(2014-08-07) Financial Services For Gen Y

Profile of Personal Finance services targeting Generation Y: Wealth Front/Betterment, Learn Vest, Kapit All, Up Start...

The first step was building a brand, von Tobel’s and Learn Vest’s, which started as a free website with personal finance content for women (it’s averaging 1.4 million unique visitors a month this year, according to comScore). Then came the financial planning service and a financial education program sold to employers. The current Learn Vest model requires clients to fork over $19 a month plus an upfront fee of $89 to $399 for a mix of computer-generated advice and figurative hand-holding by human financial planners. (The $399 plan includes asset allocation advice.) A customer’s Learn Vest “dashboard” links all her bank, credit cards and investing accounts (14 on average) and displays her plan, her “to-do” list and info on progress she’s made. Help is also delivered via app, e-mail, Web chat, and through phone or Skype calls with a financial pro–however the customer wants it, except in person. Clients are sent nudges (Did you roll over your 401(k)), chirpy e-mails (“Great work!”) and even rewards such as an iTunes song (recent prize: Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”) for accomplishing the first to-do. “We’re not a financial brand,” says von Tobel. “We are a lifestyle brand that is giving you consumability around your money.”