A year after launching its investing platform, kaChing announced Wednesday it has changed its name.
The Palo Alto, Calif., based company, which will now be called Wealthfront, said that it has attracted more than $100 million in assets to its investing platform in its first year of operation.
The company has attracted assets by targeting mass affluent investors that might otherwise be ignored by financial advisors. With its kaChing pro platform, which was introduced in May, the company has partnered with small and mid-sized registered investment advisors with less than $500 million in assets to take on new clients and increase assets under management.
Wealthfront, which is an SEC registered investment advisors, said that more than 25 registered money managers have qualified and joined Wealthfront.
Average American investors, made up of 33 million American households with a net worth of between $100,000 and $1.5 million, have collectively invested $7 trillion in the stock market. Yet the average American with a net worth of less than $1.5 million has long been conditioned to believe it is impossible to outperform the market.
According to a study, commissioned by Wealthfront and conducted by telephone by Harris Interactive, only 6% of all U.S. adults, and only 3% of those with a financial advisor, “strongly agree” that financial advisors know how to consistently outperform the market. “People have been conditioned to believe outstanding performance is impossible, but we think it is possible,” said Andy Rachleff, the chief executive officer of Wealthfront. “Everyone deserves a better way to invest, and with our ability to vet, select and recommend outstanding money managers for investors, we believe Wealthfront can meet this need.”
Over the past year, Wealthfront’s managers have collectively outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 6% net of fees.
