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Cairo-based investment platform Thndr has announced a $15.7 million funding round (USD) led by Prosus Ventures and joined by notable backers including Y Combinator, BECO Capital, JIMCO, Endeavor Catalyst, and Raba. This raise brings Thndr’s total funding to $37.76 million and signals a new phase of regional expansion across the Middle East.    Founded in 2020 by Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr, Thndr has emerged as a digital-first brokerage platform designed to democratize investing across MENA. Through a mobile-native experience and low-commission trading, Thndr enables access to local and U.S. equities, mutual funds, gold, and savings products, addressing a historically underserved investor base.    Thndr is doing what few platforms in MENA have been able to execute at scale:    Bridging financial access through an investment app that resonates with first-time and emerging investors.  Driving market participation: In 2024 alone, Thndr onboarded 190,000 new investors to the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX), accounting for 82% of all new investor registrations.  Retail leadership: The firm now handles 11% of Egypt’s total retail trading volume and holds 47% market share in gold mutual funds.  Expanding inclusivity: Female participation on the platform grew from 3% to 12%, and 40% of users now come from outside major cities, clear evidence of its reach beyond traditional financial centers.    Thndr already holds key licenses from both the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) in Egypt and a Category 3A license with retail endorsement from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) FSRA, allowing it to operate in the UAE. These licenses position Thndr to scale responsibly as it deepens operations in the UAE and prepares for market entry into Saudi Arabia, a region poised for fintech acceleration.    For early backer Prosus, the reinvestment reflects growing conviction. Sandeep Bakshi, Head of Investments for Europe at Prosus, underscored Thndr’s momentum by stating  “Thndr is transforming access to investing across MENA by empowering first-time investors with the tools and confidence to participate in the financial system… Their rapid growth, particularly among young and underserved populations, underscores both the strength of their leadership and the company’s broader mission.”    According to CEO Ahmad Hammouda, Thndr aims to build the region’s “investment-first money app”, a unified platform offering regional and international products through one wallet and one account. With fewer than 2% of individuals in MENA participating in capital markets, the addressable market is massive and Thndr is positioning itself at the forefront of this transformation.  Thndr represents a compelling case study in localized WealthTech innovation. With strong backing, regulatory alignment, and a clear expansion roadmap, the company is poised to lead a generational shift in financial access across MENA. As WealthTech models scale globally, Thndr’s approach offers a glimpse into how digital infrastructure can unlock retail investment growth in emerging markets.

etops, a Swiss-based WealthTech platform owned by Pollen Street Capital, has acquired German-based retirement planning software firm FinanzPortal24. This is the fifth acquisition for etops, having also acquired: Evolute - KYC and compliance Axeed - Banking business intelligence Infinys Systems - Financial data storage and workflows CORYX - Investment management software FinanzPortal24 is a retirement planning software company with about 4,500 advisors on the platform servicing banks, brokers, insurance, and independents. No terms were disclosed for the transaction. This continues the trend we are seeing of "tuck-in" acquisitions of point solutions in the WealthTech space. As larger platforms race to become "the" WealthTech platform, they are increasingly looking to small acquisitions to pull forward their roadmap, plug a feature set gap, or access an adjacent business line. In the old days, this sort of behavior would create a heap of integration issues as companies struggled with on-prem and "lift-and-shift" technology. However, these days most early stage companies are cloud-native, operating lean and clean tech stacks, and are API-first. This often makes them quick and easy to integrate, even into a legacy platform. With the race for functionality in full swing and more reasonable valuations due to lack of venture capital activity, we expect to continue to see more such acquisitions in the future, particularly from the private equity backed platforms. Link to article: https://www.etops.com/blog/finanzportal24-becomes-part-of-etops-and-strengthens-the-groups-offering-in-financial-planning-software-2/

