Motley Fool Ventures has joined a $20 million Series A for NewRetirement, a digital-first financial planning platform. Allegis Capital led the round for the Mill Valley, Calif, startup, while other participants included Ulu Ventures, Nationwide Ventures, Fin Capital, Frontier Venture Capital, Cameron Ventures, Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Plug and Play Ventures.
“Historically, financial planning has been limited to those who have the resources to hire an advisor,” said NewRetirement founder and CEO Stephen Chen, whose startup has created an alternative model that allows “anyone to confidently create and manage their own financial plan.”
“We’ve seen first-hand that knowledge builds financial confidence, and when people plan strategically, they have better outcomes,” added Chen, a former Schwab executive.
NewRetirement pointed out that the majority of Americans – as many as 65%, according to Charles Schwab’s Modern Wealth Survey 2023 – have no formal financial plan. Further, while 37% work with a financial advisor, two-thirds believe their financial plans need improvement, according to Northwestern Mutual’s Planning and Progress Study 2023.
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Motley Fool Ventures is an early-stage, technology-focused fund. Typically, it invests in startups valued at over $10 million, with trailing GAAP revenue of between $500,000 and $5 million. In size, its investments range from $500,000 to $5 million, with a prospective equity stake of 5% or more.
Commercial Real Estate
MacKenzie Companies
Advertising / Media / Communications / Public Relations
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Commercial Real Estate
Monday Properties
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Blue Delta Capital Partners
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Foxtrot Media
Since last spring, the firm has been led by managing partner Brendan Mathews, after the exit of CEO Ollen Douglass. Mathews, who graduated from the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar, was part of Fool.com’s premium services, working closely with co-founders David and Tom Gardner, and analyzing public companies. Earlier in his career, Mathews spent nine years at Accenture, where he was engaged in corporate strategy practice. He also briefly worked at two San Francisco hedge funds — Passport Capital and Osmium Partners.
Motley Fool Ventures has made over 40 investments from its first $150 million fund, raised in 2019. In May 2022, it raised $102 million toward a second fund, with then CEO Douglass setting a target of $300 million. Most of the early money has come from a “feeder fund” — made up of individual investors, according to the Business Journal.
The venture firm’s recent investments include DC Inno, Sunnyside, LegalMation and iink Payments. Its exits include Affectiva, StreetShares Platform and StreetShares.
