Wealthsimple#Cash

Prior to founding Wealthsimple, Michael Katchen worked for 1000Memories, a Silicon Valley–based startup. After Ancestry.com bought 1000Memories in 2012, Katchen developed a spreadsheet with tips to help his colleagues set up investment portfolios. Interest in the spreadsheet helped inspire the idea for Wealthsimple. In 2014, he returned to Toronto to launch the company.Joe Castaldo, [http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/change-agent/michael-katchen-wealthsimple/ "How Wealthsimple founder Michael Katchen is shaking up financial advice,"] Canadian Business, March 9, 2015.

In December 2015, Wealthsimple merged with Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc., a Canadian order-execution only broker-dealer.{{cite news|last1=Chevreau|first1=Jonathan|title=Millennial-focused Wealthsimple to buy boomer robo-adviser ShareOwner, its first acquisition|url=http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/millennial-focused-wealthsimple-takes-over-boomer-robo-adviser-shareowner|access-date=28 March 2017|agency=Postmedia Network Inc.|issue=Personal Finance – Young Money|publisher=Financial Post|date=2 December 2015|location=Canada|language=en}} Through the acquisition, Wealthsimple became an owner of one of Canada's 14 discount brokerages (2015) alongside other owners of discount brokerages including Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada.[http://www.techvibes.com/blog/wealthsimple-2015-12-02 "Wealthsimple Acquires Automated Investment Manager to Innovate Canadian FinTech,"] TechVibes, December 2, 2015. The acquisition of Canadian ShareOwner Investment Inc. resulted in the assets under management comprising {{CAD|400,000,000|link=yes}} across 10,000 customer accounts.

In 2015, Product Hunt Toronto honoured Wealthsimple with its first-ever Product of the Year Award.Douglas Soltys, [http://betakit.com/happy-birthday-producthuntto/ “Happy Birthday, #Producthuntto,”] [http://betakit.com/ Betakit.com], August 28, 2015. In 2016, the 20th Annual Webby Awards named Wealthsimple its Best Financial Services/Banking website.

In March 2016, Wealthsimple began offering clients access to socially responsible investment funds.Clare OíHara, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/funds-and-etfs/canadian-robo-advisers-plug-into-socially-responsible-investing/article29388045/ "Canadian robo-advisers plug into socially responsible investing,"] The Globe and Mail, March 24, 2016.

In May 2016, the firm announced a partnership with Mint, thus allowing clients to sync their Wealthsimple investment account to Mint's budgeting software.[http://www.techvibes.com/blog/wealthsimple-2016-05-03 "Wealthsimple Wins Webby Award, Partners with Mint,"] TechVibes, May 3, 2016 Also, that month, Wealthsimple launched Wealthsimple for Advisors, an automated platform for financial advisors. The service is intended for advisors who wish to maintain clients with accounts below their minimum requirements.Fiona Collie, [http://www.investmentexecutive.com/-/wealthsimple-launches-platform-for-advisors "Wealthsimple launches platform for advisors,"] [Investment Executive], May 24, 2016.

On April 5, 2018, the firm launched Wealthsimple Save, a high-interest savings account with a rate that will always be higher than traditional banks.{{cite news |title=Robo-adviser Wealthsimple launches savings account with premium rate {{!}} Financial Post |url=https://business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/robo-adviser-wealthsimple-launches-savings-account-with-premium-rate |access-date=16 May 2019 |work=Financial Post |date=5 April 2018 |language=en-CA}}{{cite web |title=Wealthsimple Save: High Interest Savings |url=https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/product/save/ |website=www.wealthsimple.com |access-date=16 May 2019}} Wealthsimple Trade, a zero-commission stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading mobile app, was available as a beta in August 2018 and publicly launched in March 2019.{{cite web |title=The Wait(list) is Over: Say Hello to Wealthsimple Trade |url=https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/news-trade-launch |website=Wealthsimple Magazine |access-date=16 May 2019 |date=March 13, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=O’Hara |first1=Clare |title=Wealthsimple launching zero-commission trading platform |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-wealthsimple-launching-zero-commission-trading-platform/ |access-date=16 May 2019 |agency=The Globe and Mail |date=August 15, 2018}}

