st February that Tamarac will acquire PortfolioCenter from Schwab. This product is aimed at RIAs as portfolio management and reporting technology. The decision to…

Northwestern Mutual’s new financial planning experience program is successful

Northwestern Mutual says that Planning Experience program, based on LearnVest technology that was acquired by Northwestern Mutual in 2015, has resulted in more than 30,000…

SEC takes enforcement actionst against two US robo-advisors

SEC took its first enforcement actions against robo-advisors on December 21, “tied to false statements about investment products and misleading advertisements” according to an article…

Nordnet Bank Acquires Netfonds

On 20 December, Nordnet Bank announced that they will acquire an independent Norwegian online broker Netfonds for an undisclosed amount. “With this transaction, we consolidate…

Huddl Platform Announced in Late December 2018

Former Blackrock executive Stephen Corliss, together with other professionals, announced a plan to launch a new investment platform Huddl to allow clients to access to…

Danish Saxo Bank plans to acquire Dutch online broker BinckBank

Danish online investment and trading service company Saxo Bank has put forward an all-cash public offer for Dutch online discount broker BinckBank, in a €424m…

HSBC UK enters the robo-advisory market

In early December 2018, HSBC UK launches a robo-advisory service to its British clients. This new service, called “My Investment,” is targeting the retail market…

HSBC launches its robo-advisor in the UK market

After successfully launching its global robo-platform in the US and Canada, HSBC enters the UK digital investment services markets in late 2018. The new online…

Wealthfront launches a new financial planning service

Independent U.S.-based robo-advisor Wealthfront launched “a free financial planning service available to anyone who downloads the Wealthfront app” in early December 2018. Basically, if you…

TD Ameritrade partners with WeChat to offer new user experience

TD Ameritrade, one of the largest U.S.-based online discount brokers, announced in early December 2018 that it partners with Tencent’s WeChat in the U.S. “The…

Finnish wealthtech firm Mintle founded in late 2018

Mintle was founded in late November 2018. They plan to combine payments, investments, and savings in an easy and intuitive way. The company is now waiting…

Robo-advisor Moneybox makes a loss of €3,5m in 2017

U.K.-based robo-advisor Moneybox was launched in August 2015, and in late November 2018 the company “posted a loss of £3.1m for the 12 months to…

BlackRock acquires a 5% stake in Envestnet

In late November 2018, wealth management and asset management giant BlackRock announced that they are buying approximately five percent of Envestnet. Envestnet is an NYSE-listed…

Moneyfarm acquires German robo-advisor vaamo

In November 2018, Italian British robo-advisor Moneyfarm, a digital wealth manager providing diversified ETF-based portfolios, announced in November that they have acquired German vaamo, a small…

In November 2018, evestor announced a business split – two separate brands in 2019

From early 2019, evestor, U.K.-based robo-advisor founded in late 2015, rebrands its advisory business as OpenMoney and its DIY non-advised robo-advisory will continue as it is under…

Wealthsimple makes a loss of €2,6m in 2017 – but Isn’t the only one among the independent UK robo-advisors

“[Canadian] robo-advisor posted a €2,6m [£2.3m] loss during 2017”, according to Damian Fantato at FTAdviser. Wealthsimple launched in the U.K. in September 2017, and according to…

SigFig rolls out an integrated advice platform (CoPilot) and partners with Citizen Bank

“The robo advisor SigFig is rolling out a new automated advice platform built to be integrated with core banking systems as part of an effort…

HSBC USA partners with robo-advice platform Marstone in late 2018

HSBC USA, part of HSBC Group, partners with a U.S.-based independent digital advisory platform Marstone to deliver robo-advice to small clients in late 2018. The minimum…

Wealthsimple’s CEO says that they will likely raise more money; wants to IPO in the future

Wealthsimple, a Canadian online financial services company founded in late 2014, is “probably” raising more money according to CEO and co-founder Michael Katchen. In early October…

