San Francisco-based robo-advisor SigFig has raised $40 million in a new financing round that includes investment from UBS and the fintech venture fund of Spain's Banco Santander.
The two big banks join Comerica (which contributed a $7 million debt facility), Eaton Vance, New York Life, as well as top-tier venture capital firms Bain Capital Ventures, DCM, Nyca Partners, and Union Square Capital Ventures.
SigFig says it will use the capital for a major expansion of its team and platform as it looks to hone in on its strategy to develop tools and services for financial institutions in the wealth management space.
UBS already previewed its investment last week, when it announced plans to create a joint advisor technology research and innovation lab, where UBS financial advisors, product experts and technologists can work with SigFig’s digital experts.
In April, SigFig partnered with Cambridge Savings Bank to begin offering an integrated, automated investment services to account holders bundled directly into the bank’s existing product offerings.
Similar motivations hold sway for Santander. Mariano Belinky, managing partner at Santander InnoVentures, says: “The ongoing need for affordable, accessible financial advice continues to be an area of focus for the investment industry. SigFig is at the forefront of tackling this need, providing enterprise-level wealth management technology that is secure, scalable and compliant - tailored to firms' unique corporate strategies and individual client needs. We hope to be able to now collaborate with the aim of ultimately bringing their platform to serve Santander’s 122 million customers.”
SigFig's own Web and mobile apps pull in users' data from things like 401k's and brokerage accounts into a single dashboard. The system then analyses the data and, once a week, diagnoses portfolios and provides advice on how users can boost performance.
The company has managed to secure major deals with media partners like CNN and USA Today, powering portfolio trackers on their sites. The strategy has helped draw in users, with the service now helping millions of people around the world track and optimise over $400 billion in assets.