Dec 14, 2016
Mobile Investing App Stash Raises $25 Million in Series B Funding
Valar Ventures Leads Round; Platform Reaches 300,000 Users
Stash makes investing easier and more accessible for the 100M American consumers with limited access to financial opportunity. It is now the fastest growing mobile investing platform in the United States. Today, Stash announced it has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Valar Ventures, with participation from Breyer Capital, Goodwater Capital, and Entrée Capital. The company made the announcement on the heels of closing a $9.25 million Series A funding round in August.
Stash added more than 300,000 customers in just over a year by making investing easier and more accessible, while promoting financial literacy and empowering its customers. As a result, more than 10,000 people are joining Stash every week, making it the fastest growing consumer investing platform in the country.
“We help make investing easier and more accessible for a large, diverse group of Americans. These same people used to find investing confusing, unrelatable and intimidating,” said Brandon Krieg, CEO and co-founder of Stash. “Our goal is to break down the barriers to investing by promoting financial literacy, helping people develop smarter financial habits and empowering those who have been underserved by the financial services industry. We’re ecstatic about this new round of funding that will enable us to bring Stash to millions more customers and expand our financial education services.”
Since closing its Series A funding four months ago, the company has experienced exponential growth, more than doubling its customer base. With this latest round of funding, Stash will be able to serve the evolving needs of its rapidly growing community while continuing to develop new features, services and products that have been in high demand. This includes its free educational hub, Learn, which empowers consumers through financial education.
“The growth and excitement at Stash is undeniable,” said Andrew McCormack, Partner of Valar Ventures. Their mission is bold and has created a connection with a diverse group of users. We’ve watched Stash grow from an idea to a movement in 14 months, and look forward to continuing to fuel this momentum.”
“Stash has the potential to leverage advanced technologies to profoundly disrupt important segments of the finance industry,” adds Jim Breyer, Founder/CEO of Breyer Capital. “It’s truly exciting to see this potential and be a part of this massive movement to reach underserved people around the world with a compelling set of financial products.”
Stash breaks down complicated financial language and helps make it easier to start investing. Investors choose from a selection of over 30 ETFs (exchange-traded funds) selected by Stash.
Investments are chosen based on a model driven by factors including historical performance, expense (fee) ratio, risk profile and asset allocation. Each investment is presented with easy to understand descriptions, enabling investors to build a portfolio that reflects their own interests, beliefs and goals.
Stash has a simple and transparent fee model of $1 per month for accounts under $5,000 and 0.25% a year for balances over $5,000. Clients are not charged additional commissions for trading or fees for transferring money in and out of accounts.
About Stash
Stash is on a mission to empower a new generation of investors, giving everyone access to financial opportunity. People can choose where to invest their money, starting with as little as $5, and receive ongoing guidance from the Stash Advisor. Based in New York City, Stash started in February 2015 by Wall Street veterans Brandon Krieg and Ed Robinson. Stash is a Registered Investment Adviser.
About Valar Ventures
Valar is a New York-based venture firm founded by Andrew McCormack, James Fitzgerald and Peter Thiel. Valar’s core thesis is that an increasing number of transformative technology companies are being started outside of Silicon Valley and the United States, and that the founders of those companies benefit from having a US partner that understands their unique challenges and opportunities and can help them achieve optimal growth.
About Goodwater Capital
Goodwater Capital is a venture capital firm focused on early stage consumer tech startups. Founded by Chi-Hua Chien and Eric J. Kim, Goodwater’s mission is to empower exceptional entrepreneurs who are changing the world.
About Breyer Capital
Breyer Capital is a premier global venture capital and private equity investor focused on catalyzing high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. Founded by Jim Breyer in 2006, Breyer Capital makes long-term, idea-driven strategic investments in social media, entertainment media, digital health, financial technologies, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. The firm prides itself on maintaining an openness to experimentation that can lead to long-term breakthrough performance.
About Entrée Capital
Entrée Capital is a London-based venture firm that provides multi-stage funding for innovative startups and companies all over the world.
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