Willow Wealth
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services Financial technology Alternative investment |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Milind Mehere Michael Weisz |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Mitch Caplan (CEO) Ted Yarbrough (CIO) |
| Total assets | $6 billion (invested through platform) |
| Website | willowwealth |
Willow Wealth Inc. (formerly Yieldstreet) is an American financial technology company headquartered in New York City that operates an online platform for alternative investments.[1] The platform enables accredited investors and retail investors to access private market asset classes including real estate, private credit, private equity, art, and legal finance.[2] As of 2025, the platform reports more than 500,000 members and over $6 billion in cumulative investments.[3]
History
The company was founded in 2015 as Yieldstreet by Milind Mehere, a co-founder of Yodle, and Michael Weisz, who had held leadership roles in specialty finance firms.[4] It positioned itself as a platform to provide retail investors access to alternative investments traditionally available only to institutions and wealthy individuals.[2]
In April 2019, the company acquired Athena Art Finance from The Carlyle Group for $170 million, expanding into art-secured lending.[5] Later that year, it acquired WealthFlex to integrate self-directed IRA capabilities.[4] In November 2023, the company acquired Cadre, an online real estate investment platform.[6]
The company has raised approximately $800 million in total funding from investors including Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Greycroft.[7] In July 2025, the company closed a $77 million funding round led by Tarsadia Investments, with participation from RedBird Capital Partners, Mayfair Equity Partners, Edison Partners, and Kingfisher Investment Advisors.[3]
In late 2025, the company rebranded to Willow Wealth, stating the new name reflected its expanded product offerings and ten years of experience in private markets.[8]
Products and services
Willow Wealth operates as an online marketplace connecting investors with alternative investment opportunities across ten asset classes.[3] The platform offers both individual investment opportunities and pooled fund structures. Most investments require accredited investor status, though certain products such as the Alternative Income Fund are available to non-accredited investors.[2]
The Alternative Income Fund launched in March 2020 as a multi-asset closed-end fund with quarterly distributions, offering exposure to more than 50 income-focused investments.[9] In November 2021, the company introduced the Art Equity Platform for fractional investment in post-war and contemporary art.[10]
In August 2025, the company launched Willow 360, an automated managed portfolio solution developed in partnership with Wilshire Associates, offering diversified exposure to private markets with quarterly liquidity.[3]
In December 2025, Willow Wealth announced partnerships with Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, and StepStone Group to offer access to private credit funds with minimum investments of $10,000.[11]
Competitors
Willow Wealth operates in the alternative investment platform sector alongside competitors including Fundrise, CrowdStreet, Percent, and RealtyMogul.[12] Compared to Fundrise, which focuses primarily on real estate and has minimum investments starting at $10, Willow Wealth offers a broader range of asset classes but generally requires higher minimums and accredited investor status for most offerings.[13]
Controversies & Scandals
Willow Wealth/Yieldstreet has faced regulatory action, investor litigation, and third-party infrastructure disruptions. In several marine finance deals, the company facilitated loans backed by vessels that borrowers later failed to repay; in some cases, the underlying ships could not be located or had already been scrapped, resulting in investor losses. The episode was discussed in financial media, including by Matt Levine.[14] In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Yieldstreet with failing to disclose known risks in a ship-backed investment; the company agreed to pay approximately $1.9 million to settle the matter without admitting or denying the findings.[15]
The company has also faced investor lawsuits alleging that certain offerings were riskier than represented, resulting in a class action settlement reported to be up to approximately $9 million.[16] Across multiple offerings, including marine finance and real estate deals, investors have incurred significant losses; CNBC reported that total losses reached at least $208 million.[17] Separately, in 2024, the collapse of banking-as-a-service provider Synapse disrupted fund access across multiple fintech platforms, freezing an estimated $160 million in customer funds and affecting accounts associated with Yieldstreet.[18]
Criticism & Investment Losses
The company has faced regulatory scrutiny and investor losses related to certain investment offerings. In 2020, an $89 million marine investment portfolio tied to vessel deconstruction loans defaulted.[19] In September 2023, the company paid $1.9 million to settle SEC charges related to failure to disclose critical information to investors.[20]
In 2025, CNBC reported on distress in the company's real estate portfolio, its largest asset class, noting $208mm defaults and underperformance across 27 offerings made between 2021 and 2024.[21][22]
CNBC also criticized the company for removing a decade of historical performance from their website upon re-branding to Willow Wealth.[22]
References
- ^ Tan, Gillian; Boston, Claire (February 25, 2021). "YieldStreet Weighs Options Including Sale, Starting Own SPAC". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c Fuscaldo, Donna (January 8, 2019). "YieldStreet's Alternative Investment Marketplace Booms In Times Of Volatility". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Yieldstreet Completes $77 Million Capital Raise to Build Comprehensive Private Markets Platform" (Press release). Business Wire. July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Azevedo, Mary Ann (June 2, 2021). "Yieldstreet raises $100M as it mulls going public via SPAC, eyes acquisitions". TechCrunch.
- ^ Dafoe, Taylor; Schneider, Tim (April 10, 2019). "Athena Art Finance Was Founded With $280 Million in Funding. It Was Just Sold for Only $170 Million". Artnet.
- ^ "Yieldstreet To Acquire Online Investment Platform Cadre". Yieldstreet. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ "Yieldstreet seeks $75-$100 million in new funding as the investment platform weighs sale". Fortune. November 22, 2024.
- ^ "Yieldstreet is becoming Willow Wealth". Willow Wealth. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Lim, Dawn; Michaels, Dave (August 12, 2020). "Two U.S. Agencies Examining Investments Sold by Crowdfunding Site YieldStreet". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Frank, Robert (November 12, 2021). "Yieldstreet launches fund for smaller investors to bet on art". CNBC. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Goldman, Carlyle to Offer $10,000 Private Fund Access on Willow". Bloomberg News. December 4, 2025.
- ^ "Top YieldStreet Alternatives, Competitors". CB Insights.
- ^ "Fundrise Versus YieldStreet: Which Is A Better Investment?". Financial Samurai. January 2, 2025.
- ^ Levine, Matt. “The Boats Are Missing.” Bloomberg Opinion.
- ^ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “SEC Charges YieldStreet for Misleading Investors in Asset-Backed Securities Offering.” 2023.
- ^ InvestmentNews. “Yieldstreet investors reach settlement over risky offerings.” 2024.
- ^ CNBC. “Yieldstreet investors rack up more losses as firm rebrands to Willow Wealth.” 2025.
- ^ TechCrunch. “Synapse’s collapse has frozen nearly $160M from fintech users — here’s how it happened.” 2024.
- ^ "YieldStreet Wins $77 Million From Family It Accused of Fraud". October 6, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ "US regulator fines Yieldstreet over disclosure failures". Reuters. September 12, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ Son, Hugh (August 18, 2025). "When 'invest like the 1%' fails: How Yieldstreet's real estate bets left customers with massive losses". CNBC. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ a b Son, Hugh (December 5, 2025). "Yieldstreet investors rack up more losses as firm rebrands to Willow Wealth". CNBC. Retrieved December 5, 2025.