SoFi Blog

You’ve probably heard the stats about the gender pay gap in America: Women today earn $0.81 for every dollar that men do—which, over the course of a career, can means hundreds of thousands of lost wages.

Here at SoFi, we want to do everything we can to help you attain everything you’re entitled to. Sometimes, that means researching your market value and asking your employer for more. Other times, it might mean looking for a new role, with higher pay and more opportunity for advancement.

But there’s something else you can do to close the gender wage gap—something that might be even more powerful.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – April 9, 2018 – SoFi today announced the appointment of Michelle Gill as Chief Financial Officer, effective April 30.

“We’re thrilled to have Michelle join the SoFi team. She has deep financial expertise, a passion for our mission, and knows our business in and out having been our lead banker for several years,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi. “Michelle is also an exceptional leader who has a passion for building a great culture. I look forward to partnering with her as we continue to build the next great consumer financial services company.”

Gill joins SoFi from TPG Sixth Street Partners. Previously, she spent 14 years at Goldman Sachs & Co., where most recently she was a Partner co-heading the Structured Finance business. Gill received her JD from Cornell Law School and her BA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

“I am excited to be joining Anthony and the team at SoFi in building an innovative and inclusive culture that will radically change the way people approach their finances,” said Gill. “The company’s impressive financial strength paired with its talented team gives SoFi the opportunity to expand the breadth of its offerings and ultimately help more members achieve success.”

Gill replaces Interim CFO Steven Freiberg, who assumed the role in May 2017. Freiberg also serves as vice chairman of SoFi’s Board of Directors and will remain in that role.

SoFi closed 2017 having reached new milestones across its business, cracking $25 billion in funded loans since inception and over 430,000 members. The company completed $2.6 billion in loan securitizations in the first quarter of 2018, a 35% increase over the prior-year period and its largest-ever quarterly ABS issuance volume.

About SoFi
SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we’re all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they’re looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

Contact
SoFi PR
[email protected]

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SoFi Members to Receive Complimentary Access to KF Assessments, Resume Reviews, Coaching, and More

SAN FRANCISCO and LOS ANGELES, Calif. — April 6, 2018 — SoFi and Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) today announced a partnership bringing access to the KF Advance career development platform to all of SoFi’s nearly-half a million members free of charge. This partnership marks the first time a financial services company has offered KF Advance to its customers.

“At SoFi, we’re focused on how we can help our members get ahead financially, and a huge piece of that is career success and satisfaction,” said VP of Membership at SoFi, Libby Leffler. “While we already conduct over 1,000 career counseling sessions in-house per quarter, this collaboration will allow us to deepen the career guidance we’re able to offer and increase the number of members we’re able to help.”

SoFi Career Solutions powered by KF Advance offers online assessments, resume review, career coaching, and other services that leverage Korn Ferry’s vast IP and their more than 70 years of consulting expertise. Through KF Advance, job seekers find the expertise they need and the encouragement they desire to find the career path that will bring them more purpose and passion and elevate their performance through features including resume-parsing technology and personalized strengths assessments.

SoFi and Korn Ferry piloted the offering in the first quarter of 2018, with over 350 SoFi members receiving complimentary access to the KF Advance platform. Pilot participants reported an aggregate 96% satisfaction rate in post-access surveys, suggesting both strong demand and enthusiasm for the platform.

“Following an incredibly successful pilot period with SoFi, we’re proud to be formalizing this partnership,” said Bryan Ackermann, Korn Ferry’s Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. “We’re excited to see the difference we’re able to make in each individual’s life.”

SoFi members can access the KF Advance benefits including career coaching, resume review, and personal branding guidance by visiting the dedicated SoFi powered by KF Advance site at https://kfadvance.com/sofi/.

About SoFi
SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we’re all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they’re looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

About Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. The firm helps companies design their organization – the structure, the roles and responsibilities, as well as how they compensate, develop and motivate their people. As importantly, Korn Ferry helps organizations select and hire the talent they need to execute their strategy. The firm’s approximately 7,000 colleagues serve clients in more than 50 countries.

Contact
SoFi PR
[email protected]

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Studies show millennial women have enormous power—when it comes to spending, that is. But what about when it comes to building wealth, like saving and investing toward the future? To figure that out, SoFi teamed up with Levo to survey 2,050 millennial women on their behaviors and motivations around financial habits, with intriguing results.

Millennials get a bad rap when it comes to personal finance. They’re often labeled as unprepared for the future or emergencies because they don’t save enough, if anything at all. However, of the women surveyed, 53% have an emergency savings fund set aside (covering three to six-plus months of housing and necessities). And they don’t just keep their money under the bed: 70% review their bank accounts at least once a week. These findings indicate millennial women are much more financially responsible than they’re given credit for, in that they are savers and have cash flow to invest.

