Stackwell, a digital investment platform targeting the black community, has released its first product, a robo-investing app, that promises to promote accessibility, education and support throughout the investment process.
A member of JPMorgan's 2022 Financial Solutions Lab, Stackwell raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round last month that was led by Michael Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group, Jeremy Sclar, CEO of WS Development, and The Kraft Group.
The release of the app, which comes with a $1 monthly subscription fee and $10 investment minimum, coincides with a series of multi-year, strategic partnerships with several NBA and WNBA teams: The Detroit Pistons, The New Orleans Pelicans, The Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, and The Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics.
Over the next three years, Stackwell and the teams will develop co-branded content reaching several million people on local and national levels, open up over 3,500 new Stackwell accounts, all pre-seeded with initial funding for local programme participants, and contribute over $250,000 back into the local communities to support the advancement and wealth building opportunities of Black students, entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners, among others.
"At its core, Stackwell's platform is designed specifically to overcome the fear and mistrust of the financial system and institutions in this country, and empower individuals to see a space for themselves in investing," says Omosefe Aiyevbomwan, Stackwell's vice president of product. "We identified the social, emotional and cultural barriers to entry, and built the platform to address each one head-on. Our model portfolios facilitate the process of getting started, and address lack of guidance and proximity to the markets; our financial wellness and education content answer for the lack of information; and the low-cost entry and subscription fees help assuage heightened risk aversion and concerns people have about investing without a safety net."