Vault

Maker

Hi, Product Hunters! I founded Vault to make long-term investing available to everyone. As a former JPMorgan advisor, I saw first-hand how hard it was for most people to start saving, especially when they didn’t work for a big company that provided retirement benefits. Today I’m excited to share we’re expanding Vault’s vision to create the first retirement account that is truly accessible to everyone with the launch of our iOS and Android apps. To make investing even easier, our team has designed an entirely new way to save for retirement: percentage-of-pay. The way we work is changing, and so is getting paid. There are nearly 54 million Americans who work independently in one form or another -- as freelancers, independent contractors, and on-demand workers -- and don't have employer-sponsored retirement accounts. Because of this, many don’t invest for the future. It makes sense because workers are fifteen times more likely to save for their retirement if they have a way to save through an employer-based plan. Starting today, anyone can download Vault and start investing in minutes. Simply link your bank account, set a contribution percentage, and we take care of the rest. By designing the first way for consumers to invest a percent of every paycheck, rather than a static dollar amount on a set calendar timeline, into their IRA, we’re opening investment up to anyone who has variable income. We’re further inviting everyone to invest by offering one month free and keeping Vault’s service charge low at $1/month (for accounts under $5,000) or 0.25% per year (for accounts over $5,000). This product would not be here today without the support of my many mentors, investors, and early customers. I would especially like to thank my team: I’m so proud of each of you for your relentless work to build a product we hope our customers will love. Let us know what you think! https://getvault.com/social-medi...

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8yr ago

Danial

@randyfernand0 what makes you different from others out there such as Acorn, Stash, M1, Betterment, Wealthfront, ...

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8yr ago

Joshua Dance

Summer Bod 2020

@dany20mh @randyfernand0 also interested in this.

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8yr ago

Randy Fernando

Vault

Maker

@dany20mh @joshdance At Vault, we’re focused on solving retirement for people with variable income, whether that’s a small business worker, independent contractor, on-demand worker, or as Ryan referenced below “the growing audience of freelancers and contractors (e.g. Uber drivers, Instacart shoppers) that don't have traditional 401k retirement options from their employer”. So rather than ask these individuals (whose income is variable) to select a pre-set dollar amount to invest each month, as is the case with most IRAs, Vault customers can select a percentage of their pay to invest every time they’re paid, whether that’s monthly, weekly, daily, or as a contract opens and closes. Investing in a Vault IRA looks a little like: (paycheck hits your account) x (your set-contribution % of pay) = investment Investing in an IRA elsewhere looks a little like: fixed $ amount/per month We’ve designed a retirement tool that’s affordable, accessible, and helps our customers invest at whatever pace is most comfortable for them.

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8yr ago

Danial

@randyfernand0 Well from what I understand yours is pretty much the same as theirs, except you are using percentage rather than fix number (others) or rounded up number (Acorns). And you not offering anything new in here, rather than your management stock is pretty fix, but others like M1 for example, you can get what ever stock you want.

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8yr ago

Randy Fernando

Vault

Maker

@dany20mh Why is there more than one of anything? Because different people have different needs. M1 may be great for individuals that want to purchase individual funds and take the time to research investment strategies on their own. But what if you’re not an experienced investor? What if you’ve yet to begin investing at all? We’ve tried to eliminate these blockers and make retirement planning approachable for everyone, not just the financially elite, by creating an investment product that anyone can use with as little as $1 or 1% of income. We’re not looking so much at a specific demographic of earners, but a psychographic, people who have a variable monthly income. We’ve heard firsthand from many customers that it’s challenging to forecast what you should invest (a set $/month contribution) when you don't know exactly how much you're going to make, or when (frequency of income). Our percentage-of-pay based investment lets them make sure they're consistently investing in their future without straining their month-to-month cashflow.

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8yr ago

Ryan Hoover

Product Hunt

This makes a ton of sense for the growing audience of freelancers and contractor works (e.g. Uber drivers, Instacart shoppers) that don't have traditional 401k retirement options from their employer.

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8yr ago

Joe Ringenberg

Wistia

@rrhoover This looks great as a product, and I'm especially interested in the category that's being defined here, i.e. services that have traditionally been subsidized or supported by a model that's declining.

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8yr ago

Randy Fernando

Vault

Maker

@rrhoover Thank you Ryan! We have a Vault shirt waiting for you! (and some LaCroix) :)

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8yr ago

Randy Fernando

Vault

Maker

@jringenberg @rrhoover Thank you Joe! We really took the time to understand the unique needs of our customers and designed a product tailor-made for them. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, I saw first hand how putting off saving for retirement impacts quality of life later on. We hope to change the way people think about saving and investing by making it as easy as possible to get started.

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8yr ago

Adam Marx

How Many People Have Voted?

@rrhoover As a freelance writer and editor, this makes a lot of sense and I can certainly see how it would be useful. I'd be interested to see how it hopefully affects productivity and new business opportunities. Similarly, I wonder how an integration with Robinhood might develop (the saving for retirement side meets the investing side, and both things support one another).

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8yr ago

Elizabeth Hannan

@rrhoover I was excited to review this app this weekend. Upon further review, it claims to toat non-biased investments but the site is laced with religious undertones. Even the "subscribe" landing page ends in a Deuteronomy quote. I just can't endorse this app. The two-faced to it is unnerving. Managing finances is a science and a talent. The definition of religion is religious belief system which is an influence on financial decisions. The web is a clean slate and you have to make a conscious effort to build your views into it. I'm just not sure I can trust an app to manage my investments without clear purity within the decision-making process. It would be more transparent if they advertised as a religion-based investing app. "Never cross the swords."

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7yr ago

Jimmy Douglas

Vault

Maker

There's no party like a retirement party! 🎉 🎊 👯 🎈

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8yr ago

Vault

Automatically save for retirement every time you’re paid

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