Tickr, an UK-based impact investment app company, founded in late 2018

Mobile-only investment app company Tickr was co-founded by Matt Latham and Tom McGillycuddy in 2018. Tickr received £860 000 of seed funding in late 2018. “Tickr,…

Scalable Capital and BlackRock license robo-technology to Santander’s Openbank

Santander Group’s, a well-known Spanish banking giant, digital-only Spanish consumer division, Openbank, licensed robo-technology from Scalable Capital and BlackRock for its digital wealth management operations…

Spanish Openbank launches its whitelabel robo-advisor

Banco Santander’s Spanish digital banking subsidiary, Openbank, launched its new automated investment solution in late September 2018. The new bundled service combines micro-investing, goal-based investing and…

UBS shuts down UK-based SmartWealth and sells its technology to SigFig

In late August, UBS closes down its U.K.-based digital wealth management solution, UBS SmartWealth, just after two-years of full-scale operation. This was mainly due to…

Standard Chartered explores robo-advisory capabilities

In August 2018, Peter Clark, Standard Chartered Bank’s regional chief information officer for Greater China and North Asia, says that the bank “is exploring ways…

Hedgeable restructures its business; closes down retail business arm

In early July 2018, Hedgeable, independent next-gen robo-advisor launched in 2010, announced about its plans to restructure its business. Restructuring, another way of saying that…

Tiller Investments, UK-based digital wealth manager, founded in July 2018

Tiller Investments, an online investment service provider, was founded by Ian Cadby and Jonathan Wauton in mid-2018. Founders are were formerly employed by hedge fund…

Artivest and Altegris merger completed

In February 2018 it was announced that “Altegris, an alternative investment research and management firm, and Artivest, an alternative investment technology firm, announced today that…

ING Italy launches digital wealth management services in March 2018

ING Italy launches MYMoneyCoach, a new kind of digital investment service, to the Italian market. MYMoneyCoach will allow clients to carry out a needs assessment,…

Finnish-based impact investing company, Useless, founded in Early 2018

Useless Company was founded by a group of people from the Lappeenranta University of Technology in early 2018. 1)Tolpo, A. (2018). “Jätä sipsipussi ostamatta – siitä…

In late 2017, Deutsche Bank unveils its new digital investment solution ROBIN

In late 2017, maxblue, Deutsche Bank’s online investment arm, unveils ROBIN, a new kind of robo-advisory solution, to the German retail and mass affluent investor market. ROBIN is…

Nationwide announces its plans to launch robo-advice

In early December 2017, British mutual financial institution Nationwide tells about their plans to test “a digital investment advice service in the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory sandbox”…

NatWest launched robo-advisory service in late November 2017

Major U.K. retail and commercial bank NatWest launched its robo-advisory business in late November 2017. NatWest Invest charges a fixed £10 fee for advice plus investment…

ING partners with Scalable Capital

In mid-September 2017, ING announced its partnership with Scalable Capital to offer a fully digital investment solution to the German market. There are plans to expand…

Singapore-based AutoWealth launched in August 2017

Singaporean hybrid advisor AutoWealth was launched in August 2017. AutoWealth holds a financial advisory license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. AutoWealth’s client assets are…

Hong Kong-based 8 Securities expands its robo-advisor “Chloe” to Japan

In February 2017, Hong Kong-based wealthtech 8 Securities launched its mobile-only robo-advisor “Chloe” in Japan. Chloe is a plain vanilla robo-advisor with a limited amount of…

UBS rolls out UBS Unique Program in January 2017 – plans to scale it globally

In late January 2017, UBS Wealth Management “announced a five- year plan to make it a business priority to significantly scale its expertise developed to…

Nomura Goal-Based launched in November 2016

One of the largest Asian investment banks launched its first robo-advisor in November 2016. This new automated goal-based wealth management service is available to Nomura…

DriveWealth partners with CreditEase and Alkanza in mid-/late-2016

In June 2016 it was announced that DriveWealth, a US-based broker-dealer, will bring robo-advisory solutions to China in partnership with China’s leading wealth and asset management…

