With the COVID-19 coronavirus, extreme uncertainty has hit home, forcing some families to consider tapping into their savings and investments.
Despite the economic downturn, Ksenia Yudina, CEO, and founder of UNest, a college savings app, suggests parents don’t lose sight of their goals, such as saving for a loved one's education.
“This is a long-term investment,” Yudina said. “It’s really important to continue contributing even when the market is down.”
Alongside her vocality, Yudina rapidly brought to market an easy-to-use mobile app, allowing users to establish and manage tax-free college savings accounts for their loved ones.
“70% of people in the country don’t even know that 529s exist, and I’m focusing on helping to educate people because everyone is struggling,” Yudina said. “UNest is simple and everyone can take advantage of it.”
UNest Comes To Life
“We are basically the first app -- of our nature -- in the App Store and Google Play.”
In a play on the interactivity and attractiveness of apps like Robinhood, Acorns, and Stash, Yudina took her experiences working as a financial advisor at Capital Group to make college savings more accessible.
“I’ve seen so many families struggle with the cost of education, and a lot of my friends have been affected,” she said. “I proposed a solution at Capital Group which wasn’t a 16-page financial application, and I just got a lot of pushback.”
With loved ones top-of-mind, Yudina saw a very unique opportunity to leverage technology and execute on her mission to help parents send their kids to college.
Main Features
With UNest, users can open up a 529 savings plan to finance the education of a loved one, tax-free.
The platform includes education on relevant topics, portfolio customizability tools, as well as financial advisors, helping users curate a plan that best fits their long-term goals.
“We do not charge fees that are typically associated with advisor guided plans because 529 advisors charge frontload and annual commissions expensive to the consumer,” Yudina said. “What we’ve done is basically erase all those commissions and charge a small monthly $3 advisory fee that’s very transparent.”
Next Steps
“We would like to become a leader in this market.”
Yudina believes UNest is strategically positioned to excel. Her desire is to make the platform more flexible and intuitive, improving security, education, and advisory tools as the company grows.
“We’re focused on marketing, messaging, and helping educate.”
To learn more about investing in your loved ones, visit unestapp.com.
Photo by Helena Lopes from Pexels.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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