Finovate Awards Winner InvestiFi on the changing investment landscape, consumer education, and bringing investment assets back to banks and CUs.



Detailed Summary:



In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Kian Sarrestheh, co-founder and CEO of InvestiFi the 2025 Finovate Awards winner in the Best Alternative Investment Solution category. InvestiFi provides a digital investment platform specifically designed for banks and credit unions, allowing their customers to invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto, and roboadvisory portfolios directly from their checking or savings accounts without transferring money to third-party platforms. This innovative approach keeps deposits on the financial institution's balance sheet while providing a seamless user experience that eliminates the friction of moving money between accounts.



The conversation explores how consumer investment behavior is rapidly shifting toward third-party apps like Robinhood, Coinbase, and SoFi, with financial institutions losing between 5-10% of their deposits to these platforms. Kian explains that these fintech companies are expanding beyond investing into traditional banking services, including mortgages, checking accounts, and savings products, creating a significant competitive threat to community banks and credit unions. InvestiFi addresses this challenge by enabling financial institutions to offer comparable digital investment experiences while maintaining the customer relationship and deposit base within their own ecosystem.



Looking toward the future, Sarrestheh predicts that banks and credit unions will ultimately prevail over third-party investment apps due to their physical presence, established community trust, and ability to provide in-person customer service when issues arise. He believes that financial institutions offering similar digital investment capabilities through platforms like InvestiFi will leverage their 150-year track record of resilience and local relationships to win back customers who have migrated to fintech alternatives. The discussion emphasizes the importance of consumer education and the value of maintaining that crucial primary financial institution relationship in an increasingly digital investment landscape.



More info:



Tenerity PrivacyGuard: https://investifi.co/; https://www.linkedin.com/company/investifi-cuso/



Kian Sarreshteh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/technologykian/



Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/



Finovate: https://www.finovate.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/



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