Vanilla has gained a new strategic investor in Edward Jones Ventures, a recently launched venture capital program aimed at finding new areas of growth for the firm via partnerships.
The estate planning platform provider has also announced new fundraising led by returning investor Insight Partners, alongside contributions from Venrock, Vanguard and other previous investors. Vanilla is also working with new investor Alumni Ventures.
In addition to supporting growth goals and customer adoption, the company will use the funding to expand its platform, including its embedded artificial intelligence capabilities. Vanilla's core goal remains modernizing how financial advisors and estate planners help households of all wealth levels build their legacy, said CEO Gene Farrell.
Farrell declined to share the specific size of each new investment but said the scale of the backing is similar to what the firm achieved in its prior capital raise in 2022.
"It's always about striking a balance and raising enough capital to get to the next phase of growth without taking too much onboard and seeing dilution," Farrell explained. "With this latest round, we feel that we're on the cusp of a big breakout in revenue. If we raise capital again in the future, we will be in a very different spot."
The investments come at an opportune moment for both the company and the greater wealth management industry, Farrell said, especially as the adoption of estate planning software gains significant traction. He cited a recent T3 survey showing that the use of estate planning software has spiked sharply among advisors, with a 259% increase over the past two years.
Vanilla has over 10,000 end clients on the platform, Farrell noted, spanning from clients with less than $1 million in net worth to over $1 billion. Its recently launched on-demand trust and estate document offering, the Vanilla Document Builder, is now available in all 50 states.
The platform is used by a range of advisor industry clients, from small RIAs to major firms such as Vanguard, Mariner Wealth Advisors and Avantax. This network will expand rapidly in the years and months ahead, Farrell said, and the firm expects to make additional "big announcements" in the near future.
