Betterment’s co-founder Eli Broverman last week posted on LinkedIn that he is stepping away from daily operations at the New York-based robo adviser.
In a post that features a group photo of Betterment’s original team, Broverman says he made the decision several weeks ago to relinquish the president's role at the firm in order to focus on other startups. He will remain on Betterment’s board. The company’s products include Betterment for Business, a 401(k) robo-advisor.
“It’s time for me to get back to helping to build early-stage companies,” he wrote. “[Jon Stein, Betterment CEO] and I have talked about this at length, and I can’t thank him enough for his support.”
From Betterment’s earliest days, Stein, not Broverman, has acted as its public face ― in front of the company’s major announcements, appearing in national advertisements and television interviews and headlining industry events.
Still, it is an amicable departure, says David Janowski, senior industry analyst at research firm Forrester. “In my experience working for and with fintech startups, this is a very neutral announcement,” he says. “It really sounds like he wants to help build up another firm. After 10 years working, competing, and fighting the status quo in such a complex new arena who can blame him?”
Betterment spokesman Joe Ziemer says the robo adviser “wouldn’t be where we are today without [Broverman’s] significant contributions. He’s leaving the company as the industry leader.”
