# Altruist Financial Model Vertically integrated all-in-one platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs) - combining custodial, portfolio management, practice management, and client acquisition tools. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/altruist - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/altruist.xlsx - Category: Fintech - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Series B - Funding: $50M - Founded: 2021 - Geography: USA (HQ: Los Angeles, CA) [DECK, slide 6]. - Customer: B2B2C ## About the company Altruist is an all-in-one operating platform for registered investment advisors, covering custody, trading, portfolio management, billing, practice management, and a client-facing portal. It aims to give independent advisors modern infrastructure without competing for their end clients. The US wealthtech company sits between legacy custodians and consumer robo-advisors. Its integrated design can replace several advisor systems while creating a more scalable service model for firms managing client assets. The model is a hybrid of SaaS and custodial economics. Forecast RIA firms, advisor seats or accounts, average assets under management, and platform fees; then layer in cash-sweep, order-flow, margin, and other custody-related revenue tied to client assets and activity. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## Product & value proposition All-in-one RIA platform with a single login covering: - Custodial functions (account opening, funding, clearing via Apex Clearing) - Commission-free fractional share trading and automated rebalancing - Portfolio accounting and performance reporting - Fee billing (flexible, accommodates multiple advisor business models) - Client portal and mobile app - Practice management (replaces multiple disconnected point solutions) Positioning: "the best of both worlds" between legacy advisor custodians (Fidelity, Schwab, TD Ameritrade - robust but expensive, not user-friendly, compete with advisors) and robo-advisors (Wealthfront, Betterment, Wealthsimple - user-friendly but can't run an advisor's full business). ## Revenue model Revenue streams inferable from product description but not explicitly quantified in deck: - Platform / SaaS fee to RIAs - described as "industry-low cost" vs. incumbents; no pricing figures shown. - Custodial spread / cash sweep - standard RIA custodian monetisation model; Apex Clearing handles clearing/custody, so Altruist likely earns on cash balances, margin, and order flow. - Fee billing infrastructure - platform charges advisors or takes a cut of AUM-based billing; consistent with "flexible fee billing" feature. - Commission-free trading - implies PFOF or internalization revenue on order flow; standard zero-commission brokerage model. No explicit pricing, take rates, or AUM-based fee schedule shown. ## Traction & metrics - Founder Jason Wenk's prior company (FormulaFolios): 13,927% 3-year growth rate, $3.2B AUM at peak, ranked as high as #10 fastest-growing private company (Inc. magazine, 4 years in a row). - this is prior-company data, not Altruist traction. - No Altruist-specific revenue, AUM, advisor count, growth rate, or retention figures are shown in this deck. ## Competition / moat Competitors called out explicitly: - Legacy RIA custodians: Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade - widely trusted/adopted but expensive, not user-friendly, don't include key practice management software, compete directly with advisors. - Robo-advisors: Wealthfront, Betterment, Wealthsimple - affordable and user-friendly but can't run an advisor's entire business, compete with advisor. Altruist moat claims: - Vertical integration across all four RIA infrastructure layers (custodian + asset management + practice management software + client acquisition) - competitors are single-layer. - Modern tech stack (no legacy debt). - Does not compete with advisors (unlike custodians and robos). - Fiduciary-first design - "hard for advisors not to do the right thing for clients." - Network effects and trust-building via advisor partnerships. ## Team & funding ask / use of funds Team: - Jason Wenk - CEO & Founder (20 years financial services; founded FormulaFolios, grew to $3.2B AUM, Inc. 500 top 10) - Nachiket Shiralkar - CTO - Mazi Bahadori (JD, MBA) - CCO / EVP Operations - Pete Dorsey - Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer - Zach Pentel - Chief Marketing Officer - Katherine Starros (SPHR) - Head of People - Harpreet Ahluwalia (MBA) - VP Product - John Scianna - VP Brand & Design - Michelle Shotts - VP Customer Success --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** RIA platform - hybrid SaaS + AUM/custodial revenue model. The business has two interlocking revenue streams: (1) a recurring platform/software fee per advisor seat or per-account (SaaS-like, high margin), and (2) custodial economics tied to advisor AUM (cash sweep yield, PFOF, margin). This requires a combined SaaS ARR + AUM growth model, not a pure SaaS build. Closest archetype is a **wealthtech platform model** (similar to Betterment for Advisors or Orion). - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 5 years (2021–2025), monthly for Year 1 (cash management), quarterly for Years 2–5. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** - Number of RIA firms on platform - Average AUM per advisor firm - AUM growth per existing firm (market + organic) - Platform/SaaS fee per advisor ($/month or % of AUM) - Cash sweep yield on client cash balances - PFOF / trading revenue per trade - Gross margin on SaaS component - Gross margin on custodial/brokerage component - Advisor CAC - Advisor churn / retention - Headcount growth and S&M, R&D, G&A as % of revenue - Founded 2018, Series B in May 2021; model should reflect ~3 years already in market. - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - **Bear:** Slow advisor adoption (competitive moat not yet established), low cash sweep yield (low-rate environment), high CAC, 10% annual churn. - **Base:** Moderate advisor growth, rising rate tailwind on cash sweep, steady CAC, 5% churn. - **Bull:** Rapid RIA migration from legacy custodians, strong network effects, high AUM per advisor, rate environment supports sweep income, M&A or referral flywheel accelerates adds. - Primary flex variables: advisor adds per quarter, AUM per advisor, cash sweep rate, platform fee level. - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. Assumptions dashboard (all drivers in one place) 2. Advisor cohort model (adds by quarter, AUM ramp per cohort, churn) 3. Revenue build: SaaS fees + custodial/sweep + trading revenue 4. COGS and gross profit (split SaaS vs. custodial margin) 5. OpEx build (S&M, R&D, G&A, headcount) 6. P&L (Income Statement) 7. Cash flow and runway (critical for Series B context) 8. KPI summary: advisor count, AUM on platform, ARR, revenue per advisor, gross margin % 9. Scenario toggle (Base / Bull / Bear) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Altruist financial model free? Yes. The Altruist model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.