How I Invested in Women—And Myself—After Getting Dumped by Ellevest During Women's History Month

On February 25, I opened my inbox to news that Ellevest would be shutting down its digital offering. They gave me and about 70,000 other women roughly a month to decide what to do with the money in our accounts before they would automatically transfer it to Betterment. Side note: it's not lost on me that this month-long "figure it out period" was during the month of March—a month dedicated to celebrating women.

Though I'm usually firm on keeping investments invested, I've decided to withdraw my $2,500 and use it to continue supporting women in other ways. Here's what I'm doing.

THE BACKSTORY

In 2020 I started getting serious about investing and diversifying my portfolio beyond my HYSA and 401(k). I had also just started my own business, Goodera, dedicated to working with purpose-driven brands and businesses. I was all in on this rose-tinted vision of building wealth on my terms, not only through my business, but also through ESG investments that aligned with my values.

When I first came across Ellevest in 2021, I was immediately drawn to their brand positioning and messaging. Supporting more women and redefining what investing looks like? I'm in. Investing in ESG portfolios more closely aligned to my own values? Take my money.

I ate it up. As someone who's made a living in advertising, I always like to think I'm immune to being influenced by marketing. But their message, however "fem-washed" it may have been, clearly worked. Plus, the women-specific pain points they claimed to address in their planning made me feel like maybe they had a different way of doing things. For example, accounting for the gender pay gap, or taking time off during our peak earning years to be caregivers.

So I signed up.

I started with small, random contributions here and there.

Then I set up regular $25/mo contributions, and eventually raised it to $50/mo. Sometimes I would dump a few hundred bucks in there for an extra boost. Despite this consistency, it never felt like my account was growing at a rate comparable to my professionally-managed accounts. Even with regular boosts, my simple "Reach $5k in 4 years" goal would always flip back to "Off Track." But I never analyzed its performance, simply because I wanted to continue supporting them in their mission, and my hope was that our returns would get better as the company grew and evolved.

In retrospect, I always wanted more from Ellevest. I always wanted to deepen my experience with them because I loved the idea. I had several calls with different Ellevest Financial Planners over the years, always hoping to find "the one" who would become my partner in creating a unique, comprehensive financial plan aligned with who I am and where I want to go—a self-employed woman with diversified income streams for the short term, and a solid safety net for the long-term. I wanted to check my account and see that my ESG portfolio was proof that we could make money and work with businesses who make a positive impact on the world. I wanted it to be more than it was. But I never got that. Each advisor just felt like they were trying to sell me a set-it-and-forget-it robo-investing service, rather than feeling like the wealth-building partner I was after. So I never invested further.

THE START OF THE SWITCH

In December 2024, Sallie Krawcheck announced she would be stepping down as CEO of Ellevest due to a recent health diagnosis. She immediately announced her business partner and Ellevest's Chief Investment Officer, Dr. Sylvia Kwan, would become co-CEO along with Connie Hsiung, Ellevest's COO & CFO.

Just two months later, this change happened.

It's natural to wonder if Ellevest would be pivoting like this if Sallie were still in charge—or at the very least, if she also would have decided to dump 70k women during Women's History Month without much support. But at the end of the day, health is the only true wealth, and I applaud her for putting her own needs first. That's all that matters, the rest of us will be fine.

According to Financial Advisor IQ, Ellevest will continue to serve their 287 wealthiest clients—which accounts for just 0.4% of their client base—through their private wealth unit. Each of these clients has $500k or more invested, totaling nearly $947 million in managed funds. The remaining 99.6% of us that they're dropping have much smaller accounts, totaling $1.12 billion in invested assets.

I get it. I understand businesses change, and they're likely pivoting directions to serve a more lucrative clientele. I just hope Ellevest continues to evolve in a way that is actually beneficial for women, and continues to accomplish their goal of getting more money into the hands of more women. But even as my own portfolio approaches $500k, I don't see my money going back that way.

The timing and handling of this transition definitely left me feeling let down. And perhaps a little embarrassed that maybe I fell victim to fem-washing.

This is why a strong brand positioning and values matter. Of all months, this transition happened in March, Women's History Month. For a company who prides themselves on empowering women and helping us build a more financially sound future, they just dropped over 70,000 of us, disabled our apps, and gave us a month to figure out our next steps, pretty much on our own. After years of feeling like Ellevest was an investment company I could trust and was excited to grow with, it now felt like just another example of corporate America doing what corporate America does—it's all about the bottom line, and it always has been.

Sometimes I feel I fell victim to fem-washing. Other times I'm disappointed that a woman-forward company like this wasn't able to provide me the same results as its male-owned counterparts over the years. But my financial advisor warned me against these robo-advisor fintech companies, and I am sad to say, he was right.

SO WHAT NOW?

The money I had invested in this account had always been more symbolic and supportive than it was meant to make me wealthy. I had to remind myself of this when deciding what to do with this $2,500.

Instead of transferring to Betterment—which, I had an account years ago and moved away from it after getting a more hands-on financial advisor—I decided not to invest in another robo-advisor. Instead, I am withdrawing the money and using it to support women I know are making an impact in the world.

Even though it's not a huge amount, I still spent the month making sure I was comfortable with my decision. The loudest voice was the one telling me "don't react emotionally and withdraw it. Roll it over to your higher-performing brokerage account and let it grow." But I'm a firm believer in living life today just as much as saving for tomorrow, and I have plenty of money invested and working for me. Then there was the other voice questioning me "do you really want to have to deal with capital gains next tax season?" But I quickly gave myself a gut-check on this. I earned $29 on this account last year, I think I can handle the taxes.

I've decided to use the money and commit to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this August for my 40th birthday with WHOA travel. WHOA is women-powered in every sense of the word, and I'm happy to spend my money with a business I know is supporting women all over the world—not only through their adventures, but in who they hire, who they partner with, the grants they provide, and all the work they do in protecting the environment. I've been working with them through Goodera for nearly two years, so I've seen firsthand just how possible it is to build something that actually supports women every single day.

But also, this is an investment in myself.

In building a more purpose-driven lifestyle and a business that supports other like-hearted humans, it's crucial that I show up for myself in this endeavor. With this trip I'm investing in my mental and physical health by training in preparation for this hike. I'm investing in my creative hobbies by taking a photography safari afterwards. And I'm investing in unforeseeable growth. Every time I take on a challenge like this, I always learn so much. Pushing myself further, harder, or higher than ever before. Immersing myself in other cultures. Overcoming language barriers. Working with a team (who were strangers just a few days prior) to accomplish a common goal. This type of real-world adventure is a non-negotiable for me when it comes to investing in my own personal growth.

Plus, I'm celebrating my discipline, consistency, and commitment to myself. I'm celebrating how strategic I've been with all of my saving, spending, and investing, and how far I've come to get to where I am today. Since I dumped my first $20 into Ellevest I've grown my overall investment portfolio over 500%. And while I've been able to take multiple once-in-a-lifetime trips over the years, I've always prioritized maxing out my retirement contributions and tax-advantage accounts before treating myself.

My bottom line here is I deserve it. And honestly? I can't wait to see the ROI on this investment in myself, because I am certain it will be more than $29.