M1 Finance, the Automated Money Management Platform, Raises $33 Million Series B Round to Accelerate Growth

M1 Finance, the automated money management platform that offers investing, borrowing, and banking products, today announced their $33 million Series B funding round.

The round was led by Left Lane Capital, a New York-based growth equity firm focused on high-growth consumer internet and technology businesses. Jump Capital and Clocktower Technology Ventures also participated in the round alongside existing M1 investors.

This funding is another milestone in an already strong year for M1. In February, M1 became one of the few fintech startups to reach $1 billion in customer assets and has added more than $650M in customer deposits in 2020. With $21.5M in funding prior to this round, M1 reached the $1 billion AUM threshold faster and with far less funding than many of its fintech peers.

“Our clients are intelligent, self-directed investors building long-term, sustainable wealth. We want that to be as easy and automated as possible, while still letting our clients maintain the control they desire,” said M1 Finance founder and CEO Brian Barnes. “With M1, you can build an entire wealth strategy in only a few clicks, down to individual stocks and ETFs. We take it from there, handling all the day-to-day optimization, rebalancing, and re-investing according to your instructions so you can spend more time building strategies and less time executing them.”

“We’ve built the premier personal finance platform that combines the best of digital investing, borrowing, and banking, and have done so on relatively little funding,” Barnes added. “That is a testament to the team and culture we have here. We’re just getting started and look forward to accelerating our growth with this new funding and strong new partners.”

Before M1, self-directed investors had to use a mix of brokers, money management apps, and banks to manage different aspects of their personal finances, which increased costs and complexity.

M1 tackles that challenge by providing investors three integrated tools to build long-term wealth, meet medium-term financial needs, and manage short-term spending, all in one platform.

• M1 Invest is a free investing product that enables users to create fully customizable stock and ETF portfolios using fractional shares and advanced automation.
• M1 Borrow provides investors with an easy and flexible portfolio line of credit, with rates between 2.00% for M1 Plus subscribers and a 3.50% base rate.
• M1 Spend provides users an FDIC-insured digital checking account and a debit card, with an available 1.00% APY* and 1% cash-back on qualified purchases (with M1 Plus subscription).

“The product and team at M1 are true standouts in the fintech ecosystem,” said Dan Ahrens, Partner at Left Lane Capital. “Consumers are highly selective when choosing an investing platform. The fact that M1 has reached this scale organically, relying mostly on word-of-mouth to grow rather than paid marketing, shows the strength of M1’s product and client relationships. We are grateful to be involved with such an exceptional team and support them in their journey.”