Strength, stability, and protection
At Altruist, we hold our custodial role and the protection of client assets in the highest regard.
We adhere to rigorous internal practices and business standards to ensure the safety of client assets.
Access to FDIC coverage for eligible assets swept to FDIC Member partner banks, emergency lines of credit, daily stress testing, weekly compliance requirements with FINRA and the SEC, comprehensive security and encryption, an asset protection guarantee and excess SIPC coverage (in addition to industry standard coverage, detailed below) are among the measures we take to secure client assets and provide trust in our role as a custodian.
Long-term financial strength
Altruist is committed to maintaining our financial strength, and we have confidence in our ongoing financial well-being.
Altruist maintains multiple banking relationships at top tier financial institutions, with all regulatory capital held at BMO Harris and operating capital at multiple top-tier banks. We are well funded and have a robust balance sheet, having raised approximately $600 million in total capital over the years from renowned partners including Adams Street, ICONIQ Growth, Declaration Partners, Granite Capital Management, Insight Partners, Sound Ventures, Vanguard, Venrock, and more.
Altruist also has a comprehensive liquidity and risk management program to ensure we satisfy all obligations under any market conditions. And in the very unlikely chance we’d ever need it, we have available lines of credit that will provide emergency funding in the event we experience extreme market stress conditions.
Altruist currently works with over 4,900 independent advisors, and is the third largest custodian by firms served. Although, as a private company, we don’t publish the total amount of assets on our platform, 2024 marked our third consecutive year of 300%+ AUM growth.
Strengthening financial stability through business practices focused on fiscal well-being
Strategic debt management
Employing a disciplined approach to debt management, including optimizing debt structures, monitoring interest rates, and ensuring appropriate levels of leverage, can help maintain a healthy balance between debt and equity and minimize financial risks.
Diversified revenue mix
Striving for diversification in revenue sources can reduce dependence on a single client or market segment, improving resilience and stability in the face of economic fluctuations or industry-specific challenges.
Long-term financial planning
Developing and executing a long-term financial strategy aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives helps establish a roadmap for sustained growth, investment decisions, and risk mitigation.
Protecting
client assets
Securities Investor Protection Corporation ® (SIPC) Coverage
Altruist Financial LLC is a member of SIPC, which means securities held in your brokerage account are protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash). Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.
Excess of SIPC Coverage Lloyd’s of London
In addition, Altruist Financial LLC carries an excess SIPC policy with underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, which extends the per account coverage by an additional $40 million (with a cash sub limit of $2 million), subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million across all Altruist accounts. Stock loan transactions, as well as certain mutual funds, may not be covered by the excess SIPC bond.
Altruist’s Asset Protection Guarantee
In the event a client’s cash and/or securities are lost due to unauthorized activity, Altruist Financial LLC will reimburse such losses, so long as a handful of security measures and contact information are maintained (e.g., unique password, two-factor authentication, etc.). More information about the Asset Protection Guarantee can be found at altruist.com/security.
Bank Sweep Program
Altruist Financial LLC’s Bank Sweep Program provides you the ability to automatically “sweep” uninvested cash balances in your account into Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured bank deposit accounts between multiple FDIC-insured banks (“Participating Banks”). Cash swept into an interest-bearing account at a Participating Bank is federally insured up to applicable FDIC limits up to the Program’s $1 Million limit in the event of a bank failure. Although the Bank Sweep Program’s network of FDIC-insured Participating Banks provides you access to increased FDIC coverage, FDIC coverage limits are $250,000 for all deposits (checking, money market, savings, CDs, etc.) per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. Coverage is subject to conditions, see www.fdic.gov for additional account category and coverage information.
Neither SIPC protection nor excess SIPC coverage provides protection against market losses. Once funds are swept into an interest-bearing account they are held at an FDIC member bank and, accordingly, they are protected by FDIC insurance. They are not covered by SIPC or by Lloyd’s of London. For more information on the Altruist Bank Sweep Program, please review the Altruist Bank Sweep Program Disclosure Statement available at altruist.com/legal. Neither Altruist Financial LLC nor any of its affiliates is a bank.
