Nashville-based Alto Solutions Inc. is starting the new year off with new money.
The fintech startup has closed a $40 million round of funding, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, led by Advance Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Unusual Ventures, Acrew Capital, Alpha Edison, Foundation Capital, Gaingels and Coinbase Ventures.
Alto allows investors to use their individual retirement accounts to invest in startups, real estate, digital currencies and private companies. The company was founded in 2018 by CEO Eric Satz, who sold a previous fintech company, Currenex, in 2007 to State Street Corp. for $564 million.
Alto will use the new funds to enhance its Alto IRA and Alto CryptoIRA platforms, hire across all departments and develop new products, according to a news release.
"I am proud of the success of the Alto team to date and grateful for the continued confidence of many of our core investors in this latest funding round," Satz said in the release. "We believe this funding will provide more individuals looking to control their financial future with easy and affordable access to high-growth, diversified, non-traditional asset classes typically reserved for the wealthiest investors, including private equity, venture capital, real estate, securitized artwork and crypto."
The new funding comes less than one year after the company closed on a $17 million round of funding, led by Unusual Ventures. At the time, Alto had 56 employees, but Satz said in May that the firm expected to double its headcount by the end of 2021.
Alto has more than 15,000 users, with more than $1 billion of assets under management, according to the release, both more than double what Satz reported in May.
As part of the raise, Advance Venture Partners founder and Managing Partner David ibnAle will join Alto’s board of directors.
"Advance Venture Partners is thrilled to have led Alto's Series B financing. We have followed Alto's progress and believe that the company is well positioned to transform how millions of everyday investors manage and invest their retirement savings," ibnAle said in the release. "Alto is attacking an IRA market that, despite representing trillions of dollars in assets, still struggles with antiquated processes and legacy service providers. We're excited to back Eric Satz and a top-flight team that is removing friction from this market and enabling investors to seek both better returns and better diversification of their retirement portfolios."