Groww, a personal trading and investing app in Bengaluru, India, is rumored to be acquiring Fisdom, another personal trading and investing app in Bengaluru, India. Each company is somewhat analogous to Robinhood in the US. They allow users to trade stocks, buy mutual funds, avail themselves of robo-portfolios, and even provide loans. Groww has raised almost $400mm and was last valued at $3b back in 2021. Fisdom has raised around $37mm and had revenue of around $10mm last year, or so we hear. The merger gives Groww the benefit of Fisdom's strong footprint amongst India's banks, a nice compliment to Groww's direct-to-consumer strategy. We have not seen anything official from either company yet, but the story seems to be making the rounds in the Indian press. Even if it is just a false rumor, it underscores our belief that the easiest way to make $1b in a WealthTech startup is to create a personal investing/advice platform in India. It's not so much about lead generation for professional advice, our US-based Self-Directed Trading theme, as it is about the massive amount of mass affluent that is being created in India and the relative lack of professional investment advisors. It's just math. It takes a while to develop a good wealth manager and yet the number of mass affluent is growing by leaps and bounds. Only technology can close the gap.

Betterment has announced an acquisition that strengthens its offering to advisors. Known by the masses for automated investing capabilities, Betterment as we know them has developed a quite powerful all-in-one custodial and technology solution, leading to a unique asset: a large base of retail clients, a growing segment of premium clients, as well as a deep tech infrastructure trusted by 600+ RIAs.   The acquisition of Rowboat Advisors, a provider of direct indexing and tax-optimization infrastructure sharpens this strategy. Direct indexing not only brings tax efficient customization to the advisor platform, but it also opens the door to future personalization for retail clients as their needs evolve.   Betterment’s platform now spans the full investor lifecycle:  Robo-advisor automation – Child-proof model  Self-Direct trading – Soon to launch  Premium planning service (starting at $100k) offering tax, trust, estate & more  Advisor equipped platform with PMS, onboarding, and now DI Capabilities  This progression isn’t an accident, it’s a pipeline.  As these investors accumulate wealth and complexity, the transition to premium planning or an RIA on the Betterment for Advisors platform becomes seamless, with account history, preferences and the relationship going forward.   Even if DI remains an advisor-only feature today, it’s not hard to imagine a future here a simplified version of DI is offered to self-directed users, especially if they’ve already shown interest and Betterment can automate the tax optimization behind the scenes.   Congratulations to the teams at Betterment and Rowboat for an exciting future! If you’d like to learn more about our self-directed theme, or our other themes, click here.

In a significant move that underscores the continued evolution of the alternative investments landscape, iCapital has announced the acquisition of Citi Global Alternatives, LLC, the unit advising Citi Wealth’s global alternative investment fund platform. The platform comprises over 180 funds across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, hedge funds, and venture capital, representing a substantial portion of Citi’s alternatives distribution business.    A few highlights of the acquisition:  iCapital will acquire and manage the operations of Citi's alternatives feeder fund platform.  Citi will remain the distributor of these funds and continue to advise clients on portfolio allocations.  iCapital will provide a dedicated sales and service team to support Citi Wealth globally.  The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.    For Citi, this transaction is a strategic simplification. Under CEO Jane Fraser, the bank is streamlining its wealth management operations to focus on client-facing activities while outsourcing operational complexity.     For iCapital, it’s business as usual, but with increasing scale. This acquisition marks iCapital’s 14th feeder fund platform acquisition and its 23rd overall transaction. Previous deals with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and UBS have solidified iCapital’s position as the de facto back-office for alternative investments distribution across major wealth managers.    This deal exemplifies one of the WealthTech Strategy Themes of the Decade: The Rise of Alternatives. It speaks to the industrialization of private markets distribution in wealth management. Wealth managers want to offer sophisticated alternative products to their high-net-worth clients but are wary of the operational burdens that accompany the added service.  Compliance, onboarding, reporting, and fund administration are resource intensive.    iCapital’s value proposition is clear: automate the middle and back office, reduce costs, and scale access. By owning the infrastructure, iCapital not only captures the operational side of alternatives distribution but also strengthens its position as a gatekeeper between asset managers and wealth channels.    At WealthTech Strategy Partners, we see iCapital’s latest acquisition as yet another proof point for a larger shift in the wealth management industry’s approach to alternative investments.     Several key dynamics are driving this trend:    Over the past year, a wave of firms have launched alternative investment platforms aimed at retail and mass affluent investors. What was once the domain of institutions and ultra-high-net-worth individuals is now being democratized.  Financial advisors are increasingly leveraging alternative investments to offer differentiated value propositions beyond traditional portfolios of stocks and bonds.  Despite the demand, challenges remain. Transparency, liquidity, investor education, research, and onboarding hurdles continue to be pain points that hinder broader adoption.  Efforts to scale alternatives for retail investors were attempted in the late 2000s but failed to gain traction. However, with institutional demand for alternatives slowing, managers are highly motivated to find a way to access the wealth channel.    Firms like Orion, LPL Financial, SEI, Addepar, Apex Clearing, Franklin Templeton, and BNY Mellon are all investing heavily in this space, signaling a broad industry acknowledgment of alternatives as a core pillar of wealth management going forward.    iCapital’s Citi acquisition is not an isolated event. It reflects a broader ecosystem shift where WealthTech platforms are becoming the backbone of alternatives distribution, solving longstanding operational bottlenecks and enabling advisors to meet growing client demand for access to private markets.    As this trend accelerates, we believe partnerships between large financial institutions and nimble, tech-forward platforms like iCapital will be critical in defining the next era of wealth management.    For more information on the Rise of Alternatives and the other WealthTech Strategy Themes of the Decade, click here .    [ Link to Press Release ]

