Personal Capital has announced a new investment of $50 million.
The Series D round was led by Corsair Capital, BBVA Ventures, and USAA, with current investors Crosslink, IVP, and Venrock also participating. The investment takes Personal Capital’s total funding to $109 million.
Personal Capital CEO Bill Harris said, “This infusion will help accelerate our already-rapid growth – we’ve seen revenue increases of 10% or more each month for the past seven quarters.”
It’s one thing to have a banner year in funding for alternative investment services. Between Personal Capital and Wealthfront, the sector is having a banner week. In a statement, Corsair Capital’s Jeremy Schein positioned Personal Capital at the “intersection of consumer technology and financial services.” It will be interesting to see how the platform continues to distinguish itself on what is an increasingly crowded corner.
Personal Capital differentiates itself with an approach that blends the PFM and online investors advisory approaches in order to provide an “end-to-end” money management system. And unlike the “robo-advisors” it is often grouped with, Personal Capital uses a technology-assisted advisor strategy, in which real-live human financial advisors play a key role in helping clients plot their financial plans.
As Harris explained in a talked-about interview on CNBC from earlier this year:
“We take the best of traditional wealth management, which is typically only available to people with multiple millions of dollars. We take that sophisticated and customized financial management, and bring it down and make it available to regular people, affluent households in this country.”
On the technology side, Personal Capital’s online and mobile apps give clients the ability to discover their net worth, track and manage cash flow and budgets, and check up on investments, including 401(k)s. Clients can review finances on their desktop, tablet, or smartphone and, when ready, schedule a consultation with a Personal Capital financial advisor.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, Personal Capital demoed its One Click Investment Proposals at FinovateSpring 2014. See a video of the company’s presentation.