A group of investors has put up $110 million in Series B financing to help Winnipeg-based Conquest Planning Inc. grow its AI financial planning technology, the company announced Monday.
Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the financing. Current investors BNY and Portage were involved, along with Canapi Ventures, BDC Capital, Citi Ventures, TIAA Ventures and USAA.
Conquest will use the funding to continue expanding in the U.S., develop estate planning features and invest in its AI-powered Strategic Advice Manager (SAM), which provides financial plan scenario modelling and individual recommendations, Ken Lotocki, chief product officer at Conquest said in an interview.
“Estate planning is the biggest [part] … we’re building a dynamic experience to handle both pre- and post-mortem planning,” Lotocki said.
The upcoming estate planning features will help advisors illustrate how philanthropy or giving a gift to a child will affect a client’s retirement goals. It will also help clients understand how to manage tax obligations at time of death, Lotocki added. “No one really wants to give it all away to the tax man.”
Conquest also announced the launch of SAM Bytes, a new tool for consumers who don’t have a financial advisor.
“This is an important feature for a lot of the clients that we’re talking to, not just [for] reaching out and prospecting, but for illustrating potentially difficult or new concepts to clients [and] working with people who might already be a client to a financial institution, but don’t have a plan,” Lotocki said. It can help clients with questions such as finding the right savings account or dealing with student debt.
The company says that more than 1,000 firms are on its financial planning platform, including RBC, Manulife and Raymond James. Close to 1.5 million financial plans have been written with the software, according to a release.