The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 18 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Stein: Betterment's Tax Management Saves Clients More Than Platform Fees
“We tax manage for you to save you more than you even pay us in fees. In taxes, we give you net positive returns on your investment with us”
Stein: Financial Advisor Discovery Still Runs on Referrals, Not Data
“Today, financial advisor discovery
Still runs on referrals, not data.”
Stein: Only 2% more Betterment users withdrew funds in March 2020
“Among all of our customers, only two percent more customers withdrew in March than did in a normal month for us, and by far more customers were depositing the withdrawing”
Stein: 26% more Betterment users made ad hoc deposits during crash
“26% more of our total customer base was depositing ad hoc, not just auto deposit, but actually actively putting more money in than pulling money out.”
Stein: 37% more millennial Betterment users deposited than withdrew
“For millennials, the most interesting thing is that for millennials, it was 37% more were putting ad hoc money in than withdrawing.”
Stein: Older Betterment investors were more likely to panic-withdraw than youth
“For investors who are closer to retirement, we're recommending more conservative portfolios. We're putting them into more cash. We're putting them into more bonds that are less volatile in times like these. And nevertheless, they're more likely to withdraw tha…”
Stein: Robo-advisors founded after 2008–2009 stayed tiny or were acquired
“There were a couple other competitors that started at that time that still exist. Everyone who started since is either really tiny or has been acquired or this or that.”
Stein: Betterment co-founders agreed to reduce their initial equal 33% equity stakes
“I had to come back to them and say, I don't think we did this right, and I want to renegotiate our split here. And that was tough, but you know, ultimately they were they agreed that that, that they should take smaller shares.”
Stein: Betterment clients hold Vanguard funds, making Vanguard a partner
“Anyone who's invested with us is also getting some Vanguard funds. So in a sense, we're partners with them.”
Betterment Manages Over $60 Billion for More Than One Million Americans
“That's right. Even, even more than that today. And we manage money for over a million Americans.”
Harden Furniture Went Bankrupt Due to Debt and Foreign Competition
“The company doesn't exist anymore. My family furniture company, partly because they took on debt and partly it was due to foreign competition. But ultimately, you know, went, went under they couldn't service the debt payments.”
Rising Import Costs Will Allow Custom Woodworkers to Profitably Raise Prices
“The prices of goods from abroad are going up. So I'm optimistic that Mike's going to be able to raise his prices and find a path.”
Betterment survey: 33% of Gen Z lost jobs to COVID vs 8% Boomers
“In our survey of millennials, I think it was 33% of Gen Z lost jobs in our survey due to COVID versus only about eight percent of the baby boomers had lost jobs.”
Stein: Banking consultants spent six months developing products without customer input
“I found many times that we were working on projects and we could go six months on a product development and never talk to a customer.”
Stein: Betterment reached $1M AUM within days of TechCrunch launch
“300 that day, right? Wow. 350. They were just, and we were amazed. We think this is incredible. And they were small deposits at first, right? Nobody put in more than, you know, 10 K or so. But all of a sudden, by, within a few days, we had a million dollars un…”
Stein: Bessemer offered Betterment $3M when the startup sought $1M
“The first meeting that he set up was with Bessemer Ventures, and we went out and we pitched Rob Stavis, and it was love at first pitch. We said, we're building this Company that is going to help people make the most of their money. And Rob said, this is fascin…”