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§ Private Profile · New York City, NY, USA
Digital wealth management and financial planning platform offering tailored solutions for high-net-worth women, closing the gender investing gap.
Ellevest is a New York-based digital wealth management and financial planning platform designed to address the gender investing gap by providing tailored advisory services to its clients. The firm manages over $1 billion in assets under management and serves a specialized client base where approximately 90% of the individuals identify as women. Following a strategic business pivot in February 2025, the company transitioned its automated investing accounts to Betterment to focus its operations exclusively on serving high-net-worth individuals. To support its ongoing growth and platform development, the enterprise has secured venture capital backing from prominent investors including Melinda Gates, Valerie Jarrett, and Eric Schmidt. The organization operates under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Kwan, who assumed the role after a recent leadership transition. Ellevest was founded in 2014 by Sallie Krawcheck and Charlie Kroll.
Ellevest has raised $149.0M across 6 funding rounds.
Ellevest has raised $149.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Ellevest is a women-founded and women-led digital wealth management firm, not a general technology company, focused on closing the gender wealth gap through personalized investing and financial planning tools tailored to women's unique financial realities.[2][4] Its mission is to get more money into the hands of women, their families, and the next generation by addressing factors like the gender pay gap, earlier salary peaks for women, longer lifespans, and life events such as caregiving or career breaks.[1][2][4] Ellevest offers robo-advisory services with low fees (0.25% AUM), impact portfolios investing in women-led or sustainable companies, financial planning, and private wealth management for assets over $1M, managing over $1.6 billion in assets primarily from women clients as of recent reports.[2][4][5] It serves individual women, families, and organizations via an app and platform that simplifies investing across diverse markets including stocks, bonds, real estate, and international assets.[1][4]
Ellevest was co-founded in 2014 by Sallie Krawcheck, a Wall Street veteran who led firms like Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Citi Private Bank, and served as Citi's CFO, and tech expert Charlie Kroll.[1][2][4][6] Krawcheck's idea emerged from her career observing how traditional finance catered to men, ignoring women's needs like lower pay, longer lives, and family-related income gaps; she spent 200 hours interviewing women and 40 hours on ethnographic research to design a gender-aware solution.[1][4] Backed by investors including Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures, Valerie Jarrett, and Eric Schmidt, Ellevest launched publicly in late 2016 after a closed beta, starting with automated investing tools before expanding to planning and private services.[3][4][7] Early traction included rapid growth to 120,000+ customers in a decade, $53M in Series B funding (90% from women and underrepresented investors), and recognitions like World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and CNBC Disruptor 50.[3][5]
Ellevest rides the wealthtech wave, blending fintech innovation with social impact to democratize investing amid rising demand for personalized, ethical finance post-2016 gender equity dialogues.[3][7] Its timing capitalized on low-interest environments and robo-advisor booms, while addressing women's underrepresentation in markets—only amplified by ongoing pay gaps and longevity trends.[1][4] Market forces like sustainable investing growth and female founder funding shortages favor its model, as it influences the ecosystem by channeling capital to underrepresented founders and proving women-centric fintech scalability.[5][8] As an SEC-registered RIA and fast-growing firm, it challenges male-dominated Wall Street, inspiring copycats and shifting norms toward inclusive wealth management.[2][6]
Ellevest's trajectory points to further AUM expansion beyond $1.6B, likely through scaling private wealth, impact funds, and tech integrations like AI-driven planning amid persistent gender wealth gaps.[2][4][5] Trends like sustainable investing, women's rising economic power, and fintech consolidation will propel it, potentially via acquisitions or partnerships to reach underserved segments.[1][8] Its influence may evolve from niche disruptor to mainstream player, redefining wealthtech by proving mission-aligned growth closes systemic gaps—echoing its founding vision of financially empowering women to reshape economies.[2][6]
Ellevest has raised $149.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Ellevest's investors include Contour Venture Partners, BMO Family Office, Amity Ventures, Astia, TJ Nahigian, Broadway Angels, Canvas Ventures, Cleo Capital, Cultiv8 Funds Management, Flucas Ventures, Greylock, Hustle Fund.
Ellevest has raised $149.0M across 6 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $53.0M Series B in April 2022.