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Motif Investing to Close its Doors

Motif Investing to Close its Doors

After ten years in the investment space, online brokerage platform Motif will be shutting down operations on May 20.

The company notified users via email on April 17 in a message saying, “At this time, we’ve made the decision to cease operations and transfer your account to Folio Investments.”

Motif was founded in 2010 by Tariq Hilaly and former Microsoft executive Hardeep Walia, who debuted the company’s build-your-own motif concept at FinovateSpring 2013. Since its launch, the company amassed $127 million in funding from investors including Y Combinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups. In March, Motif reported $604 million in assets under management between individual accounts and institutional clients. The company also reported around $264 million in assets held in the ETFs it launched in conjunction with Goldman Sachs.

Last month, Motif deepened its ties with Goldman Sachs, ringing the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of launching five new ETFs in partnership with the bank.

As mentioned in Motif’s statement to its users, the company is transferring users’ accounts to Folio Investing. “We appreciate the opportunity we’ve had to work with you, and we are confident that your investment needs will be well-served by Folio,” the email said. Folio was founded in 2010 and offers 2,000 commission-free, window trades per month, most of the ETFs listed on the U.S. national securities exchange, 1,100 no-load mutual funds, and almost 125 pre-made portfolios.

While some Motif users have publicly complained about the company’s choice in the new provider, some fintech firms, including M1 Finance, have taken the opportunity to bring Motif’s users over to their platforms.

As ThinkAdvisor noted in a piece published last week, Motif’s news is a signal of what’s to come for smaller players in fintech. In fact, many analysts have noted that the recent pandemic and economic crisis will drive consolidation in the industry.