Stash, a personal financial management and personal trading software app, recently raised $146M to ‘enhance AI capabilities’. The eighth round of funding, a series H, was led by Goodwater Capital, alongside Union Square Ventures, StepStone Group, Serengeti, the University of Illinois Foundation, and funds managed by T. Rowe Price Investment Management.   While not a direct one-to-one competitor, Stash sits alongside platforms like Robinhood in the race to capture mass-market investors, though from different starting points. Robinhood started as a trading-first platform, while Stash is rooted in helping users develop saving and investing habits. Both are moving toward becoming their clients’ primary financial platform.  Though Stash is clear that it “does not provide comprehensive financial planning services to individuals”, its mission is rooted in making accessible financial guidance available to the masses. Its AI Money Coach is already changing the way that clients allocate and think about their money. Building this trust now puts Stash into a strong position to introduce a more formal advice offering in the future. As its user base ages and accumulates more assets, it may have the “in” to evolve clients from casual savers to high-value advisory relationships.  The new capital will fund product development, subscriber growth, and the advancement of its AI functionality. As our self-directed trading theme continues to play out, it will be interesting to see if/when Stash makes a move in the way of full-service advice or to upsell a more premium service.  The transaction is summed up in a quote from Stash Founder and CEO Ed Robinson: “For a decade, Stash has helped millions take control of their financial futures. Now we’re doubling down – transforming how people save, invest, and build long-term wealth with AI-powered intelligence at the core. We’re just getting started.”  For more information on WealthTech Strategy’s theme for self-directed trading, as well as the other WealthTech Strategy Themes for the Decade, click [ here ].

