Personal Capital was founded by Bill Harris, Rob Foregger, Louie Gasparini and Paul Bergholm in 2009.[6][7] Personal Capital was formerly known as SafeCorp Financial Corp.[8] The name was changed in 2010 and publicly launched on September 9, 2011.[8][9] Since 2012, Personal Capital has been registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment advisor.[10]
In June 2016, National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) teamed up with Personal Capital through a financial education program.[11]
In December 2016, Personal Capital raised $25 million in Series E funding from IGM Financial, closing the round at $75 million.[12]
In July 2020, Canadian-owned, Denver-based Empower Retirement announced it would be purchasing Personal Capital for $825 million plus a contingency payout.[13][14]
In February 2023, Empower Retirement officially renamed Personal Capital and all of its products to Empower.[15]
Product
Since inception, Personal Capital has provided both free and paid wealth management products.[16]
Free registration has included a digital overview of user finances along with access to Personal Capital's financial analytic and planning tools.[17] Users link their banks, brokerages, 401(k)s, mortgages, credit cards, and loans. Analytics and planning advice is then automated through a 401(k) fee analyzer, retirement planner, mutual fund analyzer, an investment checkup, and cash flow tool.[16][17] A free Personal Capital app for iOS and Android devices has also been available to all users with the same monitoring, analytic, and planning functionalities as the web version.[18][19]
Managed accounts have been an available option for clients with a minimum of $100,000[20] in assets and include a team of financial advisors assigned to each account in exchange for a fee.[17]
Security
Personal Capital partners with Yodlee Interactive to store and secure customer brokerage credentials.[21][22]
