Latest news with #Wealthsimple
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Wealthsimple Acquires Plenty Team To Improve Family Finance
Plenty cofounders Emily Luk and Channing Allen now part of the Wealthsimple team. In April 2025, Wealthsimple made a quiet but strategic acqui-hire, bringing on the entire team from Plenty, a U.S.-based fintech startup focused on financial planning for couples. While the Plenty platform shut down shortly after, the acquisition was never about the product—it was about people. By integrating a team with deep insight into modern household finances, the Wealthsimple Plenty acquisition exemplifies a different way a startup can continue its work after it closes its doors. When fintech firms acquire early-stage startups, it is sometimes not for the tech or customer base, but for the talent and vision. Known as acqui-hires, these deals offer a faster way to onboard cohesive teams with proven domain expertise. For Wealthsimple, the Plenty acquisition wasn't about IP. It was about acquiring a team uniquely attuned to the financial needs of modern couples. Acqui-hires are not uncommon in a competitive tech hiring environment. In these scenarios, cultural fit can outweigh existing traction or product-market fit. A majority (65%) of acquirers report that cultural issues hinder their ability to realize the full value of a deal. 'We immediately saw a natural alignment between Plenty and Wealthsimple,' said Chris Arsenault, founder of Inovia Capital, an investor in both companies. 'This wasn't just strategic—it was a win-win for the over 3 million Canadians using Wealthsimple.' Tim Kalimov, Wealthsimple's VP of product, echoed that sentiment, 'The team at Plenty shares our belief that financial services should be simple, smart, and accessible. They've built an impressive product that helps families take control of their financial lives—something we care deeply about.' Plenty wasn't just another budgeting tool—it was purpose-built to address a reality that many fintechs had overlooked: Couples manage money together, but often with a mix of joint and individual priorities. 'What does a truly multiplayer experience look like for today's modern couples, across saving, investing, budgeting, and tracking?' asked co-founder Emily Luk. That was the question Plenty set out to answer. The platform had three core pillars: automated goal-based financial planning, real-time budgeting and savings tracking, and a 'Mine, Yours, Ours' model for account visibility. This model resonated with millennial and Gen Z users who expect both transparency and autonomy in managing shared finances. It also filled a gap in Wealthsimple's roadmap, which has increasingly focused on household financial tools, such as joint accounts, spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), and Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs). 'The future of financial planning will be powered by both smart technology and real human connection,' said Kalimov. 'The Plenty team's experience will help us design smarter, more connected products that reflect how people actually manage money together.' While the product vision aligned, the acquisition hinged on something more profound: culture. 'It's pretty rare for companies to meet with such a similar mission and culture,' said Luk. 'We saw a chance to accelerate our roadmap and reach a scale of millions, while staying true to our original vision.' Introduced by their mutual investor, the two companies began with informal discussions about their products. Over time, those discussions evolved into a shared understanding of how financial services should be built: with empathy, flexibility, and a clear comprehension of customer behavior. Plenty's product officially shut down in May 2025. Its users were referred to alternative tools, though many now need multiple platforms to match the functionality that Plenty offered in one. Meanwhile, team members—including Luk and co-founder and husband Channing Allen—joined Wealthsimple full-time, with Luk joining the product team and Allen leading engineering contributions. The team remains U.S.-based but is now building for the Canadian market. 'This acquisition gave us the opportunity to take our product vision and implement it with the resources and reach we simply didn't have as a startup,' said Luk. 'It's not the end of our mission—it's a new chapter of scale.' The Wealthsimple Plenty acquisition illustrates how acqui-hires can help some startups exit. As customer needs grow more nuanced, especially around shared financial decision-making, companies are realizing they can't always build fast enough from within. Strategic acqui-hires offer a way to absorb experience, user research, and design intelligence that would take years to replicate. For Wealthsimple, it's a step toward becoming the default financial platform for Canadian families. For Plenty, it's a chance to expand their mission—and impact—on a national scale. And for the broader fintech ecosystem, the deal shows what's possible when acquisitions are built around more than spreadsheets. As Luk put it, 'It would've taken us years to reach a point where we could impact millions. This deal lets us do that immediately.' Acqui-hires, when rooted in mission alignment and product fit, are becoming more than a talent strategy—they're a growth strategy. The Wealthsimple Plenty acquisition is a prime example of how fintechs can build faster and smarter by investing in people, not just platforms.
