Rocket Dollar, an investment platform allowing individuals to invest in alternative assets, unveiled a rearchitected API-enabled platform as it tops $650 million of assets. Mike Panzarella, who was most recently Block’s (previously known as Square) deposit operations lead, will serve as Rocket Dollar’s chief technology officer and chief product officer moving forward.
Over the last three years, Rocket Dollar has built a powerful and flexible alternative investment IRA and Solo 401(k) allowing investors to invest across real estate, crypto, startups, lending, and more, without losing any IRA tax benefits. Updates include a fully upgraded account opening process which cuts sign-up time to under five minutes, a secure authentication feature, redesigned user interface where investors can manage different types of accounts using a single login, and Rocket Dollar’s patent pending fund transfer module for full funding transparency. Rocket Dollar said it is now perfectly positioned to begin integrating with partners through its API.
“Here at Rocket Dollar, we’ve been focused on building the best customer experience in an industry where account opening can take days and processes can be opaque,” said Panzarella,. “We have applied the best principles from the fintech space and our years of experience to the retirement and self-directed space. Maintaining compliance and security standards, we’ve been able to take account openings from days down to under five minutes, allowing investors to maximize their investment opportunities.”
Innovation and investment in the alternative space have been growing at an exponential pace. Reported by Preqin, 81% of investors expect to increase allocations in alternative assets and AUM is expected to surpass $17 trillion by 2025. Individuals are increasingly investing in alternatives and Rocket Dollar believes it is poised to evolve alongside an ever changing market.
“We have an engaged community and are focused on creating the best platform for those who use it. Our new platform reflects the feedback from Rocket Dollar customers and our team’s extensive expertise in bringing innovative consumer facing financial products to market,” its CEO Henry Yoshida said. “Mike Panzarella, our newly joined chief technology officer and chief product officer, helped build products at companies such as Block (Square) and Green Dot in partnerships with Apple, Uber, Intuit, Walmart and more that are being used by millions of consumers today. Now, he is leading Rocket Dollar into our next phase of hyper scaled growth.”