Wall Street Game Change--New Online Investment Firm 'Aspiration' Launches in Shake Up to Financial Sector

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aspiration, a new online investment firm created explicitly for the middle class, today launched with the goal of democratizing the financial services industry. Aspiration features a revolutionary fee model and an approach that combines investing with charitable giving.

"Aspiration was founded on the idea that an investment firm should trust its customers and that a company can do well by doing good," said Andrei Cherny, founder and CEO of Aspiration. "Wall Street has shut out the everyday investor for far too long and a result is America's growing wealth gap. We want Aspiration to be an investment firm where people can build value without having to park their values at the front door."

"There is growing demand among retail investors for an investment firm like Aspiration, whose success will benefit from a social conscience," said Jeff Skoll, the founding president of eBay and a member of Aspiration's Board of Advisors. "The company's radical approach to its customers' fees relies on a trust-based model, consistent in spirit with an approach that I saw drive eBay's early success. It's a bold bet and one that I believe will shake up a financial industry that could use some positive disruption."

Aspiration's model includes three key elements that distinguish it from Wall Street investment firms:

Let customers choose the fee they pay.  Instead of charging a set fee, Aspiration allows its customers to decide how much to pay the company – even if that number is zero. Aspiration calls this approach "Pay What Is Fair," and while it has been tried before in one-off fashion, this is the first time it has been brought to the investment world and the first time a company has built its business model on this "radical trust" approach.

A "buy and give" model. Aspiration is bringing the "buy/give" model of companies that make a donation for every purchase to the investment world. With its "Dimes Worth of Difference" commitment, Aspiration will donate ten cents of every dollar from revenue to charitable activities around expanding economic opportunity in the U.S. Its founding partner in this is the ACCION U.S. network, America's largest nonprofit provider of micro-loans. On Aspiration.com, customers have a "Do Well" dashboard with their various investments as well as a "Do Good" dashboard that makes it possible for them to give to the charitable cause of their choice.

Access for the middle class.  Aspiration is focused on the middle class investors who have been ignored by the big Wall Street investment banks built to serve millionaires.

Aspiration will offer a low minimum investment level and will be designed to fit the unique needs and life circumstances of everyday investors. It also features a maximum investment level so that it maintains its focus on its customers.

Cherny is a former Clinton White House aid and financial fraud prosecutor who helped Elizabeth Warren launch the fight for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Based in Los Angeles, Aspiration attracted more than $4.5 million in backing before its launch from technology and finance leaders who share its mission of bringing democratized access, treating customers fairly, and focusing on both profits as well as a larger purpose. Skoll and Gilt Groupe founder Alexis Maybank are among the well-known names on Aspiration's Board of Advisors. 

Aspiration will be inviting people to become customers during an initial invitation-only period. Individuals can join the waiting list and move up in line based on how much they share information about Aspiration on social media.

For more information, visit www.aspiration.com.

For still images of Aspiration's website and other assets, visit press.aspiration.com.

ABOUT ASPIRATION:
Aspiration is an online investment firm with a conscience – created for the 21^st century middle class, committed to giving, and built on putting unprecedented trust in the hands of its customers.  Using cutting-edge technology, Aspiration allows customers to set their own fee and donates 10% of its revenue to charitable giving around spreading economic opportunity to more Americans. Its investment services exist exclusively on Aspiration.com.  Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aspiration Partners, LLC, is an investment adviser registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

SOURCE Aspiration Partners, LLC