Globe and Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
A big bank's $75 fee hike tells a story of the financial industry's arrogance
The going rate to transfer investment accounts from one bank or broker to another is roughly $150. Toronto-Dominion Bank TD-T has long been under this threshold, but not for much longer. Starting July 1, the fee for TD Canada Trust clients who move a tax-free savings account, a registered retirement savings plan or a first home savings account to another financial company will rise from $75 to $150. Account transfer fees are a mostly hidden but potent example of financial industry arrogance. After failing to earn your continuing loyalty, these companies charge you to make your escape. Open banking rules that will boost competition cannot come soon enough. TD took a business-as-usual approach when asked for details on the fee hike. 'We regularly evaluate our product offering to align with customer's needs,' the bank said in an e-mail response to questions. 'The change to the registered plan transfer fees was made based on various factors, including the costs involved in processing and moving assets to another institution, market conditions, and to align with the value we provide our customers.' TD's fee hike was highlighted in a recent LinkedIn post by Paul Teshima, Wealthsimple's chief commercial officer. Wealthsimple has built the most credible diversified banking, borrowing and investing alternative to the big banks and, guess what, it doesn't have account transfer fees. Wealthsimple has its own customer-service vulnerabilities. The interest rate on its chequing account has dropped to the lower tier among alternative banks in recent months, and its foreign exchange fees looked comparatively pricey in the latest Globe and Mail digital brokerage ranking. Lower forex costs are available if you subscribe to a $10-per-month U.S.-dollar account package. Still, Wealthsimple has a point in drawing attention to TD and other banks that charge clients to take their accounts elsewhere. In total, millions of dollars are charged to a segment of the investing public that can least afford them. Bank branches are a natural destination for people who want help investing amounts too small to interest an investment adviser. A $150 fee on a $15,000 account is a one-per-cent hit, which is significant when you consider that a return of five to six per cent is what you should expect over the long term from a diversified portfolio. That one-per-cent fee comes in addition to money already made on that $15,000 account if invested in mutual funds. Bank mutual funds have fees – measured through the management expense ratio shown in disclosure documents and fund profiles – that are typically in the 1.5-to-two-per-cent range in the balanced and equity categories. Whether you make or lose money in mutual funds, your fees are scooped off the top. Those published returns you see for funds of all types are shown on a net basis, which means fund companies have taken their cut. The money you invest in bank products enriches banks even if you hold guaranteed investment certificates. Money taken in through GIC investments is lent out at a higher rate through mortgages. All banks and brokers have long lists of account fees they charge, some reasonable and some a cash grab made acceptable by the fact that everyone in the industry does it. More competition in banking and investing would help. New investing apps from international players such as Moomoo and Webull have entered the Canadian market recently. On the banking side, the wait continues for a rulebook that will allow bank clients to securely share financial data with upstart alternative financial companies. This form of data-sharing is called open banking and it's seen as a way to kickstart competition, leading to lower fees and more personalized apps and services. Open banking seems a natural part of the federal government's efforts to improve economic productivity. Less money paid to transfer investment accounts means more money left to be invested and spent later on. As for TD, the coming increase in transfer costs is part of a series of fee changes that will increase the monthly cost of some account packages by $1. A rare exception to the higher fee trend: The cost of cancelling an e-transfer send money payment falls from $5 to zero. More of that, please. Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Urbana Corporation Congratulates Tetra Trust Company on Being Selected by Wealthsimple to Provide Digital Asset Custody Services
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S./ TORONTO, May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urbana Corporation ("Urbana" or the 'Corporation') (TSX and CSE: URB, URB.A) congratulates Tetra Trust Company ('Tetra') on being selected by Wealthsimple to provide digital asset custody services. Under this partnership, Tetra will act as one of Wealthsimple's custodians for digital assets, marking the first time Wealthsimple has added a Canadian custodian to its roster. Wealthsimple will utilize Tetra Unity, Tetra's institutional-grade platform, to streamline digital asset custody, execution, settlement, compliance, and risk management. This partnership is subject to approval by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. 'Wealthsimple has consistently led innovation in Canadian financial services, and this partnership represents a significant milestone for both companies,' said Didier Lavallée, CEO of Tetra. 'By combining Wealthsimple's trusted consumer platform with our institutional-grade custody solutions, we're creating a more secure and accessible digital asset ecosystem for Canadians.' This strategic collaboration marks an exciting chapter in Canada's digital asset landscape — secure, compliant and homegrown solutions built by Canadian companies, for Canadian investors. Urbana currently owns 24,510,434 common shares, representing 55.6% of the Tetra common shares outstanding. About Urbana Urbana Corporation is a diversified corporation with a focus on financial services, information services and innovative technologies. The long-term goal of Urbana is to seek and acquire investments for income and capital appreciation through a combination of public and private investments. The portfolio mix of actively managed publicly traded securities with private equity investments has generated significant long-term investment results. For more information, visit About Tetra Founded in 2019, Tetra is Canada's first trust company licensed to custody digital assets. Backed by major players in the industry such as Urbana Corporation, the Canadian Securities Exchange, Icebook and Coinbase Ventures, Tetra delivers the most advanced digital asset storage technology, setting the standard for digital asset custody in the country. For more information, visit For further information contact: Elizabeth Naumovski Investor Relations (416) 595-9106 enaumovski@ Certain statements in this news release constitute 'forward-looking' statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Urbana to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Unless required by applicable securities law, Urbana does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking in to access your portfolio
Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Urbana Corporation Congratulates Tetra Trust Company on Being Selected by Wealthsimple to Provide Digital Asset Custody Services
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S./ TORONTO, May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Urbana Corporation ('Urbana' or the 'Corporation') (TSX and CSE: URB, URB.A) congratulates Tetra Trust Company ('Tetra') on being selected by Wealthsimple to provide digital asset custody services. Under this partnership, Tetra will act as one of Wealthsimple's custodians for digital assets, marking the first time Wealthsimple has added a Canadian custodian to its roster. Wealthsimple will utilize Tetra Unity, Tetra's institutional-grade platform, to streamline digital asset custody, execution, settlement, compliance, and risk management. This partnership is subject to approval by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. 'Wealthsimple has consistently led innovation in Canadian financial services, and this partnership represents a significant milestone for both companies,' said Didier Lavallée, CEO of Tetra. 'By combining Wealthsimple's trusted consumer platform with our institutional-grade custody solutions, we're creating a more secure and accessible digital asset ecosystem for Canadians.' This strategic collaboration marks an exciting chapter in Canada's digital asset landscape — secure, compliant and homegrown solutions built by Canadian companies, for Canadian investors. Urbana currently owns 24,510,434 common shares, representing 55.6% of the Tetra common shares outstanding. About Urbana Urbana Corporation is a diversified corporation with a focus on financial services, information services and innovative technologies. The long-term goal of Urbana is to seek and acquire investments for income and capital appreciation through a combination of public and private investments. The portfolio mix of actively managed publicly traded securities with private equity investments has generated significant long-term investment results. For more information, visit . About Tetra Founded in 2019, Tetra is Canada's first trust company licensed to custody digital assets. Backed by major players in the industry such as Urbana Corporation, the Canadian Securities Exchange, Icebook and Coinbase Ventures, Tetra delivers the most advanced digital asset storage technology, setting the standard for digital asset custody in the country. For more information, visit . For further information contact: Elizabeth Naumovski Investor Relations (416) 595-9106 enaumovski@ Certain statements in this news release constitute 'forward-looking' statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Urbana to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Unless required by applicable securities law, Urbana does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Urbana Corporation Congratulates Tetra Trust Company on Being Selected by Wealthsimple to Provide Digital Asset Custody Services
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S./ TORONTO, May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urbana Corporation ("Urbana" or the 'Corporation') (TSX and CSE: URB, URB.A) congratulates Tetra Trust Company ('Tetra') on being selected by Wealthsimple to provide digital asset custody services. Under this partnership, Tetra will act as one of Wealthsimple's custodians for digital assets, marking the first time Wealthsimple has added a Canadian custodian to its roster. Wealthsimple will utilize Tetra Unity, Tetra's institutional-grade platform, to streamline digital asset custody, execution, settlement, compliance, and risk management. This partnership is subject to approval by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. 'Wealthsimple has consistently led innovation in Canadian financial services, and this partnership represents a significant milestone for both companies,' said Didier Lavallée, CEO of Tetra. 'By combining Wealthsimple's trusted consumer platform with our institutional-grade custody solutions, we're creating a more secure and accessible digital asset ecosystem for Canadians.' This strategic collaboration marks an exciting chapter in Canada's digital asset landscape — secure, compliant and homegrown solutions built by Canadian companies, for Canadian investors. Urbana currently owns 24,510,434 common shares, representing 55.6% of the Tetra common shares outstanding. About Urbana Urbana Corporation is a diversified corporation with a focus on financial services, information services and innovative technologies. The long-term goal of Urbana is to seek and acquire investments for income and capital appreciation through a combination of public and private investments. The portfolio mix of actively managed publicly traded securities with private equity investments has generated significant long-term investment results. For more information, visit About Tetra Founded in 2019, Tetra is Canada's first trust company licensed to custody digital assets. Backed by major players in the industry such as Urbana Corporation, the Canadian Securities Exchange, Icebook and Coinbase Ventures, Tetra delivers the most advanced digital asset storage technology, setting the standard for digital asset custody in the country. For more information, visit For further information contact: Elizabeth Naumovski Investor Relations (416) 595-9106 enaumovski@ Certain statements in this news release constitute 'forward-looking' statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Urbana to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Unless required by applicable securities law, Urbana does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking in to access your portfolio
