Altruist, a modern custodian built exclusively for RIAs, announced a new $112 million series D round of funding led by Insight Partners, new investor Adams Street Partners, and continued support from existing investors.
Notable industry leaders Bill McNabb, Ron Carson, and Marty Bicknell also participated in the round. This comes just weeks after the acquisition of SSG, an advisory services firm, and the launch of a new brokerage offering that cemented Altruist as the third largest custodian as measured by number of firms served. Altruist’s new funding adds to a previously undisclosed $110 million series C raised in November of 2021 and led by Declaration Partners with Venrock, Insight Partners, and Vanguard participating, bringing its total funding to more than $290 million.
Altruist’s vertically integrated approach makes it the first company ever to combine clearing, custody, and a complete suite of advisory software into one solution. After a year of unprecedented growth, the company plans to invest the funds to further develop and expand its service offerings to empower a broader segment of the RIA market, including mid-sized firms that manage between $100 million and $1 billion in total assets.
The registered investment advisor (RIA) market is booming with $128.4 trillion in assets under management and over 3,000 new firms launched annually. With their personalized service and fiduciary obligations to operate in clients’ best interests, RIAs are rapidly becoming the trusted choice for households seeking support in managing and building their wealth. Yet only 1 in 3 Americans currently work with a financial advisor due to access and affordability. The majority of RIAs that work with legacy custodians are burdened with high operational costs, paper-based processes, and disjointed software preventing firms from servicing more households at a lower cost.
Altruist was created in 2018 by Jason Wenk, an industry veteran who has founded and led multiple billion plus dollar technology-enabled RIAs. As an advisor, he experienced first-hand the unique challenges that inhibit RIA growth and limit the reach of great, affordable financial advice.
“While the RIA industry has evolved rapidly over the past 20 years, the custodians serving them have not,”
said Altruist CEO Jason Wenk.
“Legacy custodians have little incentive to innovate and rebuild technology that would enable advisors to scale and reach as many people as possible.”
Altruist has taken a fundamentally new approach to bridging the gap between financial services and technology with an exclusive focus on RIAs. The company has rebuilt the advisor technology stack from the ground up, vertically integrating a clearinghouse, custody, and all-in-one software that offers account opening, trading, reporting, and billing. In addition, Altruist is highly praised for its exceptional customer service and a modern client-facing application that gives households complete transparency into portfolio performance.
The company expects to reach profitability this calendar year after less than 5 years of operating history.
Featured image credit: Altruist CEO Jason Wenk
