Latest news with #Altruist
Gulf Today
30-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Gulf Today
Heatwaves hit different when you're a redhead
Kat Brown, The Independent Heatwave, anyone? As another warm weekend beckons, the Met Office has revealed that we experienced the hottest spring on record. But not everyone is cock-a-hoop at the nice weather. Spare a thought for Britain's gingers, who are usually well-prepped for the rigours of a British summer, but who now must stretch out our dependency on SPF50 and large, hideous hats through spring and autumn, with only the end of Strictly and the duration of The Traitors providing a guaranteed period of respite. By 'gingers' (a ghastly word, by the way, takes me straight back to being bullied at school), I do of course mean any redheads like me, blessed with a pallor that allows excellent camouflage in areas of Scotland and Ireland during high winter, and which is absolutely useless at any other time. But I also include anyone else who struggles with the heat — spiritual gingers, if you will, like my friend Sonal, a former criminal barrister, who has established a cutting-edge skincare brand, This is Silk, inspired by how she treated her rare allergy to sunlight. I have been awash with suncream pretty much every day since 2005. Thankfully, the quality has risen dramatically since I was a baby, when my fair mother — partly raised in Singapore, where she and her sisters coated themselves in oil like so many jacket potatoes — would swipe me with factor two. This was considered unimaginably high in the early 1980s and quite akin to staying indoors and hiding under the bed til the clocks went back. The only problem today is that cheap sunscreen tends to be horrendous on sensitive skin or leaves a very obvious cast, and the good stuff is wildly expensive and comes in tubes the size of a fun-size Snickers. To keep covered in the stuff to the level that I need costs me a fortune — and I do need it, as the alternative is to rapidly become lightheaded and wobbly. My solution is usually to stay inside for the majority of daylight hours and go out covered in hats, sunglasses and long sleeves where needed. Australia's long-running awareness campaign, 'Slip, Slap, Slop' remains very relevant, even if I spent much of my UK childhood wondering which one referred to 'having an ice lolly'. It's simply not worth doing otherwise, either to get burned (which I can do in under a minute on high UV days) or to use a cheap and cheerful suncream and have the inevitable breakout or rash from trying to get my sensitive skin playing ball. My dad (equally redhead, but less pallid due to a love of sailing) has become a devotee of the excellent Altruist sun cream, which I keep forgetting to stock up on online. He and the rest of my family can tan really beautifully. I gave up even trying in my early twenties, and have concluded that a neat trick to appear less ghostly is to wear a screamingly-white bathing suit instead. Conversely, my favourite hobby is very ginger-friendly. When I go horse riding, I relish the opportunity to cover up in gloves, a hat, boots, a long-sleeved summer base layer etc, all technically for protection should I fall into a tree. I went on a horsey travel assignment to India a few years ago and have never been more comfortable than riding through the Thar desert, swathed in layers. Since I got my retriever, Sybil, I've had a companion slash excuse to hide away from the sunlight – it's simply cruel to walk a dog when the pavement can be used to sizzle bacon, especially when said dog resembles a sheepskin rug from Ikea. When, in the record-breakingly hot summer of 2022, we both had serious operations within weeks of each other, it was something of a relief to be able to hide indoors to recover. It also gives me time to pray, pray, pray that someone with money and influence will turn their laser focus to sorting out the climate. Rather naively, I thought this conversation had already been settled during the greenhouse gas debate of the 1990s. If only this were something Blue Peter could rectify now through a campaign. Perhaps we could organise a Bring 'n' Buy Sale. I've got loads of sun cream I can bring along to keep everyone covered.
