Motif Investing is a next-generation online broker that enables individuals and financial advisors to trade "motifs"—intelligently-weighted baskets of stocks and bonds built around themes, investing styles or multi-asset models—in single transactions for low fees. The company is a registered broker-dealer and a member of SIPC and is based in Silicon Valley (San Mateo, CA). In January 2015 Renren invested $40 million to assist Motif with international expansion. Leadership includes CEO and founder Hardeep Walia, and the board was expanded with Renren founder Joe Chen and Carl Stern. Motif's investor roster includes Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Balderton Capital, Foundation Capital, Ignition Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Wicklow Capital. Company executives have said they plan to leverage strategic backing to grow both in the US and abroad, positioning Motif as a low-cost option for retail and institutional investors. Motif Investing offers retail investors an investment and wealth-management platform built around “motifs,” or thesis investments that let users select up to 30 stocks and invest in them as a single basket. Unlike robo-advisors such as Betterment and Wealthfront, Motif partners with investment advisors for its wealth-management products rather than relying solely on automated software. The company recently launched an advisor product and is using new funding to accelerate its platform toward wealth management and international expansion. Motif emphasizes transparency and low cost and benefits from a deep board that includes former SEC chair Arthur Levitt Jr., who invested and helped recruit Goldman Sachs. The company has raised $86 million in total capital, making it one of the better-capitalized startups serving retail investment services. Founders are Hardeep Walia (CEO, former Microsoft executive) and Tariq Hilaly (former hedge fund investor); backers include Goldman Sachs, Ignition Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Foundation Capital. Motif offers a platform where users can invest in themed groups of stocks called "motifs," which are investment indexes of up to 30 stocks. The company does not collect management fees and instead charges a flat $9.95 fee to create a motif; it also earns revenue from margins on investments and selling value-added services and products. Since launching publicly last summer the platform has seen strong growth, with more than 7,500 motifs created. Motif serves a diverse user base ranging from ultra high-net-worth individuals to new investors who appreciate its natural-language approach. The company has grown to 40 full-time employees and plans to use new funding to continue hiring, with a special focus on engineering. Motif is developing a product for financial advisors and has other new products in the works. Motif Investing offers retail investors the ability to invest in themed, customizable portfolios called "motifs" centered on ideas such as cloud computing or rising interest rates. The platform is in private beta and lets users tailor motifs to match individual ideas or needs. The company was founded by former Microsoft executive Hardeep Walia and hedge fund analyst Tariq Hilaly to simplify theme-based investing. Motif is still tweaking its pricing model and minimum investment amount and plans a public launch in the Fall. The startup will use the new funding for product development and hiring. After this round the company has raised $26 million in total.

Total raised

$120M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2015