American Express Partners with Bodeswell for Financial Planning

American Express Expands into Financial Planning with BodesWell

American Express is extending its services to encompass financial planning, leveraging the expertise of a seven-person startup known as BodesWell.

This week marked the launch of a pilot program for the company’s inaugural self-service digital financial planning tool, officially named “My Financial Plan (MFP).” The trial period, which began on July 11th, is currently available to approximately 25,000 carefully selected American Express cardholders.

Strategic Investment and Development

American Express made a strategic investment in BodesWell through its venture capital division, Amex Ventures, in late 2020. Following this investment, a collaborative effort was initiated between the financial services giant and the smaller startup to create a financial planning solution tailored for Amex customers.

The newly developed product aims to provide users with a comprehensive overview of their financial standing and assist them in formulating and achieving significant life objectives, such as homeownership or retirement planning.

Insights into the partnership were shared by Julia Huang, from Amex Ventures, who oversaw the investment and product strategy, and Matthew Bellows, co-founder and CEO of BodesWell, in an interview with TechCrunch.

Huang and Bellows initially connected while participating on a panel discussion in 2019.

“I was particularly impressed that this wasn’t simply a round-up savings application, but a comprehensive tool designed to provide a complete understanding of one’s financial situation, enabling informed planning for life’s major decisions,” Huang explained to TechCrunch.

Prior to investing in BodesWell, Amex Ventures conducted an extensive evaluation of the financial planning landscape, having assessed over 70 startups over time, according to Huang.

Huang then facilitated an introduction between Bellows and the Amex Digital Labs team, initiating a joint development process for a specialized offering for American Express clientele. (Bellows notes that while he is based in Boston, the startup operates with a globally distributed team.)

“Our objective is to make financial planning more accessible to our cardmembers by delivering detailed insights and projections to support their overall planning efforts,” she stated to TechCrunch.

BodesWell's Vision

Bellows founded BodesWell in early 2019 with the intention of empowering individuals and customers to independently construct their own financial plans.

“A significant portion of financial planning software is geared towards financial advisors, requiring their direct operation,” he pointed out. “Consequently, many individuals are unable to benefit from financial planning… We aspire to extend these benefits to a wider audience.”

BodesWell will assist users in establishing a financial plan and will function optimally when integrated with their existing financial accounts through Plaid, allowing for real-time updates, as Huang described.

The tool “considers income, assets, expenses, and liabilities – providing a holistic view of cash flow, enabling users to simulate the financial impact of life events through a drag-and-drop interface,” Bellows explained.

It is estimated that approximately 85 million American households currently lack a financial planner, often due to concerns about a planner’s motives or feeling overwhelmed by the process.

Pilot Program and Future Plans

The product is being offered free of charge during the pilot phase, and American Express has not yet decided whether to implement a subscription fee afterward.

“We are initially focused on gauging user engagement and assessing the product’s value for our customers,” Huang told TechCrunch. “Our priority is to ensure the product resonates with users and to refine it based on feedback to ensure its suitability for a broader audience. We want to ensure our customers find it valuable and utilize it.”

Huang added that Amex Ventures has established collaborative partnerships with over two-thirds of the companies within its investment portfolio.

“We actively seek to engage with our portfolio companies in this manner, providing support to our startup ecosystem,” Huang said.

Previously, BodesWell secured approximately $1.5 million in funding from investors including Cleo Capital, Ex Ventures, Riot.vc, GritCapital and Argon Capital, as well as angel investors such as HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan and Kintent CEO Sravish Sridhar.