Addepar, the WealthTech powerhouse behind one of the most widely adopted investment data platforms, has announced a $230 million Series G funding round, propelling its valuation to $3.25 billion. Co-led by Vitruvian Partners and returning backer WestCap, with participation from 8VC, Valor Equity Partners, and new investor EDBI (via SG Growth Capital), this round signals more than just a capital injection, it marks a strategic turning point for Addepar and WealthTech at large.    A Private Credit-Focused Round    Unlike traditional equity raises, this round is designed primarily as a private credit-style tender offer, providing liquidity for long-standing employees and early investors. In simple terms, it allows stakeholders to realize gains from their contributions while keeping Addepar’s ownership concentrated among committed long-term investors. This is becoming an increasingly popular route for mature, high-growth FinTechs seeking to balance employee retention, investor returns, and capital efficiency without the immediate pressures of public markets.    From Financial Crisis Roots to WealthTech Titan    Founded in 2009 by Joe Lonsdale in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, Addepar was built to solve a core problem: the lack of reliable, transparent investment data for complex portfolios. What began as a data aggregation platform has since evolved into a comprehensive operating system for investment professionals, empowering RIAs, family offices, institutional investors, and banks to manage over $7 trillion in assets.    Addepar’s growth trajectory has been steady and strategic. Prior to this round, the firm raised $150 million in Series F funding in 2021 (at a $2 billion valuation) and $117 million in 2020. With over $700 million raised to date, Addepar has stayed focused on long-term innovation, investing over $100 million annually in R&D and positioning itself to achieve profitability in 2025.    Addepar’s Expanding Influence in WealthTech    What sets Addepar apart is its ability to scale while staying deeply attuned to its clients’ evolving needs. Adding $25 billion in new assets weekly, and serving over 1,200 client firms across 50+ countries, Addepar’s platform has become indispensable for wealth managers navigating volatile markets and increasingly complex client demands.    This funding round reinforces Addepar’s commitment to continuous innovation such as expanding product capabilities, enhancing client experiences, and broadening its global footprint. Recent partnerships, like the 2024 deal with Corient Private Wealth, showcase Addepar’s role as a critical enabler in the wealth management ecosystem.    The Bigger Picture   Addepar’s Series G comes at a time when WealthTech is maturing beyond its startup roots. The convergence of data transparency, personalization, and digital client engagement is reshaping how investment professionals operate. Private markets are playing an outsized role in this transformation, as firms like Addepar leverage private credit-style liquidity events to fuel growth without diluting strategic control.    This approach reflects a broader WealthTech trend: sustainable scaling over speculative growth. As RIAs consolidate, alternative investments go mainstream, and investor expectations rise, platforms like Addepar are positioning themselves as the foundational infrastructure for the next era of wealth management.    In Summary    Addepar’s $230 million Series G isn’t just a headline-grabbing funding round, it’s a signal of WealthTech’s evolution. By blending private credit mechanisms with a relentless focus on product innovation and client success, Addepar is charting a path that many others in the space are likely to follow. As WealthTech continues to mature, Addepar’s journey serves as a case study in balancing growth, liquidity, and long-term vision.

In a move that underscores the continued strength of strategic M&A across WealthTech, Germany’s Fincite and France’s Harvest have announced their merger, bringing together two of Europe’s leading B2B wealth management software providers. Backed by private equity firms TA Associates and Montagu, the merger sets the stage for a new European champion in digital wealth management infrastructure.    Operating under the Harvest banner, the combined business will serve financial institutions across Europe with a full-stack offering that spans onboarding, KYC/AML, digital advice, execution, and reporting. Their goal is to simplify fragmented tech stacks and deliver more integrated, modular solutions to banks, insurers, and asset managers as they navigate rapid digital transformation.    Both companies bring significant strengths: Harvest with its strong presence in France, and Fincite with a deep client base in the DACH region (Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH). Their shared vision is to accelerate growth through acquisition, enter new markets (Benelux, Italy, Northern Europe), and double revenue within four years.    This is more than just scale. It’s about synergy. As legacy systems strain to keep up with client expectations, wealth managers are consolidating their vendor relationships, looking for flexible platforms that can handle the full advisory lifecycle. This merger directly responds to that demand and reflects a broader WealthTech trend: strategic M&A as a tool not just for growth, but for delivering true platform unification.    Both brands will remain operational, with Fincite co-founder Ralf Heim joining the Harvest Group board to help lead this next chapter.    At a time when digital wealth infrastructure is more mission-critical than ever, this deal signals strong conviction in the future of WealthTech, not just as a collection of point solutions, but as a foundational layer of financial services across Europe.

