Building an investment platform for everyone

Key takeaways

Titan aims to democratize wealth management by providing accessible, transparent investment tools for everyone.
Building trust in finance can be achieved through transparent communication and direct access to fund managers and insights.
Technology enables the creation of open, flexible ‘investment factories’ allowing anyone to launch niche financial products, broadening market participation.
Distribution via social media and authentic content is essential for engaging modern investors and spreading investment ideas.
The future of investing includes empowering everyday people to impact company governance, influence markets, and participate actively in wealth creation.
Strategic sequencing and thoughtful growth are crucial for building a sustainable, impactful enterprise like Titan.
Speed of development can drive rapid learning and market fit, but must be balanced with high-quality execution to ensure long-term success.

Summary

The Mission to Democratize Investing

Joe Percoco explains Titan’s mission to break down traditional barriers in wealth management. Historically, wealth management tools and exclusive access to elite investment vehicles were reserved for the wealthy and institutions. Titan aims to provide affordable, accessible investment management for everyone, leveraging technology to create transparency and trust. Joe highlights how Titan wants to be the new bedrock for millennial investors, similar to how mutual funds served baby boomers, but for the current generation.

Redefining Wealth Access and Trust through Technology

Joe emphasizes the shift from black box financial products to transparent, communicative investment experiences. Titan introduces tools like direct communication from managers via video updates and open access to management insights, which builds trust at scale. He uses the analogy of a restaurant’s back of the house to illustrate how Titan opens the ‘kitchen’ to investors, allowing them to see and understand their investments transparently, which contrasts traditional opaque investing methods.

Innovating the Investment Factory and Platform Model

The conversation explores how Titan builds and enables others to create financial products more cheaply and efficiently. Joe envisions a future where anyone can launch niche investment funds or products on Titan’s platform, similar to an app store, with safeguards to ensure quality and fiduciary responsibility. This approach aims to replace traditional, slow, and costly fund creation methods like mutual funds and ETFs with a flexible, creator-driven ecosystem.

The Power of Distribution and Social Media in Investing

Joe stresses the importance of distribution channels like TikTok and social media for spreading investment ideas and engaging new audiences. He believes platforms like TikTok are critical for authentic storytelling and connecting with users en masse, which is essential for modern wealth management and education. He also discusses the potential of influencers and niche content creators to bridge the gap between expert managers and everyday investors.

The Future of Investing and User Engagement

Looking ahead, Joe discusses how Titan could enable everyday people to become active shareholders in large companies, influencing governance, and fostering community-driven change. He reflects on the risk-seeking behavior of younger generations, driven by access, feedback loops, and digital community dynamics. He envisions Titan as a platform that not only manages assets but also empowers users to shape the companies they invest in, promoting transparency, participation, and democratized influence in markets.

Strategic Growth and the Right Sequencing of Development

Joe highlights the importance of thoughtful sequencing in building Titan’s future. He discusses whether to accelerate platform features or to focus on refining core products first. Speed is critical in some phases, but balance with deliberate, high-quality growth is also necessary. The key challenge is to determine the right path—whether to build directly for consumers or to empower niche creators first—by continuously analyzing data and market signals.

The Big Picture: Impact and the Next Fidelity

Joe shares his vision for Titan to become a trusted, comprehensive investment authority for the new generation. He compares Titan to Fidelity in scope and influence but tailored for millennials and Gen Z. He aims for Titan to be a catalyst for societal and market change—giving everyday investors real power, reshaping capital flows, and ultimately influencing company governance, market dynamics, and the economy at large.

Show notes

This week Adam is joined by Joe Percoco — the Co-CEO of Titan, a premier investment manager for everyone. Titan is an investment company, a media, and a tech company, all rolled into one. Mid last year, they closed a $58 million Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) at a $450 million valuation. They currently have $750 million in assets managed and more than 35,000 clients.

Why should Titan exist? In Joe's words, "Wall Street ignores everyday investors, and caters only to the ultra wealthy. This divide doesn't sit well with us. So, we built Titan." On today's show Joe shares the journey, the why's, the how's, and the sequencing it might take to get to a $1 trillion of assets managed.