As of March 2019, Wealthsimple publicly supports Wealthica synchronization via their secure, open API.{{cite web |last1=Boulet |first1=Simon |title=Announcing support for the new Wealthsimple API! |url=https://wealthica.com/blog/announcing-support-for-the-new-wealthsimple-api/ |website=Journey to $10B : Wealthica |access-date=16 May 2019 |date=12 March 2019}}

In January 2020, Wealthsimple launched Wealthsimple Cash for Canadian customers, a hybrid savings/chequing account offering high interest on balances. Spending features such as a Visa Debit card, e-transfers, bill payments, and paycheque/cheque deposits are planned to be rolled out through 2020.

As of March 2020, Wealthsimple Trade became unable to handle the volume of trades their customers were placing and began capping the number of users and putting some investors on to waitlists.{{cite news|url=https://business.financialpost.com/investing/retail-investors-say-theyre-losing-thousands-as-brokerages-struggle-with-record-traffic-due-to-coronavirus-panic|title=Retail investors say they're losing thousands as brokerages struggle with record traffic due to coronavirus panic - Financial Post|newspaper=Financialpost|date=25 March 2020|access-date=25 March 2020}}

In November that year, Wealthsimple Cash transitioned from a savings account to a peer-to-peer cash transfer app. Having first launched in beta, the app was made widely available in March 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/industry-news/wealthsimples-peer-to-peer-app-goes-national/|title=Wealthsimple Peer to Peer App Goes National - Investment Executive|date=12 March 2021|access-date=30 April 2020}}

On July 8, 2021, Wealthsimple Trade announced that they would launch fractional shares in the platform, starting the next day.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

In October 2022, Wealthsimple announced that it had become Canada's first nonbank, non-credit-union to be approved for a direct settlement account by the Bank of Canada, paving the way for its access to Canada's future real-time-rail payment system.{{cite news|publisher=The Canadian Press|title=Wealthsimple secures access for upcoming real-time-rail payment system|location=Toronto, ON|work=The Globe and Mail|date= 19 October 2022|access-date=2023-10-01|url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-wealthsimple-secures-access-for-upcoming-real-time-rail-payment-system/}}

In October 2024, Wealthsimple launched their own travel eSIM with Gigs.{{Cite web |last=Koumelis |first=Theodore |date=2024-10-28 |title=Wealthsimple clients now get global travel eSIMs powered by Gigs |url=https://www.traveldailynews.com/technology/wealthsimple-clients-now-get-global-travel-esims-powered-by-gigs/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=TravelDailyNews International |language=en}}

Wealthsimple Invest is the company's automated investing service, which manages users' investments via a personalized portfolio of low-fee exchange-traded funds.{{Cite web|url=https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/4404787366039-What-is-Wealthsimple-Invest-|title=What is Wealthsimple Invest? – Help Centre}}

Via Wealthsimple for Advisors and also for firms via Wealthsimple for Work, Wealthsimple combines a robo-advisor platform with access to live advisors.{{cite news|last1=Din|first1=Suleman|title=U.S. robo adviser market opens up to foreign competition|url=https://www.financial-planning.com/news/newest-robo-adviser-will-serve-us-clients-from-canada|access-date=25 March 2017|agency=SourceMedia|publisher=Financial Planning|date=24 January 2017|location=United States|language=en}}{{cite web|last1=Kyle |url= https://youngandthrifty.ca/wealthsimple-review |title= Wealthsimple Review |access-date=24 December 2017}}Marjo Johne, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/wealth-the-next-generation/article29937104/ "Meet the next generation of wealth,"] The Globe and Mail, May 9, 2016. Each client is provided an investment advisor who helps match investments to the client's long-term goals and risk tolerance. The company does not occupy retail space; instead its advisors are available via phone, text message, email or video chat. There is no account minimum required and no charge per transaction. An annual fee is charged ranging from 0.4% to 0.5% based on account size. Portfolios are monitored daily and automatically rebalanced if they move beyond certain thresholds.Robb Engen, [https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/03/14/the-comparison-battle-of-the-robo-advisers.html "The Comparison: Battle of the robo-advisers,"] Toronto Star, March 14, 2016.Andrew Rickard March, [http://insurance-journal.ca/article/robo-advisor-drops-minimum-investment-requirement-to-0/ "Robo advisor drops minimum investment requirement to $0,"] [http://insurance-journal.ca The Insurance & Investment Journal], March 9, 2016.

