Motif Investing, an online broker pioneering a digital social and thematic investing service, has announced that it is shutting down.
The announcement was made on Friday in a message to users that was widely shared via Twitter.
“At this time, we’ve made the decision to cease operations and transfer your account to Folio Investments,” said the message to users. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with you, and we are confident that your investment needs will be well-served by Folio.”
Motif accounts will be automatically transferred after market close on May 20, according to the announcement, unless users opt out and choose to send their assets elsewhere. Motif clients will be transferred to Folio Investing’s Unlimited accounts, for which they will be charged $19.95 per month, a discount from Folio’s usual $29 per month.
Motif was founded in 2012 and led by former Microsoft executive Hardeep Walia. The service allowed clients to open accounts with as little as $300 in a Motif portfolio.
Users could also create their own custom Motifs—small thematic portfolios of up to 30 stocks or ETFs, which were made available to other users via the company’s platform.
Greg Vigrass, president of Folio's institutional business, said that Motif account holders should enjoy a similar experience on the Folio platform. Motifs are roughly equivalent to Folios, pre-made portfolios offered by the company and custom portfolios shared by advisors using the institutional platforms. But Motif's social aspect of direct brokerage clients sharing portfolios among themselves does not yet exist on the Folio platform.
"The integrity of client accounts will be maintained during the transition," Vigrass told Financial Advisor on Friday. "A customer should be able to continue running and maintaining their account exactly has they had been."
Motif also offered impact investing-focused accounts to users with at least $1,000 on its platform, and direct indexing to those with at least $10,000. In 2016, the firm launched Motif Blue, a monthly subscription robo-advisor service.
Folio is open to considering introducing some innovations that were unique to Motif on its own platform, said Vigrass, who added that advisors who used Motif's platforms should be able to easily adapt to Folio's tools. "This is a great opportunity to engage with an additional cohort of investment advisors, grow, and develop and deepen relationship between those firms and ourselves."