WealthTech funding rose slightly in the US last quarter, rising 9% from the prior quarter. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that early-stage deals (under $100mm) were off 35% from the prior quarter and dropped a whopping 85% compared to 1Q2024, according to a report from FinTech Global Research . The overall gain seems to have come from investors piling into later stage deals (over $100mm).   There are several possible reasons for the preference for later-stage investments. We have seen some anecdotal evidence that venture capital funds, who have been having trouble raising money from their LPs, are preserving their capital to re-back the winners in their portfolios in later-stage deals. Additionally, with fewer new funds in the venture capital space, the existing funds are seeing their time horizons approaching, so they may look for later-stage deals where they can get their money back faster. Lastly, strategic investors who are active in the market tend to favor solutions with proven traction, in our experience.   This is a fairly distressing situation for early-stage founders (and their bankers), but it is what it is. Here are some thoughts as to navigating these waters:   The market is soft, but not dead . It’s going to be more work, take longer, and have more drama than before, but there is still a chance to raise funds. You will need to pull out all the stops on the capital raise and budget for a longer time to funding.   Revenue is the best financing . Try to bootstrap as best you can. You may have to accept a slower growth rate than you were hoping for, but if you can keep costs low and pipeline up, you may win the race to breakeven. Think strategic . You certainly will want to get in front of the venture capital community, but you should focus heavily on the strategic community. It’s a longer sales cycle, but they have capital and are generally looking for solutions to pull forward their roadmaps or fill a product feature gap. It’s a different pitch than a venture capital pitch, but even if you don’t get funding, you might get a client. Explore co-development opportunities . You are a nimble, tech-forward entrepreneur with a clean tech stack. There are many financial services firms that are excellent in many other ways, but not in those ways. Lining up a financial services firm to fund the development costs for the exact solution they need is a possible path forward. Just beware of negotiation traps. Don’t categorically rule out a sale . At the moment, strategics are the more aggressive source of capital. While they will make minority investments, they often prefer to acquire rather than invest. It’s just their nature. Three of our clients this year have flipped from a fundraising mentality to company sale mentality (out of 8). Keep in mind that you can structure transactions so that you still maintain some of that entrepreneurial upside.   Being a founder is never easy and the current funding environment certainly is not making it easier. The fundamentals of the WealthTech market are ever changing, but opportunity is still there, particularly if you have a solution that fits into one of the WealthTech Themes of the Decade . As usual, we are here to help in any way we can, even if you just want to chat about WealthTech for a while.

Zoe Financial, originally a referral network connecting individuals to fiduciary RIAs, has evolved into a full-scale digital infrastructure platform that plays a dual role in the advisor ecosystem. In 2023, it launched the Zoe Wealth Platform, offering RIAs tools like digital account opening, fractional trading, automated rebalancing, performance tracking, billing, and more recently, tax loss harvesting and direct indexing. These tools reflect Zoe's broader strategy, not just to deliver leads, but to become embedded in the advisor tech stack. Following the launch, Zoe’s “J-curve growth”, contributed a $29.6 million Series B funding round led by Sageview Capital with participation from several of Zoe's RIA clients: Creative Planning, Mariner Wealth Advisors, Captrust, Perigon Wealth Management, and Falcon Wealth Planning.  Zoe’s recent funding round underscores its alignment with a broader trend reshaping the industry: RIA Roll-ups. As the race for AUM continues, firms growing through M&A can't assume that acquired advisors will remain on their platform. Increasingly, these same firms are recognizing that sustainable scale depends just as much on advisor retention as it does on advisor acquisition. To retain top advisors, especially those brought in via M&A, firms need to offer a strong technological backbone: tools that streamline operations, enhance client service, simplify advisor workflows, and, most importantly, tools to bring in more clients with seamless onboarding.

