LearnVest, a personalized financial planning program, has raised $16.5 million in strategic funding from existing investor Accel Partners, and new investors: American Express Ventures; Claritas Capital; Ed Mathias, founding member of The Carlyle Group; and Todd Ruppert, Former CEO & President of T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services. This brings the startup?s total funding to $41 million.
Founded by Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest originally debuted back in 2009 at TechCrunch50 as an online guide aimed at teaching women to become more financially savvy. As we wrote a few years back, the startup was Suze Orman blended with personal finance site Mint.com. Last year, LearnVest pivoted slightly to aim for both men and women, and became a full-fledged investment advisor.
As Von Tobel explains, LearnVest is now more like Weight Watchers for your finances. The company offers the LearnVest Action Program, which is a seven, step by step program that takes you from cutting expenses to budgeting for goals to investing your money. All users get a certified financial planner who gives them specialized attention based on their financial needs and goals. Von Tobel adds that each of these advisors has gone through training and is empathetic to all financial situations. Financial plans starting at $89 for the budget version. The five-year plan is $349 and the portfolio builder is $599.
From the sounds of it, it looks like LearnVest may get a huge marketing boost from AmEx to push its financial planning product. ?We believe strongly in the mission of LearnVest Planning to provide accessible financial advice,? said Harshul Sanghi, Managing Partner, American Express Ventures, in a release. ?As we seek to expand our portfolio of products across American Express, we believe LearnVest Planning can be an important partner in helping us to bring customers more convenient, affordable and transparent ways to manage their money.?
With headquarters in New York City, the company has now opened a west coast office in Phoenix, Ariz., to serve as a hiring and training hub for the company?s team of financial planners. In addition to the investment, LearnVest Planning is debuting Workplace Solutions, a financial wellness platform that companies can offer as an employee benefit.
Mathias and Ruppert are advisors, as is Susan Lyne, AOL?s Brand Group CEO and Vice Chairman of Gilt Groupe (and our boss?s boss?s boss); and Ann Sardini, former CFO of Weight Watchers.
There are plenty of startups that want to disrupt wealth management, including Wealthfront, Betterment and of course, Mint. But Von Tobel says that LearnVest Planning is really focused on a broader demographic because the program triages individuals for financial health and then gives them an action plan. She believes that LearnVest is the most hands-on financial planning program you?ll find.
Our mission at LearnVest is to empower people everywhere to take control of their personal finances so that they can afford their dreams. We believe that financial planning should not be a luxury, which is why we?ve developed an advice-driven program that is personalized to your specific financial goals and situation. Take control of your money. Join us today.
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