萝莉视频

In 2022, found himself experiencing a problem faced by many employees of technology companies: too much net worth tied up in one company鈥檚 stock.

In his case, it was , but the problem of a lopsided portfolio is not uncommon 鈥� especially when employees of large publicly traded tech companies received stock as a signing bonus, and then more stock over time. It鈥檚 the classic example of having all your eggs in one basket.

In some cases, this can work out just fine and a stock will only grow over time. However, depending on the company, a stock can be volatile (ahem, ), which can be a cause of great employee anxiety.

On top of that, the challenge in trying to diversify by selling some of that stock means facing 鈥渁 huge tax bill鈥� in the form of capital gains, noted Narayan.

鈥淭hat problem wasn’t mine alone,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t turns out thousands of others were in the same spot.”

So Narayan founded , a San Francisco-based startup he describes as a specialized brokerage for managing large stock positions.

鈥淭丑颈苍办 , but exclusively for people with concentrated stock holdings,鈥� Narayan said.

Cache鈥檚 flagship product is what鈥檚 called an exchange (or swap) fund that lets investors diversify without triggering capital gains taxes 鈥� a strategy the entrepreneur said was previously only available through and ‘s private wealth divisions.

鈥淭hey often came bundled with a private wealth relationship that required a $10 million-plus net worth, minimum investment of $1 million, and fees that could reach as high as 2.5% per year,鈥� he told 萝莉视频 News.

A stock pool

Cache鈥檚 offering is more accessible and available to all accredited investors in America, Narayan said.

To begin, the startup dropped minimums from $1 million to $100,000. It also cut fees by 50% to 75%, Narayan claims, and made its product direct-to-consumer (although it does also partner with wealth managers).

鈥淲e’re the and offer biweekly onboarding versus competitors’ quarterly cycles,鈥� he said.

An exchange fund, as Narayan describes it, is 鈥渆ssentially a bunch of people coming together and pooling all of their stocks in one particular fund.鈥�

鈥淎nd when it is structured a very specific way, you don’t trigger any capital gains. So everyone is diversified by virtue of participation,鈥� he said.

Cache lands Series A, approaches profitability

And now, Cache told 萝莉视频 News exclusively that it has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round led by at a post-money valuation of $125 million. That鈥檚 up from the $30 million it was valued at when it closed an $8.5 million seed round in March 2023.

More than 60 angel investors also participated in the financing, including , former CEO of ; Tim Kochis, founder of ; , founder of , which was acquired by ; and , chief growth officer at . , an investor in Cache鈥檚 seed round, took pro rata and also participated. In total, Cache has raised $21 million in funding.

鈥淭his is one of those rare cases where the team, timing and market opportunity align perfectly,” said , partner at First Round Capital. “Cache is solving a real problem, with clarity and urgency.鈥�

Since its March 2024 launch, Cache has more than $600 million of assets under management across 30% of the Fortune 500. It is 鈥渁pproaching profitability,鈥� according to Narayan.

Ninety percent of the startup鈥檚 clients are using an exchange fund for the first time, he said, which 鈥渟ignals the massive market in front of鈥� Cache. The average investment per investor exceeds $900,000 and Narayan claims that the average capital gains deferred per investor is above $750,000.

鈥淐ache gave me a way to protect my portfolio and diversify without taking a tax hit. It’s rare to find a product that’s both powerful and simple,鈥� said , former VP at , in a written statement. Clients hail from companies such as , DoorDash and others.

Diversifying away from volatility

Over the past year, Cache has seen heightened interest from investors looking to diversify their Tesla holdings, according to Narayan.

鈥淪pots for Tesla within our funds have become increasingly competitive,鈥� he said.

That heightened interest is likely in light of recent headlines surrounding and President that have sent Tesla鈥檚 stock on a roller coaster ride.

In the end, rather than increase a person鈥檚 risk, Cache is out to help reduce it, Narayan said.

鈥淎lmost every single day, we meet somebody who’s worked at for 25 years, and 90% of the net worth is just Microsoft stock, and they own a home, and they have some other assets,鈥� he told 萝莉视频 News in an interview. 鈥淭here are also a lot of extreme stories where 98% to 99% of the net worth is stock or stock or stock. We are making the market aware: 鈥榙on’t hold too much of your net worth in one stock.鈥� There are a lot of stories of companies not performing to your expectations, and wiping away all of that wealth.鈥�

Potential market size

The market potential is indeed huge. Technology companies dispense more than $350 billion in stock-based compensation annually.

For employees who have held that stock through a decade of growth, the result is often a portfolio with one name comprising 70% to 90% of their net worth.

As a bespoke brokerage, Cache鈥檚 initial target market is tech employees at large, public companies, who receive generous equity compensation. For example, the Nasdaq 100 is up 1,800% in this bull market, Narayan pointed out.

Cache operates as an -registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, with client assets held at institutional custodians, including . The platform provides protection up to $500,000 per account, plus additional private insurance coverage.

The 12-person company recently launched S&P 500 and S&P 500 Growth benchmarked exchange funds.

First Round鈥檚 Trenchard told 萝莉视频 News via email that he鈥檚 always liked to 鈥渘erd out鈥� on personal finance and estate planning. He had long felt that stock overconcentration was 鈥渁 real, compelling problem, and that this particular demographic was very underserved when it came to accessible wealth management solutions.鈥�

鈥淭he idea of bringing these products and tools for the super wealthy down market struck me as a very smart one,鈥� Trenchard added.

The investor said he was also compelled by how product-oriented Narayan is.

鈥淗e was not just building another finance company but a true end-to-end platform that made all parts of operating a wealth management platform a lot simpler and less expensive,鈥� Trenchard noted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a sleeker interface 鈥� it鈥檚 a structural innovation that solves a real pain point with a smarter, more accessible solution. I believe it will resonate in a way others haven鈥檛.鈥�

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