Vestwell, a US-based rettech company, founded in late 2016

Launched in late 2016 by Aaron Schumm, US-based Vestwell is full-fiduciary, digital white-label turnkey retirement platform for financial advisors to manage 401(k), 403(b) and other retirement…

Apex Clearing partners with white-label digital advice platform company Vanare (AdvisorEngine)

Apex Clearing, which offers custodial services for wealth managers, partners with Vanare (AdvisorEnginer) to offer white-label digital advice platform to its financial services clients. 1)WealthManagement.com…

In April 2016, Vanare | NestEgg (AdvisorEngine) partners with Quovo

U.S.-based Vanare | NestEgg, a financial technology firm serving financial advisors and wealth managers, formed a strategic partnership with Quovo, a financial data science company, in April…

UK-Based Exo Investing founded in March 2016

Exo Investing is an UK-based wealthtech that uses AI to construct ETF portfolios around investor’s preferences. Exo has been developed in close cooperation with ETS…

RBC’s US WM moves towards robo-technology – partnerships with BlackRock

In February 2016, Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. wealth management operations partners with BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor to build hybrid digital-human advice platform and digital advice capabilities…

Canadian holistic robo-advisor Planswell founded in January 2016

Canadian financial planning provider, Planswell, was founded in January 2016 and their financial planning tools have been live since early 2018. The company has managed to raise…

In December 2015, Deutsche Bank’s maxblue launches AnlageFinder robo-advisor

In December 2015, Deutsche Bank’s maxblue, online investment platform, launched a robo-advisory solution called AnlageFinder. This solution was built in collaboration with a German-based financial services…

Non-bankable asset platform WealthInitiative founded in November 2015

Swiss-based digital peer-to-peer wealth and asset management platform WealthInitiative was founded by Douglas Azar, Daniela Galeote and Andrew Gladkih in late 2015. WealthInitiative is a…

US-based OpenInvest, a company focusing on ethical investing, launched in 2015

OpenInvest is focused on customized ESG asset management that was launched by a team of hedge fund and NGO alumni in 2015. It allows advisers,…

Swiss-based boutique B2B/B2C wealth manager Investivity founded in mid-2015

Swiss-based Investivity, a digital investment management company, aims to bring institutional-grade investment strategies to the wider public. They manage, co-manage and advice their clients on portfolio management…

Quotip founded in April 2015

Swiss-based Quotip was founded in April 2015. Quotip relies on proprietary ML algorithms, settles trades through “an OTC Blockchain transaction,” and reporting is done in…

Guideline, a US-based 401(k) provider, founded in early 2015

US-based robo-retirement company Guideline was founded in early 2015 and operates as an RIA since late 2015. 1)Since early 2010, numerous new online 401(k) and other…

Investment management platform provider WEALTHARC founded in February 2015

WEALTHARCH is a Swiss-based wealthtech founded in early 2015. WEALTHARCH can be considered as a SaaS, AioP service provider that allows wealth managers and financial…

Smolio, a Swiss investtech company, founded in early 2015

Smolio’s aim is to remove the complexity of personal finance and investing. Smolio offers educational resources, financial coaching, financial analytics, and asset analytics.

qblum, a US-based robo-advisor, founded in early 2015

qblum is a US-based robo-advisor that relies on “A.I. powered technology to identify active investment opportunities and to lower trading costs”. The company was co-founded by…

Alkanza, a US-based robo-technology company, founded in late 2014

Alkanza was co-founded in August 2014 by Andres Villaquiran and Juan Becerra. Alkanza is an SEC-registered RIA that provides automated digital wealth management via multiple partnerships around the…

Big data wealth company SESAMm founded in May 2014

SESAMm, a French fintech specialized in big data and artificial intelligence for asset managers, was founded in mid-2014 by Sylvain Forte, Pierre Rinaldi, and Florian…

Swiss-based, white-Labeled, relationship management platform InvestGlass for WM/PB/FAs founded in early 2014