In September 2018, the company started offering a micro-investing service called Roundup, which automatically rounds up purchases and invests the extra change into one's Wealthsimple investment account.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/news-roundup|title=Introducing Roundup. Automatically Invest Your Spare Change.|website=Magazine|date=17 September 2018 |access-date=2020-01-30}}

Micro-investing is a type of investment strategy that is designed to make investing regular, accessible and affordable, especially for those who may not have a lot of money to invest or who are new to investing.{{Cite web |title=The Innovators – Meet the 65 Companies and Their Owners Who Have Conjured Up the Latest Wave of Products, Services, and Technologies |date=May 1, 2001 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2001/05/01/302520/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=money.cnn.com}}{{Cite news |first=Aaron |last=Lucchetti |title=E-Tailers Allow Buyers to Add Fund Investments to Carts |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB945730607441550739 |access-date=2023-04-20 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=22 December 1999 |language=en-US}}

Wealthsimple Cash is a peer-to-peer cash transfer platform.

In April 2018, the company began offering Smart Savings (later known as Wealthsimple Save), a savings account with a 1.7% interest rate.{{Cite news|last=Greenwood|first=Max|date=5 April 2018|title=Wealthsimple Launches Savings Account to Compete with Big Banks|work=Techvibes|url=https://techvibes.com/2018/04/05/wealthsimple-launches-savings-account-to-compete-with-big-banks|access-date=7 April 2018}}{{Cite news|date=2018-04-05|title=Robo-adviser Wealthsimple launches savings account with premium rate|language=en-US|work=Financial Post|url=http://business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/robo-adviser-wealthsimple-launches-savings-account-with-premium-rate|access-date=2018-05-14}} In July 2022, the site promoted the rate at 1.0%.{{Cite web|title=Learn about the Wealthsimple Save interest rate|url=https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360058456853|access-date=2022-07-19}}

In January 2020, the company launched Wealthsimple Cash for Canadian customers, a hybrid savings/chequing account offering high interest on balances. That November, Wealthsimple Cash transitioned from a savings account to a peer-to-peer cash transfer app. Having first launched in beta, the app was made widely available in March 2021.

On March 29, 2021, Wealthsimple simplified the names of their products and how users see their accounts. Since the update, users are only able to have one Wealthsimple Cash account, and any accounts that are not connected to the Wealthsimple Cash app now appear as Wealthsimple Save.{{cite web |url=https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/1500004677002-Account-name-update-to-Wealthsimple-Save |title=Account name update to Wealthsimple Save – Help Centre |website=help.wealthsimple.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416223814/https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/1500004677002-Account-name-update-to-Wealthsimple-Save |archive-date=2021-04-16}}

Wealthsimple Trade is a self-directed investment platform, allowing users to buy and sell various individual stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on major Canadian and U.S. exchanges. This platform was introduced in March 2019, offering a stock and ETF trading account with zero-commission fees in the U.S. and Canada. Wealthsimple Trade was the first commission-free trading platform in Canada.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-05|title=Wealthsimple Trade in-depth review 2021: The pros and cons|url=https://www.moneysense.ca/save/investing/wealthsimple-trade-review/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=MoneySense|language=en-US}}

Wealthsimple Crypto is the company's platform for buying and selling several cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH. This service is offered through the same app/web portal as Trade. Much like Trade, this service has no fees.{{Cite web|title=Wealthsimple Crypto: Buy & Sell Bitcoin & Ethereum Instantly.|url=https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/product/crypto/|access-date=2021-05-02|website=www.wealthsimple.com|language=en}} WealthSimple Crypto now allows users to deposit and withdraw select cryptocurrencies to and from self-custody wallets.{{Cite web |title=We've Got Wallets (Crypto, Not Velcro!) |url=https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/crypto-wallets |access-date=2022-04-05 |website=www.wealthsimple.com |date=2 March 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Deposit cryptocurrency from an external wallet - Supported cryptocurrencies when making a deposit |url=https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/4405752552859-Deposit-cryptocurrency-from-an-external-wallet#:~:text=Supported%20cryptocurrencies%20when%20making%20a%20deposit }}

