Origin, the startup reimagining financial wellness for all, announced that it has launched the first personal finance platform to provide holistic tracking of net worth, AI-powered financial guidance, automated investing, easy tax filing, estate planning, and the option to meet with a Certified Financial Planner(CFP). Origin fills the void left by Mint, which was shuttered by Intuit this week. Initially available only as a benefit through employers, the Origin platform is now available to anyone in the U.S. as a cost-effective, single destination for all things money.
Money is the #1 source of stress – more than jobs, health, and relationships combined. That stress is exacerbated in the current economic environment, which presents people with once-in-a-generation financial challenges. Until now, financial planning and professional guidance have been inaccessible to most people: net-worth requirements to work with a financial planner range from upwards of $500k and the average yearly fee of working with a planner is thousands of dollars.
But the average American needs help: 3 in 5 are looking for financial advice but don’t know where to get it, and roughly 40 percent report that they are currently taking no notable steps to secure their financial future. Gen Z is increasingly turning to TikTok for financial advice, even as the number of online scams are rising.
Browse more about Fintech Insights: Franchising Trends in the Digital Age
“Through our own product and marketing research, we learned that people are really uncomfortable talking about money – in fact they’d rather talk about sex, infertility or even politics,” said Alex Lavian, Vice President of Marketing at Origin. “Origin wants to lead the conversation on financial wellness and give everyone the tools they need to talk more comfortably about money, because when we do that, we get better at managing it.”
Origin is tackling this problem head on by expanding access to financial planning for those who have historically been boxed out due to high barriers to entry for traditional wealth management. The platform is designed to help people become more financially literate, and proactively manage their finances.
Origin Founder and CEO Matt Watson said, “Origin is now selling directly to consumers to ensure anyone has access to great financial planning advice, regardless of their income or employment status. The Origin platform has seen tremendous growth in the employer market, and we’re thrilled to now open it up to anyone who wants to do a better job managing and growing their money.”
Origin’s new financial planning platform includes:
Origin AI-Powered Planner: Origin’s unique AI-powered planner – trained by Origin’s own financial planners – can answer members’ personal finance questions in real time via chat, such as “How are my investments doing?” or “How should I rebalance my budget to start student loan repayments?” Answers are personalized to each individual’s financial situation.
Access to Origin’s Certified Financial Planners™ : Origin members can purchase time with a dedicated financial planner and get an expert-built action plan for an additional fee.
Origin Invest: Origin provides access to expert-built automated investing accounts for all types of investors. Members can invest in low-cost, globally diversified portfolios tailored to their specific needs, risk tolerance, and time horizon. There are no advisory or brokerage fees. Origin also offers thematic portfolios for investors with a more aggressive risk tolerance who are interested in investing in AI, semiconductors, clean energy and more.
Origin Tax: Come tax season, Origin members can file their taxes in the same place they manage, track, and invest their money at no additional cost, even for complex tax scenarios. This DIY tax tool simplifies the filing process by leveraging optical character recognition (OCR) from uploaded documents to speed up data entry and provides access to tax specialists who can help members along the way.
Origin Estate Planning: Beginning in 2024, Origin members will be able to create a full estate plan in under 20 minutes thanks to the company’s recent acquisition of MyAdvocate, a step by step estate planning tool. Today, 2 out of 3 Americans don’t have an estate plan due to high costs or cumbersome processes.
With tremendous demand for an all-in-one, more accessible financial planning platform, Origin has grown quickly, more than doubling its revenues year over year. To date Origin has raised $70M from top VC funds. “We believe opening up the Origin platform to all will drive a lot of growth for Origin,” said Watson. “And more importantly, it will enable many more people to take control of their finances and forge a better path forward.”
Latest Fintech Insights : What Is Fintech Data Management?
[To share your insights with us, please write to pghosh@itechseries.com ]
