Wealthsimple
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Financial Services, Online Investment Management |
| Founded | September 2014 |
| Founder | Michael Katchen, (CEO) |
| Headquarters | Toronto,Ontario, Canada |
| Services | |
| AUM | C$1,000,000,000 |
|
Number of employees
|
75 (2017) |
| Website | www |
Wealthsimple Financial Inc. is an online investment management service focused on making "investing easier for millennials." The firm was founded in September 2014 by Michael Katchen and is based in Toronto. As of May 2017, the firm had over C$1,000,000,000 in assets under management.
Prior to founding Wealthsimple, Michael Katchen worked for 1000Memories, a Silicon Valley-based startup. After Ancestry.com bought 1000Memories in 2012, Katchen developed a spreadsheet with tips to help his colleagues set up investment portfolios. Interest in the spreadsheet helped inspire the idea for Wealthsimple. In 2014, he returned to Toronto to launch the company.
In December 2015, Wealthsimple made its first acquisition with acquiring Canada's first robo-advisor service, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc. Through the acquisition Wealthsimple became an owner of one of Canada's 14 discount brokerages (2015) alongside other owners of discount brokerages including Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada. The acquisition of Canadian ShareOwner Investment Inc. resulted in the assets under management comprising CAD $400,000,000 across 10,000 customer accounts.
In March 2016, the firm began offering clients access to socially responsible investment funds.
In May 2016, the firm announced a partnership with Mint, thus allowing clients to sync their Wealthsimple investment account to Mint's budgeting software.
Also in May 2016, the firm launched Wealthsimple for Advisors, an automated platform for financial advisors. The service is intended for advisors who wish to maintain clients with accounts below their minimum requirements.
Wealthsimple combines a robo-advisor platform with access to live advisors. Each client is provided an investment advisor who helps match investments to the client's long-term goals and risk tolerance. The firm does not occupy retail space; instead its advisors are available via phone, text message, email or video chat. There is no account minimum required and no charge per transaction. An annual fee is charged ranging from 0.35% to 0.5% based on account size. Portfolios are monitored daily and automatically rebalanced if they move beyond certain thresholds.
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Wikipedia