Arlington, TX, September 5, 2023 - The Founders Arena WealthTech Accelerator, in strategic partnership with First Rate, Inc., SEI® and the City of Arlington, today announced its first cohort, selecting Charityvest, InvestSuite, Lumiant.io, Manifest, Sora Finance and Tax Status to participate in its inaugural accelerator program in Arlington, Texas. As part of the selection, it is calling on wealth management firms, banks and other financial institutions to sign up for a series of “VIP Days” in which executives will be able to connect directly with innovative global WealthTech founders.
The international group of entrepreneurs selected for the inaugural cohort offer unique solutions across cultures and generations, addressing the needs of industries that are rapidly working to update their systems to provide solutions to a new generation of individuals. Many of these companies may expect a new type of digital-first experience that was not previously provided. And unlike most traditional accelerator programs, the companies selected have all been previously funded, and generating revenue, with an average raise of $6 million in funding to date and annual recurring revenue of US$1 million.
The 10-week intensive program is taking place in Arlington, Texas. The Accelerator will focus on helping early to growth-stage WealthTech founders scale their revenues and build impactful products that banks and wealth management companies can use to better serve their clients. Research shows that the Baby Boomer generation is set to transfer approximately US$84 trillion in assets through 2045, much of this going to their Gen X and Millenial heirs, who are rooted in digital-first solutions and making the coming years one of the greatest wealth transfers in history.
“We are on the cusp of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history, and the wealth management industry needs to evolve to cater to the expectations of these tech-savvy clients,” said Pamela Cytron, President of The Founders Arena. “The companies who have made it into our first cohort are purpose-built to address this shift and will bring much-needed technological innovation to the industry.”
The companies selected for the first cohort are:
Charityvest: Charityvest is a sponsor of modern donor-advised funds (DAFs) leveraging technology to create a premier charitable giving experience for free or low fee. Charityvest's intuitive design makes a traditionally complex financial product both simpler and more powerful, enabling tax-smart, purposeful philanthropy to be more attractive, efficient, and accessible to donors large and small. To date, Charityvest has facilitated nearly US$100 million in total giving across thousands of donors. Charityvest is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
InvestSuite: InvestSuite enables financial institutions to launch award-winning investment platforms in months rather than years. Their suite of white-label InvestTech solutions is used by global companies to extend their product range in an agile, fast and cost-effective way so they can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in this increasingly digital world. InvestSuite is based in Leuven, Belgium.
Lumiant.io: Lumiant offers a Cloud-based client experience and engagement platform where clients and their advisors connect around their lives, values and finances, helping them make better choices and live their best lives confidently. Its suite of tools allows advisors to identify, track and measure goals, strategies and tasks to shape and sustain extraordinary lives for their clients. Lumiant is based in Sydney, Australia.
Manifest: Manifest is the easiest way to consolidate old retirement accounts. Employers can start distributing the responsive web app to their participants with less than an hour of effort. In the last six months, the team has transferred over US$350 million in plan assets, and they are now building the pipes between the 401(k) providers. Manifest is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Sora Finance: Sora Finance provides credit management and liability optimization as a service, enabling advisors to grow clients’ net worth by managing across the full balance sheet. Sora’s software offers a live look into existing debt, advanced analytics, and insights into the lender ecosystem, proactively alerting advisors to ways clients can save money on their consumer liabilities. Founded in November 2021, Sora now partners with 160+ RIAs, recently striking a partnership with Focus Financial Partners, actively managing over US$600 million in client liabilities and has raised US$3.925 million to date. Sora Finance is based in San Francisco, California.
Tax Status: Tax Status is a fully digital IRS account monitoring solution that provides continuous access to income and all official IRS financial data on any business or individual. With analytics and ongoing monitoring capabilities, Tax Status delivers critical notifications and insights that wealth advisors, lenders, businesses and individuals can use to make more informed decisions. Tax Status is based in Frisco, Texas.
“The Founders Arena WealthTech Accelerator is an important catalyst for emerging financial services technology,” said Russ Kliman, Global Head of SEI Ventures. “We’re excited to partner with Founders Arena to explore how SEI’s breadth of capabilities, our unique industry position, and the WealthTech accelerator programs can help power innovation, unlock growth, and build brave futuresSM for entrepreneurs, our clients, and the industry.”
In addition to announcing the cohort, The Founders Arena is calling on financial institutions, banks, and other companies serving the wealth management industry to participate in a limited series of “VIP Days” in which the cohort companies will present their products and interact in a series of workshops designed to fast-track research and development. Companies interested in taking part can sign up here.
“Banks and large enterprises in the wealth management sector are eager to leverage the innovative products being built by WealthTech entrepreneurs,” said Paul Hatch, Founding Partner and CEO of Vestria Capital. “We have heard time and again that participating in accelerator programs like this offers opportunities to do a year’s worth of research and development in a single day.”
