LearnVest was an American financial planning company founded by CEO

Alexa von Tobel Alexa von Tobel (born October 6, 1983) is the founder and CEO of LearnVest.com, a personal finance website, and the founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital. Von Tobel is the author of the New York Times bestseller ''Financially Fearless' ...

. It sells personal finance software.

History

entered

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

in the fall of 2008, but took a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

and launched LearnVest. Her inspiration for LearnVest started while she was a senior at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2006. LearnVest's headquarters are in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and they have an Expert Hub in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. LearnVest was selected as a

TechCrunch50 TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ ...

2009 Company and debuted in September 2009 at the

conference in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. On March 25, 2015,

Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investme ...

Life Insurance Co., based in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, announced it would acquire LearnVest. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. LearnVest will continue to operate as a separate unit under founder and Chief Executive von Tobel. The deal has been viewed as the latest attempt by traditional financial services firms to adapt to new digital technologies. Northwestern Mutual expects the technology will encourage more adviser-client interaction and ultimately create a more rewarding experience for the customer and adviser. By adding LearnVest’s technology to the insurer’s existing planning platform, those advisers can devote more time to working with customers on carrying out their recommendations. The arrangement also puts customers in more frequent contact with those advisers. On May 3rd, 2018, LearnVest discontinued its financial planning offering for consumers, as well as its LearnVest@Work program for businesses.

Services

The LearnVest Program focuses on behavior change and “takes you from cutting expenses to budgeting for goals to investing your money.” Clients work with LearnVest Planners to make progress on their money. There are “three tiers of access to financial plans” The LearnVest Program was featured in von Tobel’s New York Times Bestseller, ''Financially Fearless''.

Money Center Tool

The Money Center is an online tool that lets users track their spending, visualize their budgets and financial goals. In addition to the built-in budgeting system, full goal tracking, full trends and analysis, and a financial inbox, Money Center allows live co-viewing of user’s account and dashboard between the user and his or her LearnVest financial planner.

LearnVest Planning

LearnVest Planning, a subsidiary of LearnVest Inc., is a

Registered Investment Advisor A registered investment adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state's securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Inves ...

through which LearnVest employs

Certified Financial Planner The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) in the United States, and by 25 other organizations affiliated ...

s nationwide. As a registered SEC financial advisor, LearnVest is able to offer portfolio recommendations and general investment advice.

iPhone and iPad apps

LearnVest released free iPhone and iPad apps that help users track their spending and their financial goals. The LearnVest app was featured as an iTunes App Store New & Noteworthy pick.

Investment and finances

LearnVest raised a $4.5 million Series A round, a $19 million Series B round, a $16.5 million Series C round, and a $28 million Series D round. Investors include

Accel Partners Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is an American venture capital firm. Accel works with startups in seed, early and growth-stage investments. The company has offices in Palo Alto, California and San Francisco, California, with additional ...

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

Ventures, Claritas Capital, Ed Mathias of

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

, and Todd Ruppert of

T. Rowe Price T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for individuals, institutions, and financial inter ...

Events

The company hosted its first live event, LearnVest LIVE, in New York City in October 2012, featuring lectures by fashion designer

Cynthia Rowley Cynthia Rowley (born July 29, 1958) is an American fashion designer based in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Early life and education Rowley is a native of Barrington, Illinois a northwestern suburb of Chicago. She is one of three ...

Cosmo Cosmo may refer to: Business and media * Cosmopolitan (magazine), ''Cosmopolitan'' (magazine), a magazine for women, sometimes referred to as "Cosmo" * ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure'', a 1992 video game * Cosmo On-Line, a Brazilian generic Intern ...

editor and

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

mentor Joanna Coles, Top Chef judge

Gail Simmons Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series ''Top Chef'' since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the head critic on ...

and

Gilt Groupe Gilt is an online shopping and lifestyle website based in the United States, launched in 2007. On January 7, 2016, The company was sold to Hudson's Bay Company for approximately $250 million. Prior to the Hudson’s Bay acquisition, sales were ex ...

cofounder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. LearnVest has since held LIVE events in Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco. In 2014, LearnVest CEO Alexa von Tobel kicked off a 20-city book tour for Financially Fearless. The book tour focused on going across the country to help people make progress on their money.

Press and awards

2009 *Forbes's Top 100 Websites for Women *Business Insider's Digital 100 List *Time Magazine's annual list of 50 Best Websites *FinovateFall Best of Show 2011, 2012, 2013 *Most Influential Content 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LearnVest Financial services companies of the United States American companies established in 2009 Financial services companies established in 2009 2015 mergers and acquisitions 2009 establishments in New York City