Information and data security safeguards
Comprehensive security and encryption
Altruist engages Schellman, an American Institute Certified Public Accountant (“AICPA”) independent auditor (trusted by publicly traded companies like Box, VMware, and Avaya) to conduct a SOC 2 Type 2 examination and deliver a report on Altruist’s system of controls related to information security.
This means that an independent auditor has examined Altruist’s systems and controls for the security, availability, and confidentiality categories pursuant to AICPA standards.
Altruist’s SOC 2 Type 2 examination tests that the systems and controls related to data security at Altruist are suitably designed and operating effectively to achieve their outcomes of ensuring safe, secure, and reliable transmission and storage of data.
Altruist has cybersecurity insurance provided through Beazley, whose rating with A.M. Best is “A-Excellent-Positive Outlook.”
To mitigate employee-directed attacks like phishing, Altruist uses Mobile Device Management software to remotely lock and control enterprise machines in the event of a takeover. Enterprise devices are further secured with robust anti-virus and anti-malware software, and employees regularly complete mandatory security training to help identify and report these threats. Employees at Altruist are also subject to background checks and confidentiality agreements.
Every Altruist application is encrypted separately and has a unique decryption key managed by one of the leading third-party enterprise infrastructure security solutions. This method ensures that no employee has direct access to decryption keys and that connecting data across applications requires multiple levels of authorization. When decryption is required, it’s documented with an audit trail that captures exactly who is doing what, and when.
A few highlights on data security
We encrypt all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) with Advanced Encryption Standard 256–the standard for highly regulated industries because it is virtually uncrackable without the decryption key which is rotated quarterly.
Unlike PII, which can be decrypted with a key, at Altruist passwords are always hashed. A hash is a one-way security function that cannot be reversed, making it impossible for anyone — hackers or employees — to expose client passwords.
We monitor our networks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to continually assess the security and health of our platform with instant, automated alerts to security personnel.
We use intrusion and prevention systems that are configured to continuously monitor and analyze network traffic and system activity.
We employ user access reviews of network and application accounts at least annually to ensure appropriate access is maintained.
Our commitment to privacy
At Altruist, we hold privacy as one of our highest values. As a custodian trusted by financial advisors to safeguard their clients’ assets, we understand the importance of protecting your personal information. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and security of all the data entrusted to us.
You and your clients’ personal information is treated with the utmost care and is accessed only by authorized personnel who are bound by strict confidentiality obligations. We have implemented robust security measures to ensure that your information remains safe from unauthorized access, disclosure, or alteration.
We take pride in our transparent practices when it comes to sharing personal information. We commit to keep all customer data confidential (aside from
sharing as necessary for our everyday business purposes, as well as with third parties to provide supplemental services as requested by customers and with our affiliates for marketing purposes) and to not disclose information to any unauthorized parties without written consent, except as required by law.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of our commitment to privacy and the measures we take to protect your personal information, we encourage you to visit altruist.com/legal to review our Privacy Notice and Privacy Policy. They provide detailed information about the types of information we collect, how we use it, and the circumstances in which it may be shared.
Our dedicated board of directors
Our board directors guide our strategic decisions with a wealth of industry knowledge and experience.
As a private Series F business, we recognize the significance of a strong and committed board with aligned interests that foster a deep sense of dedication and accountability. Our board’s financial commitment is a testament to their unwavering belief in Altruist’s potential. With this exceptional blend of expertise, our board’s collective knowledge forms the backbone of our financial strength and security. By leveraging their experience, we can navigate market challenges, identify growth opportunities, and make sound investment decisions, ensuring the stability and long-term success of our business.
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Given how fast the world changes today and how many exogenous factors even small companies have to deal with, a board’s responsibility is really around this concept of talent, strategy and risk.”
Bill McNabb, Altruist Board Member and Former Vanguard CEO
Seasoned leadership
Our executive team is motivated by doing what’s right.
Jason Wenk
CEO, Founder
Jason has lived and breathed the financial services industry over the last 20 years as a financial advisor, investment systems developer, analyst, and founder of his previous company, FormulaFolios.
