Betterment Launches Student Loan Management, Acquires Gradvisor

Investment platform Betterment has launched a student loan management solution and acquired the partner and customer relations of Gradvisor, a college savings plan service.

As the company said in a news release Wednesday (Feb. 23), employers that use Betterment’s 401(k) through the Betterment at Work solution can now offer student loan management as part of their financial wellness package.

Betterment said the solution will give employees personalized recommendations, paydown tools and employer matching.

Meanwhile, the Gradvisor acquisition marks Betterment’s entry into the 529 space and will someday give Betterment at Work customers the chance to offer workers college savings plans as part of their benefits packages.

Based in Miami, Gradvisor was founded by veterans of Savingforcollege.com and says it is committed to “providing families all across America with unbiased, in-depth information about college savings and 529 plans” and “finally stop the student loan bubble at its source,” according to the company website.

“Employees are asking for more cohesive and comprehensive financial planning across today, tomorrow and their future,” said Kristen Carlisle, general manager of Betterment at Work.

“Providing unique and sought-after benefits that align with retirement or healthcare savings programs can provide a great competitive advantage to recruit and retain talent.”

Earlier this month, Betterment announced plans to purchase automated crypto portfolio provider Makara, with CEO Sarah Levy saying Makara “is to crypto today what we are to traditional investing, since pioneering robo-investing a decade ago.”

Read more: Betterment Experiences Blockbuster Expansion Amid Interest In Meme Stocks

Last year, Betterment reported blockbuster first quarter growth amid the rise of so-called “meme stocks,” seeing its new client base rise by 116% and its net deposits growing by 118%.

Levy said at the time that interest around GameStop and “gambling” on markets amid COVID-19 increased business, but although it’s worth noting the company provides “passive” investment, now allowing customers to choose their own equities.

“What it’s done is shine a light on investing generally,” Levy said. “Strategically, we’re very different from other players in the market, but we’re a nice complement.”