Marstone – a leading digital investment and wealth planning firm – announced it had raised an $8 million Series B financing round led by Mendon Venture Partners and South Rose Capital, along with new investors, including the Castle Creek Launchpad Fund. The funding round also included existing investor Equity Bank.
Marstone enables financial institutions to retain and generate deposits, increase non-interest income, and improve client servicing and satisfaction by launching a wealth practice for less than an average full-time hire.
The company’s platform was recently adopted by Woodforest National Bank, Equity Bank, and Red River Credit Union for delivering a modern user interface, paperless account opening, flexible goal planning, performance reporting, data aggregation, portfolio trading and rebalancing, asset allocation, risk assessment, etc. And Marstone solves many of the key issues facing financial institutions today: the shift in consumer preferences to digital engagement, the need for a harmonious customer experience, the rise in digitally-savvy investors in the generational wealth transfer, the desire for integrated financial planning capabilities, and the need for diverse revenue streams that don’t feed into fee and margin pressure.
Banks shuttered over 20% of their branches in the last 15 years. And by adopting affordable technologies and platforms such as Marstone these institutions are able to better meet their customers’ needs via digital channels that broaden both geographic reach and hours of availability.
KEY QUOTES:
“In today’s economy, financial firms are under immense pressure to retain deposits, increase fee revenue, and stem outflows to external, digital-first investment solutions. Marstone is the only enterprise wealth management platform with the flexibility, scalability, experience, and speed to market to meet these mandates. Banks today are looking for ways to protect margins and deposits. For many, digital investing and wealth planning are the most strategic paths toward those goals. We believe that banks with non-interest income at scale will be the ones to thrive, and agree that wealth offerings are the solution.”
— Margaret J. Hartigan, Co-founder and CEO, Marstone
“At Castle Creek Capital and Launchpad Capital we are uniquely focused on the community bank and financial services sector; our expertise enables us to navigate regulatory, political, and operating complexities of these markets. Before entering any partnership we have to be sure that the executives share our vision for the future, which has never been more true than it is with Margaret and the Marstone team. They leaned in on wealth management years ago, seeing a future where their solution met both important service requirements of clients and delivered much needed revenue opportunities for community banks and other financial institutions. For countless institutions today, offering digital investment and financial planning is essential as they combat a challenging rate environment and evolving consumer needs in the digital space. We are proud to invest in Marstone at a critical inflection point as the market is coming to them seeking their platform, experience, and partnership.”
— Tony Scavuzzo, Managing Principal, Castle Creek Capital
