Financial Firms Like LearnVest And Robinhood Looking To Rope In Millennials

While young, penny-pinching college students don't seem like the target market for financial professionals, millennials are being targeted by financial firms in hopes of expanding into an underserved segment of the population.

Some question the feasibility of making money from an age group historically uninterested in investment and saving, but others say they just haven't been given the right tools.

LearnVest

LearnVest, the brainchild of Alexa von Tobel, began in 2009 as an online tool that could help women take control of their own finances.

The company has blossomed into a comprehensive financial planning company that makes saving for the future easier to understand and more fun for both men and women, even if they don't have a lot of money.

The startup has amassed around 1.5 million users and piqued the interest of Northwestern Mutual, which decided to acquire LearnVest for over $250 million in cash.

Related Link: U.S. Investors Look Abroad For Better Deals

Robinhood

Robinhood is a newer, smaller startup that is similarly attracting younger, poorer users. The company designed a simple, easy to use app that allows customers to play the stock market with no trading fees or minimum balances.

The company says it wants to attract people who are interested in investing, but lack the funds to do so with larger investment firms which require customers to hold minimum balances in their accounts and charge nearly $10 per transaction.

For the moment, the company's owners admit their profit margin is slim, but they say all that will change once the app's new line of credit feature comes into play.