Betterment, a US-based online financial advisory service backed by financial services group Citi and insurance firm Northwestern Mutual Life, added $70m to a series E round that now totals $170m.
Investment firm Kinnevik led the extension, investing alongside Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), Menlo Ventures and Francisco Partners. All four also took part in the $100m first tranche in March 2016, which included investment advisory firm Anthemis Group.
Betterment operates a robo-advisor that manages almost $10bn in assets for a total of more than 270,000 customers, up from $4bn at the time of the first tranche. It combines a diversified portfolio of index-tracking exchange-traded funds with personalised advice.
Proceeds from the round will go to product development, as the company aims to add to recently introduced features such as portfolio personalisation, tax-efficiency tools and telephone access to licensed financial experts.
The investment valued Betterment at $800m, according to Bloomberg, up from $700m in the March 2016 tranche, though that could simply be reflective of a higher post-money valuation ensured by the new funding.
Jon Stein, Betterment’s founder and CEO, said: “We have always prioritised what would have the biggest impact for our customers. Since the beginning, that has meant focusing on delivering the best possible after-tax returns and empowering customers to do what is best with their money.
“The additional funding will allow us to fulfil our mission and continue to build products that put even more money back in our customers’ pockets.”
Betterment has now raised $275m altogether. Citi and Northwestern Mutual invested in the company through their Citi Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Capital subsidiaries as part of a $32m round in 2014 that included BVP, Menlo, Anthemis and Globespan Capital Partners.
Northwestern Mutual Capital returned for a $60m series D round early the following year that was led by Francisco Partners and backed by BVP and Menlo Ventures.