Episode Summary
Executive Summary: Bob Safian interviews Betterment CEO Sarah Levy about the firm’s move into crypto via Makara, the tension between speculation and long-term investing, and how Betterment is evolving from a product-led robo-advisor into a broader financial wellness platform. Levy emphasizes diversification, fiduciary standards, customer engagement, and using employer benefits to deepen Betterment’s mission.
Main Topics: Betterment’s Crypto Acquisition and Strategy (Priority: 5/5): Levy explains why Betterment bought Makara: to offer crypto within a diversified, long-term, fiduciary framework rather than as a speculative trading product. Investing Philosophy: Diversification vs. Speculation (Priority: 5/5): The discussion contrasts active trading mania with Betterment’s core belief in long-term, diversified investing and dollar-cost averaging. Levy’s Career Path and Leadership Transition (Priority: 4/5): Levy reflects on leaving media for finance, moving from Viacom to Betterment, and shifting from founder-led innovation to scaling a mature brand and operations. Brand, Customer Experience, and Scaling a Platform (Priority: 4/5): Levy argues that as Betterment grows, customer experience, communication, and operational muscle become as important as the product itself. Financial Wellness and Employer Benefits (Priority: 5/5): Betterment is expanding beyond 401(k)s into broader financial wellness offerings, including support for student loan debt, to help SMBs attract and retain talent. Socially Responsible Investing and Active Ownership (Priority: 4/5): Levy describes Betterment’s approach to SRI as iterative and practical: avoid forcing performance tradeoffs, use best-available products, and enable shareholder activism.
Key Arguments: Crypto is treated as an asset class worth including, but only in a responsible, diversified, and long-term portfolio framework. Average investors cannot realistically identify winning cryptocurrencies among thousands of tokens, so Betterment prefers market-wide exposure over coin-picking. Betterment’s traditional robo-advice principles—dollar-cost averaging, diversification, and patience—still apply even as investing becomes more mobile and self-directed. The rise of self-directed trading is an extension of financial democratization, not a contradiction to Betterment’s model; the opportunity is to adapt with personalization and engagement. Levy’s role is to scale Betterment beyond product innovation by building brand, customer experience, communication systems, and operational infrastructure. Employer-based financial wellness can be a differentiator for small businesses and is a natural extension of Betterment’s mission to improve people’s lives. Betterment’s socially responsible investing strategy aims to make values-based investing accessible without requiring customers to sacrifice returns. Instead of simply excluding “bad” companies, Betterment sees promise in shareholder activism and using collective capital to influence corporate behavior.
Data Points: Team size: 400 people - Levy describes the Betterment organization when explaining who builds and manages its portfolios and technology. Digital assets available: Over 17,000 - Levy uses this figure to illustrate how difficult it is for consumers to choose individual cryptocurrencies. Viacom tenure: 21 years - Levy says she spent 21 years at Viacom before moving to Betterment. Great Resignation timeline: During the great resignation - Levy references this period when Betterment’s employer benefits discussions intensified. SRI launch timing: Fall of 2020 - Levy says Betterment entered the socially responsible investing space at that time. Acquisition target: Makara - The crypto investing platform Betterment acquired to enter the crypto space. Betterment office location: Manhattan - Levy joins the interview from Betterment’s offices in Manhattan. Job timing: Late 2020 - Levy became CEO in the midst of the pandemic in late 2020. Capital investment example: $40,000–$45,000 - Separate sponsor segment featuring Emily Warden Designs and a business card purchase example. Crypto asset class count: 17,000 different digital assets - Used by Levy to emphasize the complexity of crypto markets.
Pivotal Quotes: "we believe in cryptocurrency. We believe that the asset class is here to stay." — Sarah Levy: Explaining why Betterment acquired Makara and entered crypto. "Don't make perfection be the enemy of good." — Sarah Levy: Her explanation of Betterment’s approach to socially responsible investing. "there is no idea that's too small and there's no idea that's getting in the way of the past and it's all kind of looking forward." — Sarah Levy: Describing the creative freedom and growth mindset at a smaller company like Betterment.
Implications: Betterment is positioning itself as a values-driven, tech-enabled financial platform that can meet investors across changing markets—without abandoning disciplined, fiduciary investing. The company’s future likely depends on combining trust, personalization, and expanded workplace benefits.
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