blooom

Blooom Raises $9.15 Million in Investment

Online investment advisor Blooom (Thinking Bigger Business cover profile, Dec. 2015) recently raised $9.15 million in a Series B round of investment.

Previously, Blooom secured a $4 million round of Series A investment from Alexandria, Virginia-based venture capital group QED Investors, DST Systems, UMB, Prudential and other venture capital firms. The latest round of investment brings Blooom’s total raised to $13.15 million. Investors in the new round include existing investors QED and San Francisco-based Commerce Ventures. Allianz Life Ventures Nationwide Ventures, TTV Capital, the KCRise Fund, Industry Ventures and UMB also joined in the recent Series B investment round.

Based in Leawood, Blooom’s proprietary online tool helps people clear up confusion about what’s in their 401(k) retirement plan by analyzing its assets. It then shows customers how best to allocate their investment choices to attain growth and make quarterly adjustments as needed. Their concept to help the “little guy” with retirement investment has garnered significant growth since CEO Chris Costello, COO Kevin Conard and CTO Randy AufDerHeide co-founded Blooom in March 2013.

To date, Blooom has more than $500 million in assets under management; the company surpassed the $300 million mark in June.

The financial firm’s reputation continues to grow. The company took home a “Best in Show” honor from 2014’s Finovate conference in New York. Fast Company Magazine selected blooom as one of “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Personal Finance.”

Also, Blooom was one of 10 LaunchKC winners that was awarded a $50,000 grant in 2015. The company won an additional $10,000 grant after being named as the winner of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s One in a Million contest.