NYC-based fintech startup Stash announced this week it closed on a $125 million Series G round led by Elridge, capping off a year of “record growth.” The money will be used to expand the reach of Stash’s personal finance app, which aims to help everyday Americans diversify their investment portfolios.
In a nutshell, Stash helps users to build wealth, hit their financial goals and manage their money all in one place, and was designed for people who want to invest, but don’t necessarily know where to start.
The app allows users to invest in hundreds of stocks and funds, without add-on trading commissions, for as little as $5. Its banking account has no overdraft or minimum balance fees, and the debit card also comes with unlimited stock-back rewards, so users can earn stocks and funds for their portfolio whenever they spend. For instance, if a user charges their monthly Netflix subscription to their Stash card, a portion of their money can be invested in Netflix stock.
“We believe in tried and tested principles of regular, long-term, and balance investing as the key to build wealth. We therefore built Stash to make diversified investing easy, affordable and accessible, backed by personalized advice and accessible education — in order to avoid the pitfalls of short-term speculation and day-trading,” Stash’s CEO and co-founder Brandon Krieg said in a statement. “This new round of funding enables us to take this mission to millions more Americans.”
Between the pandemic and political turmoil, the market has been especially volatile over the last year, which, incidentally, has boded well for Stash’s business. The six-year-old company claims to have seen a 100 percent increase in account openings over the last year, and its user base has ballooned to more than five million people. Stash has also reached $2.5 billion in assets under management, an impressive feat considering the average investment deposit is about $30.
This latest funding round, plus the $112 million Series F Stash closed last April, brings the company’s total funding raised in just the last year to more than $230 million.
Looking ahead, Stash says that, in the coming weeks, it is launching a new product, Smart Portfolios, which allows users to build long-term, diversified portfolios fully managed by Stash. The company is also hiring, with dozens of open tech positions available now.