Founded in early 2014, Swiss-based InvestGlass provides a SaaS-based and subscription-priced prospect and customer relationship management platform for the wealth management and financial advisory services…

Cassia Research, a Canadian fintech startup, founded in January 2013

Canadian fintech Cassia Research was founded by Henry Bee and Jesse Chen in early 2013. Cassia Research provides technology-driven services to financial advisors. Cassia Research’s mission…

Austrian fintech company wikifolio.com was founded in August 2012

Austrian-based Wikifolio is an online investor community that allows traders to create and share portfolios called wikifolios (a kind of certificates), and traders will receive success…

8 Securities founded in May 2012

8 Securities is one of the APAC’s oldest private social networks, global trading and automated wealth management platform with possibly more than $800 million AUM….

Magnetis, a Brazilian robo-advisor, founded in January 2012

Magnetis was one of the first digital wealth managers in Latin America, and the company was founded in early 2012. The company is focused on…

US-based alternative investment platform Artivest founded in 2011

Artivest is an independent digital alternative investment platform for wealth platforms, fund managers, and investors. Artvest was founded in August 2011, and its first beta fund…

Huygens Capital, a US-based robo-advisor and ETF strategist, founded in July 2011

Privately-owned asset manager Huygens Capital was founded in July 2011 by former banker Walter Vester. The company offers both robo-advisory as well as ETF strategy…

Wela, a financial planning software company, founded in 2011

U.S.-based Wela is a financial advisor solutions company that uses AI-based technology to deliver financial advice to individuals. Wela’s primary product is AI-powered bot Benjamin…

US-based online investment advisor NestEgg Wealth founded in May 2011

NestEgg Wealth was founded in May 2011 by Alexey Sokolin and Ben Zhuk. NestEgg operates as a white-label wealth management platform for existing financial institutions….

Nutmeg, the first UK-Based robo-advisor, founded in April 2011

Nutmeg is a digital investment management firm based in the United Kingdom, and it’s considered to be one of the very first true wealthtechs in…

Marie Quantier founded in early 2011

Marie Quantier is a French commodity-like robo-advisor. Their advisory solutions rely purely on ETFs but more importantly, Marie Quantier offers three different value-based pricing deals for…

Wealth Access, a US-based advisory technology company, founded in March 2011

A US-based Wealth Access focuses on mobile-first financial and investment advisory solutions that allow clients to access personalized financial portal with comprehensive wealth overview and…

Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm was founded in March 2011

Moneyfarm was founded in early 2011 by Paolo Galvani and Giovanni Daprà. Moneyfarm launched in Italy in April 2012 and expanded to UK in July 2015 and…

Pefin, AI-powered financial advisory platform, was founded in early 2011

A U.S.-based Pefin, “the world’s 1st AI financial advisor”, was founded in early 2011 and it launched from stealth in November 2015. 1)Gerasimova, E. & Jasuja, N….

Swissquote launched ePrivate Banking in late 2010

Swissquote, a Swiss banking group specialized in the provision of online financial and trading services, launched ePrivate Banking, a digital asset management service, in late 2010….

Swiss-based VZ Finanzportal, one of the very first European robo-advisors, launched in September 2010

Swiss robo-advisor VZ Finanzportal was launched by Zürich-based VZ VermögensZentrum in 2010. 1)Read more about VZ VermögensZentrum VZ Finanzportal’s robo-advisor offers investment plans around ETFs, a wide…

German DIY investment education service justETF founded in July 2010

justETF is a German-based online investment education service that offers various tools and guidance for DIY investors to invest with ETFs. The company offers both…

Alipay launched Yu’e Bao in June 2013

In June 2013 Alibaba-owned Alipay, a Chinese third-party mobile and online payment platform introduced a new mutual fund investment service to the Chinese retail market. An…

Motif Investing, a theme-based online broker, founded in June 2010

Motif Investing, established in June 2010 as FundDNA and rebranded as Motif Investing in October 2010, was co-founded by Hardeep Walia and Tariq Hilaly. Its “motif” investing service…

