Detroit-based Signal Advisors raises $10M Series A led by General Catalyst – TechCrunch

Signal Advisors is building a specialized financial platform for financial advisors, and the company is announcing it raised a $10 million Series A led by Brian Ru and Hemant Taneja at General Catalyst. This funding is on top of the $6 million seed round it raised in 2020 from Detroit Venture Partners, Ludlow Ventures, General Catalyst and others.

In a released statement, new board member and managing partner at Michigan-based Annox Capital Robert Mylod puts it well: “We’ve seen a lot of capital investment in technologies that promise to replace financial advisors. But the bigger opportunity, by far, is to build technology that empowers advisors.”

Signal was founded following CEO Patrick Kelly’s career as a financial advisor. In this capacity, he discovered the need for an end-to-end platform for financial advisors, specifically those independent and offering annuities and life insurance. Signal’s solution allows these advisors to bypass traditional distributors and simplify the sale of annuities. The company says its product can track commissions in real time and advance payout ahead of carrier payments.

“We started with annuities because advisors simply don’t have great options for this technology today,” said Pat Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Signal Advisors, in a press release. “But that’s just the beginning. We want to provide independent financial advisors with an integrated platform. Whatever their needs, whatever their clients need, the technology and service can provide a seamless experience.”