Your questions, answered.

Wealth management is confusing and littered with unknowns. Compound exists to support tech people in learning what they need to know en route to their goals.

General
Experience
Billing
Security

Message us directly at [email protected]

General

What is Compound's mission?

Compound helps people in technology achieve their financial goals. You can think of us as your family office—a single place to manage your taxes, investments, and borrowing. We support your goals and help you make better financial decisions.

What is Compound not?

Compound is not:

  • Affiliate-linking you to external financial or tax advisers
  • An insurance broker
  • A robo-only-adviser
  • Business-to-business software that we sell to other financial and tax advisers

Compound is a complete solution for tech people for managing their finances.

Where is Compound available to clients?

Compound currently serves people in technology who live in the US. We’re expanding to support people who live elsewhere—contact us if you have any questions.

Does Compound have investors?

Yes. We’re proud to partner with Greenoaks, Egon Durban, Lachy Groom, and Y Combinator, along with leaders from Goldman Sachs, Stripe, and Meta.

Who works at Compound?

We are engineers who understand equity modeling and financial advisers who follow Hacker News. We’re always looking for more kind and ambitious people.

Where is Compound’s team based?

Compound has team members in North America and Europe, with offices in San Francisco and New York.

Experience

How does the client experience work?

We start by cataloging your assets and understanding your goals. Then we use our software to build a multi-year financial plan with you. Once you’ve made a plan, we help you achieve it by managing the time-consuming work for you—coordinating with attorneys and bank representatives, helping you make capital calls, etc.

What services does Compound provide?

Compound provides people in technology with financial advice, tax advice, tax filing, public equities investing, alternative asset investing, philanthropic planning, stock option financing, portfolio lines of credit, document management, and balance sheet tracking.

I'm on the waitlist. How do I get off?

We are onboarding new clients gradually and prioritizing people that we can help right now. If you have an urgent financial need (such as an imminent or recent liquidity event), please email details of your situation to [email protected]

Who are Compound's typical clients?

​​We work with people across the technology industry, and we don’t have a minimum asset requirement to become a client. If you think you might be a fit, get in touch.

What is Compound's approach to financial planning?

We want to help you achieve your goals over the next year—and the next 30. Compound’s financial planning is personalized and goal-oriented, specializing in the unique needs of people in technology, like stock options and illiquid balance sheets. We leverage purpose-built modeling software to help you forecast your IPO, estate plans, and diversification strategies.

I have stock options. How can you help?

We help you understand the value of your post-tax stock options and make a plan to exercise them. (Oftentimes, 20-40% of the value of your equity is tied up in how you manage the taxes.)

Is Compound a fiduciary?

Yes. Compound and Compound’s licensed financial advisers are all fiduciaries, meaning that they are legally obligated to prioritize your finances above all else.

Is Compound a tax advisor?

Yes. We offer tax advising, planning, and filing services to people in technology. We specialize in helping folks with industry-specific topics like options-exercising, angel investing, cryptocurrency transactions, and capital call tracking.

How does Compound support my insurance needs?

Compound’s expert advisory team has experience supporting clients in acquiring insurance advice and policies. Since Compound does not offer insurance advice or policies in-house, we will support you in acquiring a satisfactory solution through a qualified insurance consultant or broker.

How does Compound support borrowing (including loans & mortgages)?

Compound can help you acquire loans, portfolio lines of credit, stock option financing, mortgages, and many other borrowing products. If Compound does not offer the specific financial function in-house, we will help you find a satisfactory solution.

What investment opportunities are available on Compound?

We provide our clients with investment opportunities in venture capital, real estate, private equity, and fixed income, among others.

How does Compound support giving/donations/philanthropy?

Compound can help you establish philanthropic foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs). Our goal is to help you support causes you care about while ensuring you receive the tax benefits afforded to you under the law.

I'm currently doing things on my own. Why should I switch to Compound?

We founded Compound to help tech founders and employees focus on their unique skills. Instead of pinging a buddy for tax advice or combing through Quora or Slack for scraps of information, consider a free consultation with our team.

What is the difference between Compound and a private bank or traditional financial/tax adviser?

We offer a complete solution for people in technology—we’ll invest your money, file your taxes, advise you on exercising your stock options, and help you set up an estate plan, all in one place.

What is the difference between Compound and Mint or Personal Capital?

Compound is not merely a financial tracker like Mint or Personal Capital’s dashboard: We won’t just track your actions: we’ll ensure you execute the optimal ones to achieve your aims. Our team specializes in supporting the unique financial needs of tech founders and employees, from estate planning to options tax treatment.

Can Compound help me set up an estate plan, a trust, a college fund, etc.?

Compound’s expert advisory team has experience supporting clients in all sorts of vehicles for transferring wealth, including revocable and irrevocable trusts (e.g. Grantor-Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), and work with many law firms if needed to achieve your wealth transfer goals. If our team does not yet offer the function in-house, we will ensure you acquire a satisfactory solution.

What is the difference between Compound and a robo-advisor?

Compound helps you optimize your public investments but also solves all of the problems that robo-advisers ignore. Compound's team doesn't merely invest your liquidity in public equities and assign you a 1-10 risk number: we help you design and execute against a personalized strategy that accounts for alternative investments, tax treatment, liquidity needs, residence, family needs, and estate plans.

Is Compound a financial adviser/registered investment adviser?

Yes. Compound is an SEC-registered investment adviser, and all of our financial advisers are themselves educated, trained, and licensed to provide financial advice. They, like Compound, are all fiduciaries, meaning they are legally obligated to prioritize your financial goals over all else.

Billing

Can I get a refund?

We promise to provide expert service. If you find yourself dissatisfied during a quarterly payment period, simply contact our Concierge.

How can I close my account?

To close your account, just email the Compound Concierge.

Security

Is my information secure on Compound?

Compound operates state-of-the-art security and compliance programs. For more on our security practices, see our Security Overview and Privacy Policy.