Last week, New Jersey became the 50th state to adopt a best-interest annuity sales standard. Like nearly all other states, the New Jersey statute is based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation  which is designed to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Regulation Best Interest  (Reg BI) requirements. While implementation varies slightly from state to state, with some like New York opting for stricter fiduciary-based rules, this national shift sends a clear message: annuity sales must be rooted in the client’s best interest.  And the timing couldn’t be more important. With Peak 65  underway, more Americans than ever are reaching retirement age: over 4 million people will turn 65 each year between 2024 and 2027. As retirees navigate longevity risk and search for reliable income, annuities can play a critical role in retirement income planning. Stronger standards ensure those decisions are made with greater transparency, care, and client-first intent.  Road to a Best-Interest Standard  While the NAIC’s original model regulation was introduced in 2003, it has undergone various updates over the years. The most recent revisions occurred in February 2020 and were relatively substantial. Among the 2020 revisions was the adoption of a best-interest standard requiring insurance producers and insurers to meet obligations related to care, disclosure, conflict of interest, and documentation. The update also mandated that insurance professionals clearly disclose their role in the transaction and details on compensation. While not barred from recommending products with a higher compensation structure, the model does require that insurance professionals be able to show that such a recommendation is in the consumer’s best interest.  In May 2020, Iowa became the first state to adopt the updated suitability model for annuity sales. Just five years later, all 50 states have followed suit. As more than 16 million Americans turn 65 between 2024 and 2027 the need for reliable retirement income solutions beyond Social Security has never been greater. It’s no surprise that states moved swiftly to implement stronger consumer protections.  Confidence in Standardization  Despite the widespread availability of annuities and the value that they can offer in the form of retirement income, very few Americans saving for retirement actually own any. According to an  October 2023 report  by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, only 4.8 percent of families reported having any type of annuity in 2022. This underutilization of annuities by retail investors is due, in part, to factors such as the complexity of many annuity products and their lack of availability in employer-sponsored plans, as well as the historic lack of standardized regulation.  According to Morningstar , “Historically, the inconsistency and inadequate enforcement of state law standards has resulted in the use of aggressive sales tactics and misleading information by insurance agents selling some annuities under the traditional suitability standard of the NAIC.” However, “all 50 states have now adopted a best interest standard for annuity sales—an important milestone for consumers,” said American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO, David Chavern, and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Trustee, Dennis Cuccinelli, in a joint statement  last week. “This ensures people will get professional financial guidance they can trust on products that provide a reliable lifetime stream of income in retirement. At a time when millions of workers are nearing retirement without a pension, this kind of certainty matters more than ever.”     The Retirement-Planning Toolbox  Annuities are a worthwhile consideration when planning for retirement. Arguably their most compelling selling point is that they can serve as a source of guaranteed income throughout retirement, mitigating longevity risk (the risk associated with outliving your retirement savings). Unlike a portfolio, which can run out if you overspend or make poor investment decisions, most annuities will pay you income for the rest of your life, much like Social Security. Having an additional guaranteed source of income in retirement may be especially valuable in managing longevity risk given the findings of a  2020 study  conducted by the Society of Actuaries: “51% of the U.S. population misestimated their life expectancy by at least five years—either too high or too low.”  Conclusion  For many retirees approaching age 65, the key question isn’t just how will I generate income in retirement,  but also how should I preserve and reposition the wealth I’ve already built?  Whether it’s liquidating a major asset like a business or a home or rolling over a 401(k), these transitions create opportunities and risks that require thoughtful planning. Annuities offer one potential solution for a portion of some people’s assets, helping convert those lump sums into predictable, long-term income.  With all 50 states adopting Best Interest standards, advisors must get up to speed and have a game plan to address client questions most appropriately about how annuities can play a role in modern, income-focused retirement strategies.

Altruist, a modern custodian for RIAs, has  announced  $152 million in Series F funding at a $1.9 billion valuation. The funding round—led by global institutional investor GIC, and including partners such as Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, Carson Family Office, and ICONIQ Growth—follows a landmark year of growth for the firm.  In 2024, the custodian launched a suite of new products, including a high-yield cash account, automated and scalable tax management tools, and a fully digital native fixed-income trading experience. The average asset size of its clients increased by 43% from 2024 and it has tripled its assets under management for the past two years. The firm currently works with about 4,700 advisors, commanding a 6.25% market share (up from 2.85% in 2024) according to the 2025 T3/Inside Information Software Survey .  “We’ve found that we’ve got a formula that’s working pretty well, and so we want to just continue to put a lot more fuel into that,” said Mazi Bahadori, Chief Operating and Compliance Officer at Altruist. “And so, the focus really is just to continue to accelerate a lot of product development and innovation.”  Bahadori said the firm will announce new product developments in 2025, with some of them utilizing artificial intelligence in ways that will further Altruist’s goal of reducing friction for advisor activities such as account opening, funding, trading, and rebalancing, and offering more investment and trading options.   In addition, the firm is working to develop integrations with more existing technology platforms. “This year we're adding meaningful integrations with companies like Orion (including FIX trading for large, multi-custodial firms), Tamarac, Advyzon, and more,” said Jason Wenk, founder and CEO of Altruist.   This most recent round of funding follows a  $169 million Series E  round in May 2024 and the expansion of the firm’s leadership team with the appointments of Rich Rao  as Chief Business Officer and Sumanth Sukumar  as Chief Technology Officer earlier this year.