Fintual: The Future of Consumer Investing in Spanish Latin America

Sonya Huang and Kais Khimji on behalf of Team Sequoia

The democratization of investing is one of the most important consumer trends of our lifetime.

Today, more than 50% of U.S. households are investors in the stock market. This is the result of decades of progress: from 1975 when fixed retail commission rates were deregulated, to the rise of discount brokers like Charles Schwab, followed by the rise of online brokerages and today’s mobile-first, fee-free trading platforms. A lot has changed to make investing accessible.

However, this financial revolution has not been evenly distributed around the world.

In Latin America, things are different. Banks limit investing access to their wealthiest clients. Even if you do manage to find a bank that will give you a brokerage account (which is no small feat), the fees, investment minimums and withdrawal penalties all remain prohibitively high. This makes the logistics of investing far too challenging — and thus few do it.

But as the global middle class emerges, so will their assets. Today, these assets don’t have a great home. Tomorrow, we suspect they will.

Enter Fintual: a simple, digital-first way for consumers to invest. What Charles Schwab did nearly a half-century ago in the U.S., we believe Fintual is doing today in Chile and Mexico.

Half of Fintual’s users have never had experience investing, and an additional 25% have only ever had a savings account — yet the average client invests thousands of dollars on the platform. What’s more, they are virally referring their friends and family: 90% of Fintual’s user base comes from organic acquisition and customer referrals. This is not something we see every day.

Most unique, however, is the team’s flair. The first time we met CEO and co-founder Pedro Pineda, he described the company as a “kind jungle.” We were instantly charmed by Fintual’s hungry culture and distinctive Chilean sense of humor. See their mutual fund products: Conservative Clooney, Moderate Pitt and Risky Norris. And note their fund reviewing and rebalancing process, “Woodstonk.” It was thus no surprise to learn that Fintual was named the best place to work in Chile for employees under age 35.

For all our enthusiasm about the opportunity in Latin America, we at Sequoia have been selective in our investments. We’ve only partnered with a handful of companies in the region over the last decade, including Despegar, Nubank and Rappi. We are delighted to add Fintual to that list, and to welcome Pedro, Omar, Agustin, Andrés and their team to the Sequoia portfolio.