At a recent executive team dinner, several Acorns executives were reminiscing about their childhood professional aspirations. While many had had career dreams that had lost their luster—to be an astronaut and such—Seth Wunder shared that his early focus on the world of investing was not only unwavering but also formative. “I grew up in a household and family that was focused on investing and on the growth of the markets,” Wunder recalls. As a teenager, he was already engrossed in financial markets, which would set the stage for a career path that would eventually lead him to the CFO office at Acorns, a pioneering investment platform.
Read MoreWunder’s journey began in investment banking, where he honed his analytical skills and developed a keen eye for financial opportunities. His transition to running an investment fund further solidified his expertise, allowing him to delve deep into the intricacies of market dynamics and company valuations. It was here that Wunder cultivated his strategic mind-set, learning to balance short-term gains with long-term value creation.
Still, the transition from investor to operator is a pivotal career chapter. He noted that one of the everyday challenges in this is to translate financial concepts. “When you’re in finance, everyone around you understands the technical language, but as a CFO, you have to communicate in a way that everyone can understand, regardless of their domain expertise,” Wunder explains. This insight has led him to make clear communication a priority, although he admits that optimizing the skillset needed to break down complex ideas into simple building blocks remains a work in progress.
Upon joining Acorns, Wunder quickly found his footing during the acquisition of GoHenry, which expanded Acorns into international markets. This transaction showcased his ability to integrate teams and drive synergies, ultimately enhancing the company’s growth trajectory.
On the home front, Wunder, a father of three, says that he is committed to instilling sound financial habits in his children. He believes in the power of early financial education and is determined to help shape their financial futures—much like he aims to do for Acorns users.
“Learn and do as much as you can early on in your career. As someone who’s worked in hedge funds, portfolio management, and entrepreneurship, I can say that all of these different experiences have informed how I make decisions at Acorns and helped me to be a well-rounded and strategic CFO.” –Seth Wunder, CFO, Acorns
Made Possible By
CFOTL: Tell us about Acorns … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Wunder: Acorns is a savings and investment platform. We focus on helping everyday consumers to save, invest, and enjoy financial wellness for the long term. We got our start with Round-Up, our tool through which you could round up your spare change and move it into diversified portfolios. We give people all of the education necessary to understand how long-term investment in the stock market—and the compounding benefit of time—can really build great financial wealth over the long term.
Read MoreWe’ve broadened the business significantly over the years. We now have banking features, including our partnership with Dwayne Johnson for our Mighty Oak debit card. We’ve also acquired GoHenry, which is targeted at helping kids—and teens, for that matter—to learn how to save and bank and eventually invest. This has moved us fully into the whole-family space, in that we now serve kids, teens, and adults by giving them lots of tools and a suite of products for long-term financial planning and investing, all of which we bundle into subscription tiers based on value. Basically, in a fiduciary way, we are helping folks who are just starting out or even continuing their financial education to learn about money things with which they may not be familiar—all with a focus on the long-term benefits of being financially well.
Personally, this is just obviously a natural extension in so many different ways of where I have come from historically. I think that I can speak with some authority about what it’s like to see people trade securities aggressively and the differences between different types of trading behaviors—and what long-term investing really looks and feels like. I am quite passionate about this.
Also, I have three kids—15, 13, and 9 years old—and I am enjoying watching them begin their journey in financial awareness and education. As we all know, developing really good habits at a young age helps people to sustain them as they grow older, whether these practices are physical, exercise-related, dietary, financial, or otherwise. As it turns out, the missions of my personal and professional lives are sort of holistically intertwined: What I would like to see my children achieve over the long term is exactly what I would also like to help all of our customers to achieve, as well.
jb
Acorns | www.acorns.com | Irvine, CA