FutureAdvisor, a wealthtech startup from Y Combinator, launched in May 2010

FutureAdvisor, a San Francisco-based wealthtech venture, was founded in 2010 by Bo Lu and Jon Xu. FutureAdvisor offers a wide range of automated online investment…

InvestCloud, a B2B digital financial solutions company, founded in 2010

The US-based InvestCloud was co-founded by British serial entrepreneur John Wise and a group of other experienced professionals in (March) 2010. Co-founders are Colin Close, Michael A. Smith, and Yaela…

Norwegian quant firm Fronteer Solutions founded in February 2010

Norwegian Fronteer Solutions, a quant asset and fund management company, was co-founded in February 2010 by Atle Christiansen, Håken Jevne, and Thomas R Larsen. The company has its…

Swiss fintech Nectar Financial founded in January 2010

Nectar Financial, previously known as Etops, has developed an integrated cloud-based B2B platform to combine portfolio management, client management and reporting with fully managed interfaces with…

US-based investment adviser Financial Guard founded in early 2010

A US-based online investment advisor Financial Guard was founded in early 2010 with the mission to make investing simpler and more transparent for retirement investors….

iQuantifi, a US-based financial services software company, founded in October 2009

iQuantifi, a U.S.-based software company focused on providing automated goal-based digital advice platform for B2B clients, was founded in October 2009 by Tom White and…

Chinese fintech firm Wacai founded in late 2009

Wacai is a Chinese PFM app developer that launched its bookkeeping service in 2009 and mutual fund trading feature in July 2013. The company was founded…

Personal Capital founded in July 2009

The U.S.-based financial services software, investment and wealth management company Personal Capital was founded by Bill Harris, Rob Foregger, and Louie Gasparini in July 2009. 1)Personal…

Premium WM platform Hedgeable founded in April 2009

Hedgeable, a U.S.-based financial services company, was co-founded in early April 2009 by twin brothers Michael Kane and Matthew Kane. Hedgeable acquired RIA status in 2009 and…

Social investing network kaChing founded in early 2008

Social investing network kaChing, the predecessor of Wealthftont, was co-founded in early 2008 by Andy Rachleff and Daniel Carroll. According to an article co-written by Sarah Milstein…

Jemstep established in 2008

An U.S-based Jemstep (acquired by Invesco in 2016), an open investment platform provider and developer for financial advisors, registered investment advisors, independent broker-dealers, and insurers, was co-founded in…

EQIS founded in 2002

EQIS, a fee-based turnkey asset management firm (TAMP) focused on B2B/B2C capabilities, founded in 2007. 1)Unfortunately, there are two conflicting founding dates for this company 2002 vs 2007….

SigFig founded in 2007

SigFig, a San Francisco-based investment management solution company, founded in May 2007. SigFig’s business model is not solely based on non-discretionary investment management but rather…

LearnVest founded in 2007

LearnVest, an American personal financial planning company, was founded by Alexa von Tobel in May 2007. Initially, LearnVest focused on empowering female investors to get…

Asset Builder founded

The U.S.-based registered investment financial advisory firm, well-known for their simple investment process and relatively low fees, AssetBuilder was founded in August 2006. The company…

Irish fund management specialist Carne founded in January 2004

Carne, a global provider of fund management solutions to the asset management industry, was founded in Ireland in January 2004. Currently, Carne has over $700…

German-based aixigo founded in October 1999

German-based aixigo was founded in late 1999. The company is one of the largest banking backend providers in Central Europe, and they offer a wide range…

The world’s first robo-advisor, Financial Engines, founded

The very first technology-oriented automated investment advisor service, Financial Engines, was co-founded in June 1996 by William F. Sharpe. The company is located in Palo…

Croesus, a wealth management software company, was founded in 1987

In 1986, Carol Jean and Rémy Therrien, create a portfolio management software and in 1987 they establish their first company, Unigiciel. They present the first…