Willow Wealth Inc.
Private
IndustryFinancial services
Financial technology
Alternative investment
Founded2015
FoundersMilind Mehere
Michael Weisz
Hq location cityNew York City
Hq location countryU.S.
Key peopleMitch Caplan (CEO)
Ted Yarbrough (CIO)
Assets$6 billion (invested through platform)
Websitewillowwealth.com

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]

In March 2026, Mount Logan Capital Inc. acquired the assets of Willow Wealth's flagship Yieldstreet Alternative Alternative Income Fund "YS AIF", representing over $100 million in assets, and will absorb them into their Opportunistic Credit Interval Fund (SOFIX). According to the terms of the agreement, SOFIX will acquire the assets and liabilities of YS AIF at closing net asset value in exchange for shares of SOFIX. The transaction is expected to be completed in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2026.[9]

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.[10] In November 2021, the company introduced the Art Equity Platform for fractional investment in post-war and contemporary art.[11]

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.[12]

Competitors

Willow Wealth operates in the alternative investment platform sector alongside competitors including Fundrise, CrowdStreet, Percent, and RealtyMogul.[13] 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.[14]

Controversies and 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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

Criticism and 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.[20] In September 2023, the company paid $1.9 million to settle SEC charges related to failure to disclose critical information to investors.[21]

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.[22][23]

CNBC also criticized the company for removing a decade of historical performance from their website upon re-branding to Willow Wealth.[23]

References

  1. ^ Tan, Gillian & Boston, Claire (February 25, 2021). "YieldStreet Weighs Options Including Sale, Starting Own SPAC". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Fuscaldo, Donna (January 8, 2019). "YieldStreet's Alternative Investment Marketplace Booms In Times Of Volatility". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Yieldstreet Completes $77 Million Capital Raise to Build Comprehensive Private Markets Platform". Business Wire. July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  4. ^ Azevedo, Mary Ann (June 2, 2021). "Yieldstreet raises $100M as it mulls going public via SPAC, eyes acquisitions". TechCrunch
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ "Yieldstreet To Acquire Online Investment Platform Cadre". Yieldstreet. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "Yieldstreet seeks $75-$100 million in new funding as the investment platform weighs sale". Fortune. November 22, 2024.
  8. ^ "Yieldstreet is becoming Willow Wealth". Willow Wealth. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  9. ^ Duncan, Ellie (2026-03-20). "Mount Logan Capital doubles credit interval fund with $100m asset acquisition". Alternative Credit Investor. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  10. ^ Lim, Dawn & Michaels, Dave (August 12, 2020). "Two U.S. Agencies Examining Investments Sold by Crowdfunding Site YieldStreet". The Wall Street Journal
  11. ^ Frank, Robert (November 12, 2021). "Yieldstreet launches fund for smaller investors to bet on art". CNBC. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Goldman, Carlyle to Offer $10,000 Private Fund Access on Willow". Bloomberg News. December 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "Top YieldStreet Alternatives, Competitors". CB Insights
  14. ^ "Fundrise Versus YieldStreet: Which Is A Better Investment?". Financial Samurai. January 2, 2025.
  15. ^ Levine, Matt. “The Boats Are Missing.” Bloomberg Opinion.
  16. ^ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “SEC Charges YieldStreet for Misleading Investors in Asset-Backed Securities Offering.” 2023.
  17. ^ InvestmentNews. “Yieldstreet investors reach settlement over risky offerings.” 2024.
  18. ^ CNBC. “Yieldstreet investors rack up more losses as firm rebrands to Willow Wealth.” 2025.
  19. ^ TechCrunch. “Synapse’s collapse has frozen nearly $160M from fintech users — here’s how it happened.” 2024.
  20. ^ "YieldStreet Wins $77 Million From Family It Accused of Fraud". October 6, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  21. ^ "US regulator fines Yieldstreet over disclosure failures". Reuters. September 12, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Son, Hugh (December 5, 2025). "Yieldstreet investors rack up more losses as firm rebrands to Willow Wealth". CNBC. Retrieved December 5, 2025.