The Toronto fintech firm aims to make offering retirement benefits easy and affordable.
Toronto-based fintech startup general wealthwhich provides workplace retirement plans to small and medium-sized employers (SMEs), has closed $12 million CAD in Series A financing.
The equity round saw participation from Broadbent Group, Good & Well, Aztec Capital, Devkali Capital, Eventy Capital Partners and Flow Capital. Commonwealth’s other investors include ex-healthcare CEO of Ontario Pension Plan Jim Keohane and Richard Rooney, co-founder and former CIO of Burgundy Asset Management.
Founded in 2015, Commonwealth aims to be “the most trusted retirement plan for Canadians.” Through its software platform, the startup aims to make it easy and affordable for employers of all sizes to provide competitive retirement benefits.
“We are opening up the retirement market to (SMEs) and their employees – people who have been left behind by big employers and a legacy industry built for the wealthy.”
Alex Mazer, Common Wealth
Common Wealth plans to use its Series A capital to expand distribution, invest in product development including AI, and grow its team.
“We’re opening up the retirement market to (SMEs) and their employees – people who have been left behind by large employers and a legacy industry built for the rich,” Alex Mazer, co-founder and CEO of Common Wealth, said in a release Monday. “And we’re building the platform to help Canadians with one of their biggest financial concerns: turning their savings into income they can count on.”
Since the beginning of 2024, Commonwealth claims to have tripled its employer base, increased its membership by 3.5 times, and quadrupled its total assets under administration. Today, the company serves more than 1,500 organizations across Canada. Meanwhile, Commonwealth said it has also expanded its advisor network to 400 and launched a savings program for personal support workers with the help of the Government of Canada.
The funding builds on a $15 million venture loan that Commonwealth secured from Flow Capital due in mid-2025.
Mazer said he still sees a “huge, untapped opportunity” for the Commonwealth in the Canadian retirement market.
More than nine million Canadian workers may lack access to a workplace retirement plan, largely because domestic SMEs are much less likely to offer one than their American counterparts. Research From Major, published last month by the CD Howe Institute of Toronto. Less than one in five SMEs in Canada with between five and 500 employees offer a workplace retirement plan, compared to less than half in the US.
Feature image courtesy Commonwealth.