Office address: 261 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Website: wealthfront.com
Year established: 2008
Company type: financial services
Employees: 330+
Expertise: automated investing, robo-advisory, stock investing, bond ladders, cash management, retirement planning, tax-loss harvesting, college savings, socially responsible investing, home lending
Parent company: N/A
Key people: David Fortunato (CEO), Andy Rachleff (chair), Daniel Carroll (chief strategy officer), Alan Imberman, CFA (CFO), Julien Wetterwald (CTO), Kal Iyer (VP of engineering), Daniel Slate (head of core product)
Financing status: venture capital-backed
Wealthfront is a financial services company based in Palo Alto with over 1.3 million clients and $90 billion in assets. The company offers automated investing, stock investing, cash accounts, bond ladders, college savings, and home lending. The firm focuses on automation and has a strong presence among tech-savvy investors.
Co-founded by Andy Rachleff and Daniel Carroll, Wealthfront started in 2008 under the name KaChing to offer a unique investment marketplace. Early on, investors could pick portfolios managed by registered investment advisers and asset managers, but the model did not last.
By 2011, Andy Rachleff led a major shift by rebranding as Wealthfront and focusing on automated portfolios designed for individual goals.
The firm moved away from outside managers in 2012 and brought portfolio management in-house. Wealthfront set its advisory fee at 0.25 percent for assets above $25,000, making investing more affordable. Then it started serving employees at large tech companies and introduced direct indexing for high-net-worth clients.
The firm’s real momentum came in 2019 with the launch of interest-bearing cash accounts. These accounts quickly attracted more assets than its investment portfolios as they reached $47 billion in cash and $42 billion in investments.
The company continued to add new products, including automated bond portfolios. Wealthfront also reached $50 billion in AUM by 2023 as it drew more young investors to its platform.
In 2022, UBS planned to acquire the company for $1.4 billion, but both parties ended the deal later that year. UBS instead invested in a convertible note, keeping Wealthfront’s valuation steady.
By 2025, the firm had 1.3 million clients and $90 billion in assets. It filed for an initial public offering as its customer base of tech professionals and Millennials continued to grow.
The firm uses technology to help clients build and manage diverse portfolios. Wealthfront focuses on automation and low-cost investment options:
Wealthfront also offers transparent pricing and digital planning tools. Clients benefit from easy account setup, historical performance data, and a user-friendly platform.
Wealthfront states that its mission is to build a financial system that puts people first, not institutions. The company uses technology to simplify investing and to reach today’s investors.
Employees receive a range of benefits, including the following:
According to Wealthfront, it operates without sales staff or financial jargon and only focuses on simple, client-first solutions. The company values diversity and looks for “big thinkers” who want to improve financial lives.
David Fortunato serves as Wealthfront’s CEO and previously held the role of president. Fortunato joined the company in 2009 as its first CTO and helped launch services in 2011. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics from Amherst College.
The key staff at Wealthfront brings a mix of experience and technical skill:
This team includes professionals with various credentials. Many hold Series 7 and 66 registrations and have decades of industry experience.
In 2025, Wealthfront took a major step by privately filing for an initial public offering with the SEC. This move shows the company’s growth as it now manages over $85 billion in assets and serves more than a million clients. The IPO supports the firm’s goal to remain independent and deliver long-term value for clients as financial technology evolves.
After submitting its confidential filing, the firm announced it would list on the Nasdaq as WLTH. The Nasdaq listing will let Wealthfront raise capital, invest in product development, and attract new clients nationwide. Strong financial results, including $339 million in revenue and $123 million in net income, support this next stage of growth.
A transaction could value the robo-adviser, which has drawn interest from banks and special purpose acquisition companies, at as much as $1.5 billion.
A new cohort of social media influencers is taking its knowledge and expertise into the financial realm, breathing new life into stodgy prospecting campaigns that have largely relied on blog posts and dinner seminars.
This month’s #AdviserTech roundup includes Franklin Templeton’s purchase of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management and its Canvas direct index platform; Morningstar’s acquisition of Moorgate Benchmarks; Betterment for Advisors’ shift from TAMP to RIA custodian competitor; and the SEC’s inquiry into when fintech-driven nudges become bona fide investment advice.
This month's #AdviserTech roundup includes Riskalyze’s recapitalization, RightCapital’s launch of retirement decumulation tools, Veriti’s crossing $1 billion of AUM, and American Express partnering with BodesWell to return to the financial planning business 16 years after spinning off Ameriprise.
The robo-adviser allows users to choose between six types of portfolios using exchange-traded funds that are curated by investment experts.
This month's #AdviserTech roundup includes Vanguard’s move into direct indexing, Vestwell’s $70 million capital round, and Simon Markets’ additional funding for its marketplace of risk-hedged investment solutions for advisers.
The robo-adviser has experienced rapid growth over the last 12 months, reaching its first $500 million in assets under management in March with 26,640 users on the platform.
Rothschild made a quiet exit from the firm as Apex beefs up its leadership team with a new chief technology and chief marketing officer.
This month's #AdviserTech roundup includes SmartAsset’s achieving unicorn status, Broadridge acquiring AdvisorStream, and Principal shutting down RobustWealth.
With a total of $300 million in funding in a matter of months, the robo-adviser has grown employee head count to over 250 and AUM to $4.5 billion.
As robos have become increasingly popular, their automated investing choices have come under greater scrutiny.
The company said the SEC is looking at disclosures around the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios product, which had $64 billion in client assets at the end of March.
This month's #AdviserTech roundup includes a fundraising round by lead generation service Zoe Financial, as well as news about Tifin Group, Altruist, Vice and InvestCloud.
SEC slapped Emperor Investments with a $25,000 fine. The charges mark the third enforcement action brought by the SEC against digital advisers.
Acorns is the latest wealthtech company to go public via blank-check merger, following competitors like SoFi. Launched at the end of 2014, the fintech is a subscription-based automated investing and banking app.