Los Angeles Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Altruist Raises $152 Million to Accelerate Innovation for Growth-Oriented RIAs
Los Angeles-based Altruist, a modern custodian for RIAs, has announced $152 million in Series F funding led by GIC, a global institutional investor. Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, Carson Family Office, ICONIQ Growth and a select group of additional partners also participated. The round values the company at approximately $1.9 billion. 'Altruist's track record of building best-in-class, innovative products has positioned them to serve a large and growing market, bringing modern infrastructure to advisors who have long been underserved,' said Choo Yong Cheen, chief investment officer of private equity at GIC. 'GIC looks forward to supporting Altruist in their mission to democratize access to financial advice through our long-term, flexible capital. We are confident in the management team's ability to deliver exceptional value to advisors and their clients.' The funding follows a landmark year for the company. In 2024, Altruist launched a suite of new products, including a high-yield cash account, automated and scalable tax management tools and a fully digital native fixed-income trading experience. The company achieved triple-digit growth in key metrics like revenue, brokerage accounts and advisors served. Earlier this year, Altruist expanded its executive team by appointing Rich Rao as chief business officer and Sumanth Sukumar as chief technology officer, building on last year's addition of Piret Loone as general counsel. These leadership hires, together with third-party trading integration enhancements scheduled for later this year, reinforce Altruist's strategic push into the enterprise market. The approach is already attracting larger, more sophisticated firms, driving average firm size up 43% year over year. Altruist now serves over 4,700 advisors and has tripled assets under management for two consecutive years. The 2025 T3 Software Survey indicated a significant jump in market share, from 2.85% to 6.25%, and scored Altruist as an All-Star in five categories: custody, portfolio management, trading/rebalancing, billing and cash management. 'Transforming the custodial layer of wealth management is no small feat, but Altruist is approaching it with long-term thinking and principled execution,' said Shan Shan, investment manager, private companies, at Baillie Gifford. 'The firm's focus on transparency, innovation and advisor empowerment is just what the growing RIA sector needs.' 'Altruist stands apart in the wealth management industry with their vertically integrated technology stack that combines custody services with front, middle and back-office tools at a fraction of traditional costs, while leading the industry into the AI age,' said Arving Ayyala, partner at Geodesic Capital. 'Their unified platform eliminates the data reconciliation nightmares plaguing RIAs while delivering a seamless digital experience that reduces labor costs by 40-60%. We're backing Jason and his team because they're not just improving the status quo – they're completely reimagining an age-old industry that has resigned itself to incumbent offerings.' Information was sourced from BusinessWire. To learn more, contact sam@
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Altruist secures $152m in Series F round at nearly $1.9bn valuation
RIA custodian Altruist has raised $152m in a Series F financing round, led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. The company will use the capital to speed up 'innovation' for growth focused RIAs. This funding round also saw participation from Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, Carson Family Office, ICONIQ Growth, and a select group of additional partners, valuing Altruist at around $1.9bn. It follows a significant year for Altruist, during which the company introduced a range of new products in 2024. These offerings include a high-yield cash account, automated and scalable tax management tools, and a fully digital native fixed-income trading experience. GIC private equity chief investment officer Choo Yong Cheen said: 'Altruist's track record of building best-in-class, innovative products has positioned them to serve a large and growing market, bringing modern infrastructure to advisors who have long been underserved. 'GIC looks forward to supporting Altruist in their mission to democratise access to financial advice through our long-term, flexible capital.' Altruist reported triple-digit growth across key performance metrics, including revenue, brokerage accounts, and the number of advisors served. Altruist expanded its executive team earlier this year by appointing Rich Rao as chief business officer and Sumanth Sukumar as chief technology officer. This follows the previous year's addition of Piret Loone as general counsel. Currently, the firm serves more than 4,700 advisors and has achieved a threefold increase in assets under management for two consecutive years. Geodesic Capital partner Arving Ayyala said: 'Altruist stands apart in the wealth management industry with their vertically integrated technology stack that combines custody services with front, middle, and back-office tools at a fraction of traditional costs, while leading the industry into the AI age.' In May 2024, StratiFi partnered with Altruist to enhance outcomes for financial advisers. "Altruist secures $152m in Series F round at nearly $1.9bn valuation" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
