M1 Finance raises $33 million

M1 Finance, the automated money management platform that offers investing, borrowing, and banking products, has raised $33 million in a Series B round led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from Jump Capital and Clocktower Technology Ventures, alongside existing M1 investors.

Founded in 2015, the Chicago-based startup is taking an all-in-one approach, eliminating the need of self-directed investors to deal with a mix of brokers, money management apps, and banks to manage different aspects of their personal finances. The platform offers investors three integrated tools to build long-term wealth, meet medium-term financial needs, and manage short-term spending. M1 Invest is a free investing product that enables users to create fully customizable stock and ETF portfolios using fractional shares and advanced automation. M1 Borrow provides investors with an easy and flexible portfolio line of credit, with rates between 2.00% for M1 Plus subscribers and a 3.50% base rate. And M1 Spend provides users an FDIC-insured digital checking account and a debit card, with an available 1.00% APY and 1% cash-back on qualified purchases.

In February, M1 became one of the few fintech startups to reach $1 billion in customer assets and has added more than $650 million in customer deposits in 2020. With $21.5M in funding prior to this round, M1 reached the $1 billion AUM threshold “faster and with far less funding than many of its fintech peers.”

“Our clients are intelligent, self-directed investors building long-term, sustainable wealth. We want that to be as easy and automated as possible, while still letting our clients maintain the control they desire. With M1, you can build an entire wealth strategy in only a few clicks, down to individual stocks and ETFs. We take it from there, handling all the day-to-day optimization, rebalancing, and re-investing according to your instructions so you can spend more time building strategies and less time executing them.” – M1 Finance founder and CEO Brian Barnes.

“The product and team at M1 are true standouts in the fintech ecosystem. Consumers are highly selective when choosing an investing platform. The fact that M1 has reached this scale organically, relying mostly on word-of-mouth to grow rather than paid marketing, shows the strength of M1’s product and client relationships. We are grateful to be involved with such an exceptional team and support them in their journey.” – Dan Ahrens, Partner at Left Lane Capital.