Wealthsimple Tax (formerly SimpleTax) is an all-in-one tax preparation and filing platform.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-12|title=Wealthsimple Tax review 2021|url=https://www.moneysense.ca/save/taxes/wealthsimple-tax-review/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=MoneySense|language=en-US}}

In September 2019, Wealthsimple acquired SimpleTax, a Canadian tax software company launched in 2012. The acquisition of SimpleTax added online tax-return preparation and filing service to Wealthsimple's suite of financial products.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-wealthsimple-expands-into-tax-software-space-with-acquisition-of/|title=Wealthsimple expands into tax software space with acquisition of SimpleTax|access-date=2019-09-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/wealthsimple-expands-into-tax-software-with-acquisition-of-simpletax-1.1320920|title=Wealthsimple expands into tax software with SimpleTax acquisition - BNN Bloomberg|last=Bloomberg|first=B. N. N.|date=2019-09-24|website=BNN|access-date=2019-09-27}}

In December 2023, Mike Katchen announced the company is targeting CA$100B in assets under administration within five years.{{Cite web|title=Wealthsimple Aims to Quadruple Assets to $74 Billion in Five Years|url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/wealthsimple-aims-to-quadruple-assets-to-74-billion-in-five-years-1.2007729|website=bnnbloomberg.ca|date=5 December 2023 |language=en}}

In May 2014, the company raised {{CAD|1.9|link=yes}}{{Spaces|1}}million from investors Eric Kirzner, Joe Canavan, and Roger Martin.

In April 2015, the firm received $10{{Spaces|1}}million from Power Financial Corporation in an agreement structured to allow for a future investment of $20{{Spaces|1}}million within 12 months.{{cite news|last1=Pett|first1=David|title=Power Financial Corp to invest up to $30-million in robo-adviser Wealthsimple|url=http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/fp-startups/power-financial-corp-to-invest-up-to-30-million-in-robo-adviser-wealthsimple|access-date=28 March 2017|agency=Postmedia Network Inc.|issue=FP Street|publisher=Financial Post|date=9 April 2015|location=Canada|language=en}} In total, Power Financial Corporation has invested $30{{Spaces|1}}million in Series A funding.{{cite news|last1=Ho|first1=Solarina|title=Canadian fintech startup Wealthsimple sees major 2017 growth|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/10/reuters-america-canadian-fintech-startup-wealthsimple-sees-major-2017-growth.html|access-date=25 March 2017|agency=CNBC LLC.|publisher=CNBC.com|date=10 January 2017|location=United States|language=en}}{{cite news|last1=Alexander|first1=Doug|title=Bank of Montreal Enters Robo-Advising Ahead of Other Lenders|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-18/bank-of-montreal-jumps-into-robo-advising-ahead-of-other-lenders|access-date=25 March 2017|agency=Bloomberg L.P.|issue=Tech|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=18 January 2016|location=United States|language=en}} It is now primarily owned by Power Corporation indirectly at 77.4% (the investments were through their holdings in Power Financial, IGM Financial, and Portag3).{{Cite web |title=Power Corporation of Canada {{!}} Organization Chart |url=https://www.powercorporation.com/en/companies/organization-chart/ |access-date=2019-05-15 |website=www.powercorporation.com |language=en}}

In October 2020, Wealthsimple raised $114{{Spaces|1}}million (US$87{{Spaces|1}}million) in funding from an investor group led by Technology Crossover Ventures, in addition to Greylock Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Two Sigma Ventures, and Allianz X.{{cite web |last1=Bloomberg |first1=B. N. N. |title=Wealthsimple tops $1B valuation in latest fundraising round - BNN Bloomberg |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/wealthsimple-tops-1b-valuation-in-latest-fundraising-round-1.1507929 |website=BNN |access-date=28 February 2021 |date=14 October 2020}}

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Category:Robo-advisors

Category:Financial services companies established in 2014

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Category:Investment companies of Canada

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Category:Power Corporation of Canada