22-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Wealth management firm Altruist valued at nearly $2 billion in latest funding round
April 22 (Reuters) - Altruist has raised $152 million in in its latest funding round that valued the wealth management startup at $1.9 billion, it said on Tuesday. The Series F round, led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, comes less than a year after its last round, where Altruist raised $169 million. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. The company is a custodian for over 4,700 registered investment advisors, assuming the responsibility for maintaining the assets and holdings of its clients. Revenue, brokerage accounts, and advisors it served saw triple-digit growth in 2024, according to the company.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Altruist Raises $152M Series F Led by GIC to Accelerate Innovation for Growth-Oriented RIAs
The round, led by GIC, follows a banner year of product launches, executive expansion, and continued momentum as Altruist solidifies its place among the top three custodians LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Altruist, the modern custodian for RIAs, today announced $152 million in Series F funding led by GIC, a global institutional investor. Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, Carson Family Office, ICONIQ Growth, and a select group of additional partners also participated. The round values the company at approximately $1.9 billion. "Altruist's track record of building best-in-class, innovative products has positioned them to serve a large and growing market, bringing modern infrastructure to advisors who have long been underserved," said Choo Yong Cheen, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity at GIC. "GIC looks forward to supporting Altruist in their mission to democratize access to financial advice through our long-term, flexible capital. We are confident in the management team's ability to deliver exceptional value to advisors and their clients." The funding follows a landmark year. In 2024, Altruist launched a suite of new products, including a high-yield cash account, automated and scalable tax management tools, and a fully digital native fixed-income trading experience. The company achieved triple-digit growth in key metrics like revenue, brokerage accounts, and advisors served. Earlier this year, Altruist expanded its executive team by appointing Rich Rao as Chief Business Officer and Sumanth Sukumar as Chief Technology Officer, building on last year's addition of Piret Loone as General Counsel. These leadership hires, together with third-party trading integration enhancements scheduled for later this year, reinforce Altruist's strategic push into the enterprise market. The approach is already attracting larger, more sophisticated firms, driving average firm size up 43% year-over-year. Altruist now serves over 4,700 advisors and has tripled assets under management for two consecutive years. The 2025 T3 Software Survey indicated a significant jump in market share, from 2.85% to 6.25%, and scored Altruist as an All-Star in five categories: custody, portfolio management, trading/rebalancing, billing, and cash management. "Transforming the custodial layer of wealth management is no small feat, but Altruist is approaching it with long-term thinking and principled execution," said Shan Shan, Investment Manager, Private Companies, at Baillie Gifford. "The firm's focus on transparency, innovation, and advisor empowerment is just what the growing RIA sector needs." "Altruist stands apart in the wealth management industry with their vertically integrated technology stack that combines custody services with front, middle, and back-office tools at a fraction of traditional costs, while leading the industry into the AI age," said Arving Ayyala, Partner at Geodesic Capital. "Their unified platform eliminates the data reconciliation nightmares plaguing RIAs while delivering a seamless digital experience that reduces labor costs by 40-60%. We're backing Jason and his team because they're not just improving the status quo—they're completely reimagining an age-old industry that has resigned itself to incumbent offerings." To learn more about the latest round of funding, read CEO Jason Wenk's announcement here. About Altruist Altruist is the modern custodian for independent RIAs. Altruist combines a self-clearing brokerage firm with intuitive software for account opening, trading, reporting, and billing – all in one streamlined solution. With Altruist, advisors can create custom models, trade fractional shares, automate rebalancing, and share performance insights with clients using a modern mobile app. Learn more at and follow Altruist on Twitter @altruist. About GIC GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to secure Singapore's financial future. As the manager of Singapore's foreign reserves, GIC takes a long-term, disciplined approach to investing and is uniquely positioned across a wide range of asset classes and active strategies globally. These include equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure. Its long-term approach, multi-asset capabilities, and global connectivity enable it to be an investor of choice. GIC seeks to add meaningful value to its investments. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC has a global talent force of over 2,300 people in 11 key financial cities and has investments in over 40 countries. For more information, please visit or follow on LinkedIn. View source version on Contacts Media Contact:Sam Marinellisam@ 610-246-9928
