Plentina Financial Launches U.S. Robo-Advisory Platform for Global Wealth Building

Filipino-led US-based fintech Plentina Inc. announced that it will be piloting a new robo-advisory service ‘Plentina Wealth’ designed for underserved diasporas to build wealth.

Its new U.S. subsidiary Plentina Financial Inc., a U.S. SEC-registered investment adviser, will initially look into the investing challenges faced by the Filipino minority community in the U.S.

According to Plentina, the U.S. lacks diversity in investment advisers, where 8 out of 10 investment advisers are white and 8 out of 10 investment advisors are male.

Additionally, many global trading platforms turn a blind eye to poor investment decisions and low portfolio diversity, often driven by low quality advice from friends and family, social media influencers, and commissioned salespeople.

Plentina Financial was formed to address this challenge by providing investment advice by taking into account its clients’ best interests through the launch of Plentina Wealth.

The robo-advisor can build and manage a personalised investment portfolio optimised for an investor’s financial goals and investment interests.

With its US-licensed brokerage partner, the service draws from global securities and trades in real time during market hours.

Investors will be able to set up their account online via the Plentina Wealth web portal. Users will need to submit personal details, a valid government-issued ID, and a live selfie which should take only a few minutes.

Once they receive their account verification, users will be able to use Plentina Financial’s robo-advisory service to build investment portfolios.

Traditional wealth management in emerging markets have required minimum balances exceeding US$100,000. However, Plentina aims to make international wealth management services accessible to anyone with a US$100 subscription per year which is waived for balances exceeding US$10,000.

While the service will initially be available in the U.S. only, Plentina has submitted its Letter of Intent in June 2023 to the Philippines SEC to register a similar investment advisory service and aims to launch in the country once it receives the necessary approvals.

Plentina was founded in late 2019 by Stanford classmates Kevin Gabayan, an ex-Google and NASA team lead and machine learning engineer, and Earl Valencia, a former tech and finance executive in the Philippines and Silicon Valley.

Since its inception, Plentina has secured a total of over US$5 million in pre-seed and seed funding from VCs including Techstars, 500 Startups, TMV.VC, and Global Founders Capital.

In 2020, Plentina’s Philippine lending arm and operator of payment system, Plentina Lending, Inc. launched its mobile app which enabled users to avail of store credit for household names in the country, including retail giants Robinsons and SM, e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee, and network leaders Smart and PLDT.

Earl Valencia

Earl Valencia, Plentina’s Co-founder and Chief Business Officer who recently was appointed by the President of the Philippines to be an Executive Member of the National Innovation Council, shared,

“Plentina was built with a lofty and heartfelt vision—we want to improve the financial future of as many people as possible. It’s been a thrilling journey so far, and we are driven to make a lasting difference.

We feel honored to offer people products and services they truly deserve. With the launch of our Plentina Wealth Platform and our new robo-advisory service, we’re enabling global wealth-building and unlocking more financial opportunities for generations to come.”

Kevin Gabayan

Kevin Gabayan Co-founder and CEO of Plentina said,

“Everyone should benefit from global economic growth. With Plentina Wealth, we can serve those alienated by traditional advisors.

We’re proud to enable more to own equity in global growth and set it on autopilot.”

You can sign up for the Plentina Wealth’s early access waitlist here.