Acorns is an American financial technology and financial services company. Based in Irvine, California, Acorns specializes in micro-investing and robo advice.
According to Fortune's Impact 20 list, Acorns had 8.2 million customers in 2020. In 2022, the company's total assets under management exceeded $6.2 billion.
The company was launched in 2012 by father and son duo Walter Wemple Cruttenden III and Jeffrey James Cruttenden to promote incremental and passive investing. It launched in 2014 with an app for iOS and Android devices. The portfolio options a user can select from were designed in partnership with paid advisor Harry Markowitz, a Nobel laureate.
Since its inception, the platform has expanded to include checking account services and individual retirement account (IRA) products. This was made possible following an acquisition of Portland, Oregon fintech retirement startup, Vault.
In 2018, behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi was appointed chair of a behavioral economics committee at Acorns, working on an initiative termed the Money Lab to conduct field experiments focused on consumer spending.
Since its founding, the company has raised approximately $100 million in venture capital funding. As of August 2019, notable investors in Acorns included Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, Bono, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Durant. PayPal, BlackRock, and NBCUniversal also have a stake in the company.
In May 2021, Acorns planned to go public through a merger with a blank-check company Pioneer Merger Corp. These plans were canceled in January 2022, citing market conditions.
In 2017, Acorns was censured and fined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for failing to maintain proper customer records.