Betterment is owned by Betterment Holdings Inc, a privately held company backed by venture capital and private equity investors including Francisco Partners, Anthemis Group, and Menlo Ventures, and no single bank or brokerage giant controls it.
Betterment is a financial technology company that pioneered the robo advisor category in the United States, offering automated investing, retirement accounts, cash management, and access to human financial advisors.
The company grew from a small startup founded in New York in 2008 into a platform managing more than 45 billion dollars in client assets by March 2024, reaching a valuation near 1.3 billion dollars after its 2021 funding round.
So how does a company started by two founders in a single New York office end up managing tens of billions of dollars for everyday investors, and who actually controls it today?
This article looks at Betterment ownership structure, its largest venture capital backers, its CEO and founder history, how its valuation and assets under management have grown, its retirement and investment services, and how to reach Betterment customer support.
So let us get started.
Table of Contents
Company Overview
Betterment is a financial technology company known for pioneering the robo advisor category in the United States.
It offers automated investing, retirement accounts, cash management, and access to human financial advisors through its digital platform.
The company serves individual investors as well as independent financial advisory firms through a separate platform called Betterment Advisor Solutions.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders | Jon Stein and Eli Broverman |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Ownership | Privately held, venture backed |
| CEO | Sarah Kirshbaum Levy |
| Regulator | Registered with the SEC as an investment adviser |
| Type | Robo advisor and financial technology company |
Ownership and Parent Company
Betterment operates under the corporate entity Betterment Holdings Inc, which owns Betterment LLC, the registered investment adviser, along with Betterment Securities, the broker dealer arm.
There is no single controlling parent company. Instead, ownership is spread across the founders, employees, and a syndicate of institutional investors who have funded the company through multiple venture rounds since 2010.
Major backers over the years have included Anthemis Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Francisco Partners, Kinnevik, and Treasury.
Registered investment adviser
Broker dealer
Platform for independent advisors
Public or Private, Shareholders
Betterment is a private company. It does not trade on any public stock exchange and has no ticker symbol.
Ownership is held privately by its founders, employees through equity compensation, and outside investors who participated in its funding rounds.
The company reached unicorn status in 2021 after raising 160 million dollars in growth funding, which pushed its valuation to roughly 1.3 billion dollars at the time, according to reporting from AdvisorHub and Finovate.
There is no public shareholder registry because Betterment has not filed for an initial public offering.
CEO and Founder
Betterment was founded in 2008 by Jon Stein, a former investment banking analyst, along with Eli Broverman.
Stein served as chief executive officer for more than a decade and led the company through its early robo advisor growth phase.
In December 2020, Stein stepped down as CEO and named Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, a media and technology executive with prior roles at Viacom, Bloomberg, and DailyBurn, as his successor.
Levy continues to serve as chief executive officer of Betterment, while Stein remains involved with the company in a chairman capacity.
Ownership and Acquisition History
Jon Stein and Eli Broverman launch Betterment as a digital investing platform.
Betterment opens its automated investing service to the public.
Betterment for Advisors launches to serve independent registered investment advisers.
Sarah Kirshbaum Levy becomes chief executive officer, succeeding Jon Stein.
Betterment raises 160 million dollars, reaching a valuation near 1.3 billion dollars.
Betterment introduces Treasury, a cash and investment platform for other fintech companies.
Client assets under management climb past 45 billion dollars, according to RIABiz reporting.
Financials: Revenue, Net Income, AUM or Valuation
Because Betterment is privately held, it does not publish quarterly earnings the way public companies do.
As of March 2024, Betterment reported client assets under management of approximately 45 billion dollars, according to RIABiz, a figure that has continued to grow alongside the broader market.
The company was valued at roughly 1.3 billion dollars following its 2021 funding round, per AdvisorHub and Finovate reporting.
Betterment does not publicly disclose annual revenue or net income figures, so any specific dollar totals for those metrics should be treated with caution unless sourced from an official company statement.
Retirement and Investment Services
Betterment offers taxable brokerage accounts along with retirement accounts including traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and SEP IRA options.
The platform builds diversified portfolios using low cost exchange traded funds and rebalances them automatically based on the goals a customer sets.
Betterment also provides tax loss harvesting, cash management accounts, and optional access to certified financial planners for an added fee.
For anyone deciding how to roll over an old employer retirement plan or choose between account types, a qualified financial or tax professional should review the specifics of that individual situation.
You can compare Betterment against other large investing platforms such as Fidelity Investments to see how account minimums and advisory fees differ.
Customer Service and Contact Information
Customers can reach Betterment support through the contact form on the official Betterment website at betterment.com/contact.
Betterment also maintains an in app messaging system and email support for account specific questions.
Because phone availability and support hours can change, customers should always verify current contact details directly on the official Betterment site rather than relying on a third party listing.
Betterment Headquarter
Betterment is based in New York City, New York, where the company maintains its primary corporate offices.
The company operates entirely online, so most customers never visit a physical branch, similar to other digital first investment platforms like Interactive Brokers.
Is Betterment Worth It or Good?
Betterment holds a business profile with the Better Business Bureau and has collected thousands of customer reviews on Trustpilot, giving prospective users a way to research real feedback before signing up.
Reviewers commonly praise the simplicity of the automated investing interface and the low annual advisory fee compared with traditional financial advisors.
Some complaints on record involve customer service response times and occasional confusion around tax documents during filing season.
- Low annual advisory fee relative to traditional advisors
- Automated tax loss harvesting
- No account minimum for the basic digital plan
- Access to human certified financial planners at a higher tier
- No physical branch locations
- Limited investment choices compared with a full service brokerage
- Customer service is primarily digital, not phone first
Frequently Asked Questions About Betterment
Who owns Betterment?
Betterment is privately owned through Betterment Holdings Inc, with equity held by its founders, employees, and venture investors including Francisco Partners, Anthemis Group, Menlo Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners. No single parent company controls it.
Is Betterment a bank?
No. Betterment is a registered investment adviser and financial technology company, not a chartered bank. Its cash reserve accounts use partner banks to provide FDIC coverage on deposited cash.
Who is the CEO of Betterment?
Sarah Kirshbaum Levy has served as chief executive officer of Betterment since December 2020, succeeding founder Jon Stein.
Is Betterment publicly traded?
No. Betterment has not gone public and has no stock ticker. It remains a privately held company backed by venture capital investors.
Sources
Learn more from the Betterment Wikipedia entry and the Betterment Better Business Bureau profile, or visit the official Betterment website directly.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.