Philly startup aims to make investing easier for people who don’t come from wealth

The world of financial advice can be misleading and full of hard-to-spot scams. It can seem purposely opaque, founder Mical Jeanlys-White believes, to keep people out. 

Organizing and managing financial assets strategically, however, is widely considered a good first step toward building generational wealth. But as Jeanlys-White learned growing up, that’s not always easily accessible. 

In 2021, she started Philly-based WealthMore, which offers financial advice and investment support, building on her experience in traditional banking as ​​managing director at JP Morgan Chase. The platform aims to help spread financial literacy in communities of color, Jeanlys-White said on Technical.ly Speaking, a monthly segment on WURD Radio’s “Reality Check,” hosted by Tonya Pendleton.

“Your lived experiences matter, finding people who you can relate to matter, people who can understand your financial journey,” Jeanlys-White said, “so we solve for that.”

The platform is available to anyone who can invest $5,000 to open their accounts, plus $25 per month for its Invest Plus plan. Then, users have access to advisors who can walk them along the path, whether it is buying real estate, investing in stocks, or other strategies that make the most sense for them. 

On WealthMore, the advisors purposely come from diverse backgrounds to help match the clientele’s wide-ranging needs, according to Jeanlys-White. Beyond just getting advice, it also serves as a platform to connect with others who might be in similar positions. 

“We have wealth advisors that have our own lived experiences who come from our communities, and then we take it a step further,” Jeanlys-White said. “We actually built those communities on the platform so you can join groups.”