Citrus Pay Founders’ Startup Cube Wealth Raises $2 Mn Funding

Mumbai-based automated wealth tech app Cube Wealth has raised a $2 Mn equity funding round. International angel and seed investors from Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, Europe, Singapore, and India including Beenext participated in the latest round of funding.

Cube was founded in May 2018 by Satyen Kothari, who had previously founded Citrus Pay. Citrus Pay was sold for $130 Mn in 2016 in one of the largest fintech cash deal in India.

The startup will use the funding to add additional asset partners and develop a network of premium sales/marketing partners and IFAs across the country. The aim is to service customers that demand more performance than the standard mutual fund and insurance options.

Cube Wealth: An Overview

Specifically built for Indian professionals, Cube Wealth is an automated wealth tech app that works on the concept of disciplined long-term wealth creation using the MAP philosophy:

M – Multiple asset classes such as equities, mutual funds, p2p lending, gold, even charitable investing to build a well-rounded portfolio.

A – Advisors. Top tier SEBI registered advisors and RBI registered asset providers that help guide every user on the right portfolio set up based on their life situation, cash flow, current investments, and risk appetite.

P – Personalised human support for all members plus a private WhatsApp wealth concierge service for premium members.

Satyen Kothari, Founder and CEO of Cube Wealth believes that the hard-working Indian middle class deserves better wealth creation options and advice and service than the standard insurance policy or mutual fund that is sold to them today. “Our mission is to make 1 Mn Indian professionals financially independent via Cube Wealth,” he added.

Market Opportunity In Wealth Management

Over the last few years, individual investors have increasingly expanded their portfolios to include diverse financial instruments, beyond debt. Mutual funds and equity-linked schemes have made it affordable and convenient for individual investors to invest in market instruments.

According to a report by AMFI, the top 15 cities in India have witnessed a higher penetration where investments of individual investors in equity schemes increased by 53.4% in March 2018 over March 2017.

The value of assets held by individual investors in mutual funds increased from INR 8.53 Lakh Cr in March 2017 to INR 11.66 Lakh Cr in March 2018, which is an absolute increase of 36.79%.

Teru Sato. Founder, Beenext has been one of the early backers of Citrus Pay. On the latest funding round, he opined that Satyen’s passion for doing what’s right for the consumer in terms of design thinking and customer centricity makes him a special entrepreneur.

“With Cube Wealth, Satyen is building on India’s growth story which is one of the most exciting ones in the world. The country has a large and aspirational middle class that deserves high-quality products and services in all areas of life. We see huge potential in Cube Wealth as a leader in the fast-growing wealth tech market,” he said.

Other major players in the wealth tech segment are Paytm Money, ETMONEY,  Wealthy, Scripbox, Fisdom, WealthTrust etc. MyUniverse, MoneyLover. MoneyView, MTrakr, IOU (I Owe You). Also,  ecommerce unicorn Flipkart, which was recently acquired by Walmart, has also been speculated to start selling mutual funds and insurance products on its financial marketplace.