With Jason as CEO, FormulaFolios achieved a 13,927% 3-year growth rate and managed over
$3.2 billion. This rapid growth ranked the firm as
a fastest-growing private company in the country by Inc. magazine 4 years in a row, reaching as high as #10.
Jason was recently named a national EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018.
Mazi Bahadori
COO + CCO
Mazi is a seasoned veteran in financial technology, having previously served as the CCO and Director of Operations for Aspiration. Prior to this, he worked for PIMCO as VP of Legal & Compliance, Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor and Goldman Sachs as a government affairs associate.
He began his career serving as an aide in the U.S. Congress and the White House Counsel’s office. Mazi holds a JD and MBA from Chapman University and a BA in History from UC Berkeley.
As a finance executive, Mazi has been responsible for legal, compliance, operations, investor relations, risk management, and cybersecurity functions.
Marc Greenberg
CFO
Prior to joining Altruist, Marc spent 16 years in finance and strategy leadership at Pixar, and most recently served as the CFO of Blend where he led the company through critical growth stages and ultimately to their initial public offering in 2021. Marc helped scale Blend from 300 to over 2,000 full time employees and grew revenue to over $300M annually.
Harpreet Ahluwalia
CPO
Prior to Altruist, Harpreet was VP of Product at ServiceTitan, where he led the product management and product design teams and helped establish the company as the leading software platform for home services businesses. Earlier in his career, he held product management roles at Salesforce, YP.com, and Citysearch.com. He also worked as an associate investment banker at UBS. Harpreet holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley.
Sumanth Sukumar
CTO
Prior to Altruist, Sumanth was the VP of Engineering for Infrastructure at Coinbase. He has also held senior engineering leadership positions at other prominent technology companies such as Uber and Meta, focusing on building highly scalable systems that lead to reliable products under hyper-growth conditions.
Early in his career, he was part of several startups, including Riverbed Technology, where he helped the company scale from 12 to 2,500 and over $1 billion in revenue.
Rich Rao
CBO
Rich Rao has helped build and scale some of the world’s most iconic tech companies, including Google, Meta, and Intuit. With a career spanning engineering, product, and go-to-market leadership, he has led teams through transformational growth, turning early ideas into multibillion-dollar businesses. At Google, he helped grow Workspace from concept to scale. At Meta, he led the rapid expansion of Meta’s SMB advertising business, more than doubling the business over his tenure.
Piret Loone
General Counsel
Piret brings more than 20 years of experience as a financial services attorney and as a legal executive in financial technology companies. Before joining Altruist, Piret was the General Counsel and Chief Business Officer of a Series A open banking company, where she built the legal and compliance functions, and prior to that, a legal leader at Robinhood, where she was part of the team successfully taking the company public. Earlier in her career, she was a senior counsel at a Fortune 500 asset management company, and in private practice at several top international law firms.
Piret holds a J.D. From Harvard Law School, a M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Franklin & Marshall College.
Katherine Starros
VP, People
Katherine builds, implements, and leads all recruiting, people programs, and processes that enable a thriving world-class culture as Altruist continues to grow.
Prior to joining Altruist, she held people leadership roles at tech companies Deep 6 AI and ATTN:. Her ability to develop relationships combined with her unique blend of experience in both recruiting and operations strategy makes her critical in helping Altruist scale sustainably.
Katherine graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and classical civilization. She continued her education at UC Berkeley, completing business administration, accounting, HR, and financial planning classes. Katherine holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification from the HR Certification Institute (HRCI®).
Michelle Shotts
VP Customer Success
Putting customers first is Michelle’s motto. She’s made a career out of launching and scaling new initiatives and functions, as well as transforming struggling businesses.
Before joining Altruist, Michelle worked at PatientPop Inc. as VP of Customer Success. During her time there, she created a culture focused on growth and development while improving productivity by over 20%, achieving 125% of the annual upsell target and improving Net Promoter Score® (NPS®) from 30 to 41.
Michelle graduated from Arizona State University and holds a Voice of the Customer professional certification.