Wealth Management Platform Wealthfront Files for IPO

Wealth management platform Wealthfront filed for a proposed initial public offering Monday (Sept. 29).

The company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed IPO and applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “WLTH,” it said in a Monday press release.

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” Wealthfront said in the release. “The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or other terms of the offering.”

Wealthfront offers “a tech-driven financial platform helping digital natives turn their savings into wealth,” according to the release. The company offers solutions for cash management, investing, borrowing and financial planning, and it pioneered the use of automation to help clients build portfolios, per the release.

The company said in its Form S-1 that in the second quarter, it saw year-over-year growth of 24% in its platform assets, which reached $88 billion, and 26% in its revenue, which reached $339 million.

“We believe the opportunity we are pursuing is unique and massive,” Wealthfront said in the form. “Digital natives are entering the prime wealth accumulation phase of their lives and are expected to be the wealthiest generations ever.”

Wealthfront announced its confidential submission of a draft registration statement to the SEC for a proposed IPO in June.

It was reported at the time that the company became the latest FinTech to do so and that it followed its rival Chime, which went public earlier in June.

Swiss bank UBS announced in January 2022 that it planned to acquire Wealthfront in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.4 billion but the companies said in September 2022 that they called off the planned deal.

The companies didn’t give a reason for the change. It was reported at the time that some big investors were opposed to the deal, saying they believed UBS could build its own platform for less than it was paying to gain access to Wealthfront’s, and that U.S. regulators raised concerns about the deal.