SoFi and Levo League Release Survey Results on Millennial Women Investing Habits Around Equal Pay Day 2018

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – April 5, 2018 – The biggest driver of the investment gap between men and women isn’t knowledge or other financial obligations, but fear, according to a new study by SoFi and professional networking site Levo League (Levo).

SoFi partnered with Levo on a co-branded study, titled “How Millennial Women Invest”, to gain insights into millennial women spending behaviors and investing habits timed to Equal Pay Day 2018.

Despite the cultural narrative around millennials and financial planning, the study found young women to be incredibly active and prudent managers of their personal finances with the cash flow to pay off debt, save money, and invest for the future. However, while millennial women are extremely active in managing their financial status, and over 50%+ have the means to invest each month, the study found the majority of millennial women do not to invest due to fear (56%). Furthermore, the study results indicated the top two reasons why millennial women do not invest is because they don’t know where to start (25%+) and because they are paying down their debt (25%+).

“There is an incredible opportunity to increase the level of comfort and education around investing for the millennial woman,” says Libby Leffler, Vice President of Membership at SoFi. “Our study with Levo shows millennial women are financially responsible — paying down debt is a major priority. However, being financially responsible is also planning for the future. The survey findings show us that millennial women are more likely to invest with proper tools – that’s what we strive to offer at SoFi with our Wealth product and hundreds of member events each year.”

Levo surveyed a national sample of 2,050 female consumers ages 18-34 with an average salary of $50k+ in annual income. A few key themes emerged from the study:

(1) Millennial women are active managers of their personal finances. The majority (53%) of respondents do have an emergency savings fund covering three to six months of housing and necessities. In addition, the strong majority (70%) of our respondents are reviewing their bank accounts once per week or more.

(2) Millennial women have the resources to invest, but say fear holds them back from investing. The majority (57%) of our respondents have extra money after paying their bills to invest. However, the majority (56%+) say fear holds them back from investing.

(3) A portion of millennial women find investing to be “a total mystery”. In terms of approach to investing, one in four women (25%) find investing to be “a total mystery”. If they are not currently investing their money, the top two reasons are because they don’t know where to start (25%) or because they are paying down their debt first (25%).

(4) Millennial women would pay down their debts at the first bonus opportunity. Almost half of respondents would pay down their debts faster if given a $10K bonus.

(5) Millennial women say “stability for my future” is top investment goal. While stability emerged clearly as the top investment goal (85%+), almost 61% of respondents also prioritized wealth as a way to pursue outside passions and interests.

“At Levo, we have built a platform to support women in their careers, and a huge part of that is how they grow wealth and pursue a life of purpose,” says Alisa Leonard, President at Levo. “Millennial women are a powerful economic force representing a $170 billion market, and yet 56% of women who have the money to invest say they do not do so because fear holds them back. We see demystifying investing through education as key strategy for reducing fear of investing and help women grow their wealth. In fact, in our study 48% of millennial women agreed that access to more education and tools would make it more likely for them to invest. There is tremendous opportunity now for women to grow their wealth, and for companies like SoFi to help them do so.”

More information about the study, as well as the full results, are available here.

About SoFi
SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we’re all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they’re looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

SoFi Lending Corp. or an affiliate is licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Financing Law, license number 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp. or an affiliate, NMLS # 1121636. Advisory services are offered through SoFi Wealth, LLC.

INVESTMENTS: NOT FDIC INSURED • HAVE NO GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE.

About Levo
Levo is the leading professional community for game-changing millennial women who continue to redefine success in work and life. Baptized “The Missing Link,” it offers its members a personalized, integrated experience across community, content, and coaching. Elevating and amplifying women’s voices, championing their ideas and innovations, Levo has built an engaged movement across 10MM+ millennials digitally with 1MM+ profile-carrying members, in addition to 30 cities globally where 30K+ members meet up in person in self-organized Local Levo chapters. Levo works with its most innovative brand partners on marquis integrated marketing and brand activations, helping them to more deeply understand, engage and tap into the power of this most influential consumer segment. As the thought leader in the millennial space, Levo also offers its partners clarity, custom research and proprietary insights and data around millennial trends (both talent and consumer) through The Levo Institute. Levo is based in San Francisco and was named as the “Hottest Bay Area Mover, Shaker, and Game Changer” by 7×7.

Contacts:
SoFi
Danika Owsley
Director, Consumer Communications
[email protected]

Levo
Alisa Leonard
President
[email protected]