US online brokerage ShareBuilder Securities Corporation has secured $20 million financing in a series D preferred stock funding round. The company, which specialises in low-value retail investors, is also reporting it has surpassed over 300,000 new account openings.
The financing round was led by Madrona Venture Group and included investments from Safeco Corporation, Wells Fargo, Guide Ventures, Benaroya Capital.
According to Jeff Seely, president and CEO of ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, the new capital will allow the company to add new features to its service, bring on new partners and grow its customer base.
Shelley Freeman, executive vice president of Wells Fargo investment Internet services, says: "Our partnership with ShareBuilder enables us to bring Wall Street to Main Street, removing the hurdles to stock investing and offering a sensible and easy way to build wealth over the long term."
In the third quarter of 2001, ended September 30, ShareBuilder opened 68,000 new brokerage accounts. Almost half of these accounts were opened in September. The company grew 11 percent in Q3 2001 over Q2 of the same year, and 124 percent over Q3 2000.
With no account or investment minimums and no annual fees, Sharebuilder customers can begin a programme of regular and automatic investing for just $4 per transaction - or can build their portfolios with unlimited stock purchases for $12 a month.