NYC-based startup Pontera raises $60 million, plans more hiring in Israel

Fintech startup Pontera has raised $60 million in funding round led by investment firm ICONIQ Growth, the firm focused on aiding financial advisers to manage retirement accounts, said on Thursday.

Although, Pontera didn't disclose its valuation, a source close to the the financial technology firm said it was now worth over $550 million. 

The company has raised $160 million, including the latest round of funding. It also counts Blumberg Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners as backers.

Financial advisers like Dynasty Financial Partners and SageView Advisory Group use Pontera's platform to analyze, rebalance and monitor various government issued retirement funds and other accounts across financial institutions.

Pontera co-founder and Chief Executive, Yoav Zurel, said since 2021 the fin-tech enterprise's annual revenue has quadrupled. 

The company generates money by charging a percentage fee to financial advisors who use the platform.

Currently, Pontera has 220 employees, 65 per cent of which are based in Israel. Some of them have been called for reservist duty since the Israel and Hamas war broke out in October.

Zurel said he plans to invest the money raised in product and engineering, including hiring 50 more employees in Israel.

"We have teams in the U.S. and in Israel and our focus is serving the U.S. retirement saver," said Zurel.

By June 2021, 401(k) plans in the United States held an estimated $7.3 trillion in assets and represented nearly one-fifth of the $37.2 trillion US retirement market, according to Investment Company Institute.

"401(k)'s can be very meaningful portions of people's overall portfolios and assets and it's really important to make the best decisions with them. There was no real way or alternative for advisers to compliantly securely manage held away assets in the past, like they can with Pantera," said Yoonkee Sull, partner at ICONIQ Growth.