FutureAdvisor Secures $5M to Expand 401k Advice Service
SEATTLE, WA, August 22, 2012 -- FutureAdvisor, the online investment advisor for the everyday investor, today announced $5 million in Series A funding from Sequoia Capital. The company now analyzes $4 billion in assets and saves its users, on aggregate, up to $50 million projected over a lifetime. FutureAdvisor also today unveiled the industry's first personalized 401k fee analysis and recommendation features, designed to help people save on fees in their 401k portfolio after new fee regulations went into effect. These new features are available today for free at www.futureadvisor.com/401k.
"Up until today, sound financial advice has only been accessible to the one percent," said Warren Hogarth, partner at Sequoia Capital. "FutureAdvisor promises to democratize access to financial advice, save consumers thousands of dollars on annual fees, and enable customers to retire more comfortably."
FutureAdvisor Funding and Market Momentum
Sequoia Capital has invested an additional $5 million in FutureAdvisor, completing its Series A round. The founding team includes financial industry veterans, top software engineers from Microsoft and math PhDs from top universities. In addition, FutureAdvisor is backed by angel investors, Square's Chief Operating Offer, Keith Rabois and Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman. FutureAdvisor is on a mission to help everyday people achieve their investment goals with a free Web service that's built on research-backed financial algorithms.
"We feel that everyone should have access to quality financial services like this and not just the wealthy," said Bo Lu, co-founder of FutureAdvisor. "We take this responsibility very seriously. Our customers are key to our innovation - we will continue to listen closely to their feedback and roll out new features to help them achieve their investment goals."
Over the past year, FutureAdvisor's customer base has grown.
- FutureAdvisor currently connects and analyzes $4 billion in assets
- FutureAdvisor now supports recommendations for 401k plans of over 11 million Americans
FutureAdvisor Adds New 401k Fee Analysis Feature
"In light of the new 401k fee disclosure regulations, we are excited to announce FutureAdvisor's new fee analysis features designed to help the average person make sense of fees in their 401k and help them understand the impact to their retirement picture," said Bo Lu, co-founder of FutureAdvisor.
In response to recent government 401k fee disclosure regulation requiring plan administrators to disclose detailed fees charged to participating employees, FutureAdvisor's new 401k fee recommendation feature is an industry first. The feature analyzes a person's 401k investment portfolio and shows how much he or she is paying in fees per year and over the lifetime of his or her investments. It then provides personalized, actionable recommendations to help people minimize fees and, ultimately, save more money for retirement.
The new feature offers:
- 401k Ratings. People can go to FutureAdvisor.com and without signing up, see how expensive or reasonable their 401k plan is on average. It also shows in a clear and simple way how the FutureAdvisor recommended portfolios compare.
- Fee and Diversification Analysis. For customers that sign up for the free service, FutureAdvisor will show exactly how much they pay per year in their 401k and provide recommendations to reduce fees and diversify.
Pricing and Availability
FutureAdvisor and its new 401k fee analysis features are free and available today online at: www.futureadvisor.com/401k.
About FutureAdvisor
Founded in 2010, FutureAdvisor believes financial advice should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. Built on research-backed algorithms, FutureAdvisor's free Web service gives everyday investors personalized recommendations to reduce fees, maximize tax efficiency, and select the right assets in their portfolios. Unlike traditional advisers, FutureAdvisor is free and requires no minimum assets. The founding team includes financial industry veterans, top software engineers from Microsoft and several math PhDs from top universities. Based in Seattle and a Y Combinator funded company, FutureAdvisor is backed by Sequoia Capital and angel investors, Square's Chief Operating Offer, Keith Rabois and Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman. Visit them at www.futureadvisor.com, www.facebook.com/FutureAdvisor and www.twitter.com/futureadvisor.
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