Financial Finesse, an employer-sponsored financial coaching provider, announced Wednesday it has acquired of OfColor, a financial wellness platform focused on supporting employees of color.

Founded in 2020, OfColor offers tailored coaching and resources designed to improve financial well-being for employees from underrepresented groups, helping them build wealth and achieve financial stability. Financial Finesse, which was founded in 1999 and works with employers to create customized financial wellness programs, declined to disclose terms of the deal.

Liz Davidson, the CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, and Yemi Rose, the founder of OfColor, said the acquisition will bring “greater personalization” to Financial Finesse’s platform.

“OfColor has built an incredible library of culturally relevant content, including videos and articles, created by financial coaches of color and tailored to the lived experiences of employees of color,” Davidson and Rose wrote in an emailed response.

According to the pair, Financial Finesse will be rolling out in November an enhancement to its employee financial wellness hubs to make OfColor’s content available to all users, which includes those at more than 20,000 companies.

Financial Finesse will also tap into OfColor’s coaching expertise, created by coaches of color, to expand its lineup of available webcast topics for employer partners to choose from, which are expected to be popular among employee resource groups.

Uncertain Financial Times

“We’re living through uncertain financial times, and employees are feeling more financially vulnerable and stressed than ever,” Davidson and Rose wrote in the email.

Financial Finesse’s internal data show that financial stress has increased by 16% over the past year, and employees of color report higher levels of stress than other demographic groups. Through its Financial Wellness Think Tank, Financial Finesse has found that 45% of employees of color who engage in its live and artificial intelligence-driven coaching experiences reduced their financial stress significantly within a year.

“The more personalized our coaching experience becomes, the more effective we’ll be at driving results for the employees and employers we serve, and OfColor plays an important role in our larger personalization strategy, which made now the right time for the acquisition,” the pair wrote.

Davidson and Rose also pointed to recent financial wellness trends, noting signs of consolidation. When venture capital was flowing more freely in 2021 and 22, the industry attracted a lot of funding, they noted. Optimism was high, and the industry was overbuilt.

“As the marketplace evolves, we will very selectively consider additional acquisitions that can advance our personalization strategy and positive impact,” they wrote. “We look for mission-aligned companies that have proven results in reaching specific populations or addressing specific financial issues in a deep and meaningful way.”