ASX-listed micro-investing platform Raiz Invest has crossed the $2.04 billion funds under management milestone, backed by a growing base of 347,354 active customers and a high-profile chief executive appointment designed to drive the next phase of its expansion. The company, which turns everyday digital spare change into diversified exchange-traded fund portfolios, is positioning itself as a mainstream wealth-building tool for a new generation of Australian investors.
Strong portfolio growth despite a tough economic climate
The numbers tell a compelling story for a platform once dismissed by traditional wealth managers. Raiz's Kids and Plus portfolios surged 26.3% and 22.4% respectively, significantly outpacing a 4.7% lift in overall customer numbers during the third quarter. Kids portfolio accounts alone recorded a 26.4% year-on-year increase, a figure that underlines growing parental appetite for introducing children to investing habits at an early age.
This growth has materialised against a challenging backdrop of persistent cost-of-living pressures and cooling retail investor sentiment. Rather than deterring users, those economic headwinds appear to be pushing everyday Australians toward automated micro-investment strategies as a low-friction way to steadily grow their wealth.
New CEO Craig Keary takes the reins at Raiz Invest
With the business firmly in profitable territory, the Raiz board moved to appoint a seasoned operator to scale the platform further. Craig Keary officially became chief executive officer on June 1, succeeding Brendan Malone, whose six-year tenure guided the company through its foundational growth phase and its ASX listing.
Keary arrives with substantial credentials across financial services, having held senior executive roles at Westpac, HSBC and AMP Capital. Most recently he served as chief executive of online broker Selfwealth, where he led the platform through its acquisition by international digital wealth and micro-investing group Syfe.
His stated mandate is to streamline Raiz's internal operations and roll out more advanced product offerings. Central to his philosophy is the belief that long-term wealth creation should operate quietly in the background of everyday life — an automated routine rather than an active, stressful decision-making process. Keary is also a vocal advocate for removing emotional bias from investing, arguing that panic-driven decisions during periods of market volatility are among the most costly mistakes retail investors make.
How the round-up model works — and why it's sticking
The core mechanic behind Raiz's platform is elegantly simple. By linking directly to a user's bank card, the app rounds up everyday purchases — a takeaway coffee, a supermarket shop, a rideshare fare — to the nearest dollar, then automatically channels that spare change into a diversified ETF portfolio chosen by the user.
This is reinforced through dollar-cost averaging, a strategy where investments are made at regular intervals regardless of market conditions. When prices fall, the system automatically purchases more units; when prices rise, it purchases fewer. Over time, this smooths the average cost of investment and reduces the psychological toll of trying to time the market.
For Keary, the approach carries significance beyond pure returns. He views automated micro-investing as a practical vehicle for financial literacy, particularly for younger Australians — teaching children and teenagers to save, invest and develop a healthy relationship with money through simple, repeatable digital habits. For those exploring how digital platforms can help beginner investors filter out market noise, the Raiz model offers a notable case study.
What comes next for Raiz
With more than 347,000 active users and funds under management now comfortably above the $2 billion mark, Raiz enters its next chapter from a position of clear momentum. The combination of a proven product, a profitable balance sheet and a chief executive with deep experience scaling digital financial platforms suggests the company is well-placed to move beyond its early-adopter base and compete for a much larger share of the Australian retail wealth market.
