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Marstone Announces Close of $5 Million Series A Funding

By: via Business Wire

Led by Amerant, the second close of this financing allows Marstone to accelerate its integrated fintech ecosystem and offer complete financial wellness to clients

Marstone, Inc., a leading digital wealth technology firm, today announced the second close of a $5 million Series A financing round bringing the company’s total funding to over $20 million. The first close, led by Apex Fintech Solutions LLC, the “fintech for fintechs” powering innovation and the future of digital wealth management, was completed in May 2020, with Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTB and AMTBB) (“Amerant”) leading the latest with a $2.5 million investment. Other Series A participants include Peter Kraus, John Thain, Kristen Dickey, Tom Freeman, Michael Rafferty, Richard Wastcoat, and other early investors. Founded in 2013 by Margaret Hartigan and Robert Stone, Marstone is a one-stop digital wealth platform accelerating customer-facing strategies for global organizations.

“The financial industry is in the midst of incredible transformation,” said Margaret J. Hartigan, Co-Founder and CEO, Marstone. “Consumers are hungry for highly personalized, digital-first wealth and banking experiences that grow their financial understanding and empower them to make smarter, forward-looking decisions. Financial institutions that can’t or won’t meet these needs will be surpassed by those that do. With Marstone, institutions can reinvent themselves, become - or remain - relevant as the massive coming wealth transfer accelerates, and stem the movement of assets to competitors through a diversity of digital offerings, products, and services.”

Today’s financing allows Marstone to further diversify the financial planning and wellness toolset offered via its platform, an increasing demand from today’s digital-first consumers. In addition to new consumer expectations, the global pandemic brought new urgency to financial institutions, making cost cutting, cross-generational accessibility, and digital offerings imperative for survival and growth. Because it can take years to develop these tools in-house, Marstone offers a comprehensive, industry-leading solution that can be implemented in a fraction of the time, helping organizations create a seamless digital experience that creates backend efficiencies and cost-savings, all while meeting evolving end-user demand. This financing comes following Amerant Bank N.A. recently entering into a multi-year agreement with Marstone. Coupled with the investment by Amerant Bancorp Inc., Amerant will nominate one director to serve on Marstone’s Board of Directors.

“Since its inception, Marstone has been a step ahead of the industry,” said Peter Kraus, Chairman of the Board, Marstone and Chairman and CEO, Aperture Investors. “The team had the foresight to prioritize backend integrations and end-user experience, all while evolving the platform as consumer expectations shifted. As a result, they’ve created a solution that makes the process of financial planning and wellness personal, robust, and comprehensive.”

“We are excited to make this investment in Marstone and support its mission to make financial planning more attainable for everyone,” said Jerry Plush, Vice Chairman & CEO of Amerant. “Marstone’s platform allows us to offer our customers a highly personalized, thoughtful, and specialized experience. We look forward to further developing our relationship as Marstone continues to create an industry-leading financial ecosystem.”

With offices in Providence, Rhode Island and New York, New York, today’s financing brings Marstone’s total funding to over $20 million. To learn more about Marstone’s offerings, please visit https://www.marstone.com or contact us at info@marstone.com.

About Marstone

Marstone is a leading digital wealth management platform with a mission to enhance financial literacy, deepen financial inclusion, and humanize finance for all. Its enterprise-ready solution, Powered by MarstoneTM, enables financial institutions to efficiently and affordably reach, acquire, and retain clients who seek straightforward information and engagement around their finances.

As a proven and trusted technology partner, Marstone has comprehensive integrations with custodians including Pershing, core banking platforms including Fiserv, account aggregation platforms, and investment managers. These integrations, in addition to Marstone’s partnerships with globally recognized foundations including the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and leadership participation in the Milken Institute's FinTech Advisory Committee, provide organizations the opportunity to deploy a technology that will help future-proof their businesses as consumer expectations for digital wealth management evolve.

About Amerant

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTB and AMTBB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida since 1979. The Company operates through its subsidiaries, Amerant Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”), Amerant Investments, Inc., Elant Bank and Trust Ltd., and Amerant Mortgage, LLC. The Company provides individuals and businesses in the U.S., as well as select international clients, with deposit, credit, and wealth management services. The Bank, which has operated for over 40 years, is the second largest community bank headquartered in Florida. The Bank operates 25 banking centers – 18 in South Florida and 7 in the Houston, Texas area. For more information, visit AmerantBank.com and Investor.AmerantBank.com, and follow Amerant on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn at @AmerantBank.

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