Acorns (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
Type of site | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
| Key people | Noah Kerner (CEO) |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Products | Investment management, investment portfolios, stock portfolios, stock trading |
| URL | www |
| Launched | 2012 |
Acorns is an American financial technology and financial services company. Based in Irvine, California, Acorns specializes in micro-investing and robo advice.[1][2]
According to Fortune's Impact 20 list, Acorns had 8.2 million customers in 2020. In 2022, the company's total assets under management[3] exceeded $6.2 billion.
The company was formed in 2012 by father and son duo Walter Wemple Cruttenden III and Jeffrey James Cruttenden to make investing easier and more accessible to new investors.[4][5] The portfolio options a user can select from were designed in partnership with paid advisor Harry Markowitz, a Nobel laureate.[6] It launched in 2014 with an app for iOS and Android devices.[7]
Since its inception, the platform has expanded to include checking account services and individual retirement account (IRA) products.[8] This was made possible following an acquisition of Portland, Oregon fintech retirement startup, Vault.[9]
In 2018, behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi was appointed chair of a behavioral economics committee at Acorns, working on an initiative termed the Money Lab to conduct field experiments focused on consumer spending.[10][11]
Since its founding, the company has raised approximately $100 million in venture capital funding.[5] As of August 2019, notable investors in Acorns included Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, Bono, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Durant. PayPal, BlackRock, and NBCUniversal also have a stake in the company.[12][13]
In 2021, Acorns planned to go public through a merger with a blank-check company Pioneer Merger Corp.[14] These plans were canceled in January 2022, citing market conditions.[15]
In 2023, Acorns acquired GoHenry and its European subsidiary Pixpay, expanding its offering to financial education and debit cards.[16]