American banking giant, JPMorgan is strengthening its position with the new-age investors as it has agreed to acquire San Francisco-based OpenInvest, a Fintech Startup that allows customization and reporting on value-based investments.
OpenInvest was founded in 2015 by Conor Murray, Joshua Levin and Phillip Wei. The aim of the startup is to put investors’ values in focus while making any investment decision.
ESG Investment Boom
The demand for such value-based investment services boomed with the recent traction of ESG funds, and OpenInvest helps in creating highly customized and value-based portfolios. The startup fetches data from more than 35 sources to feed its decision engine.
“Clients are increasingly focused on understanding the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact of their portfolios and using that information to make investment decisions that better align with their goals,” said Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO at JPMorgan Asset and Wealth Management.
Additionally, OpenInvest managed to get the attention of big Silicon Valley investors and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, QED and several others. The startup managed to raise almost $25 million in funding to date, but its valuation is not known.
Neither JPMorgan nor OpenInvest has disclosed the financials of the acquisition deal.
“At OpenInvest, we believe that aligning capital with social and environmental values is a critical driver of widespread change,” OpenInvest’s Co-Founder and CEO, Murray, said.
OpenInvest is the third purchase of JPMorgan since December. The Wall Street giant previously bought 55ip, a platform that automates the construction of tax-efficient portfolios, and UK-based robo-advisor Nutmeg.
The latest press release detailed that the bank will retain the OpenInvest brand and will integrate the service with the offerings to private banking and wealth management clients.
“OpenInvest will be a powerful resource for our advisors to use in helping clients personalize their investments,” said Michael Camacho, CEO at JPMorgan Wealth Management Solutions.
