Porter Gale, Author at Personal Capital

October marks our ten year anniversary, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who uses and loves our tools, our wealth management clients, and the entire Personal Capital team for an amazing decade. We couldn’t have done it without you. Because of this milestone, we thought it was the best time to introduce you to some pretty significant changes to Personal Capital that have been in the works for a while. Today, we’re introducing a new logo, new colors, an updated app, and a whole new web experience. We’re excited to re-invigorate the Personal Capital brand, and we hope you love it as much as we do. But don’t worry, the functions of the tools work exactly the same, and everything is just where you left it. Eight months ago, it was my great privilege to join Personal Capital as CMO, with a mission to define and build the new Personal Capital brand that we’re unveiling today. Now I want to share with you how and why we came to define and create our new brand, and the strategy behind it. But first, thank you. Thank you for using our tools, and thank you for trusting us to manage your money. Before I get into why we created our new brand, I want to emphasize that we really created it for you. You, our clients, and the people who use and love our tools are at the heart of our brand. So, while our updated look more closely represents who we are as a company and what we believe in, we also believe it enhances your experience. It’s a reflection of our desire to help people, of all ages and backgrounds, create better financial lives. So, here’s the inside story… Why a New Brand? I’d never heard of Personal Capital when a recruiter called me about the role last December based on my work launching Virgin America. During my interview process, I met the executive team, spent hours with Jay Shah, our CEO, and did a deep dive into the company. The financial tools were easy-to-use and intuitive, and the people articulate, passionate and aligned. I was offered the job and joined the company. I knew I’d like my job, but I had no idea I’d love the company and this role as much as I do. To me, Personal Capital was a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough. The power of seeing everything in one place --all your accounts, all of your investments, your debts, everything -- is totally revolutionary. Money is intimidating for a lot of people, and one of the biggest reasons managing your finances can seem overwhelming is that they are often disparate: a checking account here, a savings account there, an old 401k from a prior job… But the tools go beyond that. As I dug deeper, the sophistication of the Retirement Planner, Education Planner, Investment Checkup, and Smart Withdrawal tools totally floored me. I’d never used anything like them before. And on top of all of that, the concept of tech-enabled human advisors is something pretty transformative. It bridges the gap between legacy firms and the new wave of automated investing. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of Personal Capital before I started interviewing. Our mission is to “improve financial lives through technology and people,” and I believe we can do that on a big scale. But first, we have to unlock the power of the brand, so we can reach more people, and impact more financial lives. So, enter our new brand. What Personal Capital Stands For My belief is that powerful brands are authentic and amplify the heartbeat of a company. Stories about a company’s origin, interviews with employees, and feedback from customers can help uncover insights to shape a strategic foundation for a brand. Based on what we found from all of those things, we’ve defined the pillars of our brand as: 1. Do the right thing, always. Our fiduciary classification - or being legally bound to act in the best interest of our client - shapes everything we do. When I asked our advisors what our “promise” is they said things like; “Do right by our clients,” “ Act In your best interest,” “Put our clients’ needs ahead of our own,” “Be transparent, honest, genuine.” We’ll continue to have these principles guide us, and the new brand is really shaped around our commitment to do the right thing for you and your money, always. To this end, we’ve developed “The Personal Capital Promise” to articulate our commitment to doing right by you. 2. Unlock personalization. Because of our technology and unique hybrid business model, we’re able to personalize our offering to you in a way that many other financial services and wealth management companies can’t. So, you’ll be seeing more people in all of our materials, and noticing a change in how we communicate. It’s always been all about you, and now we’re doubling down on that commitment. 3. Be innovative. Innovating is part of our DNA at Personal Capital, and we’ll continue to innovate by adding features to our tools and bringing you new financial solutions. All of this innovation is in the pursuit of being the People’s Champion of the Financial Industry. We’re here to serve you the best we can, so we’ll continue to develop new tech, new solutions, and innovate the way financial services are delivered. Personal Capital Comes to Life One of the major ways we’re bringing these brand pillars to life is with our new logo. In my opinion, the old Personal Capital logo was generic and didn’t actually bring our name to life. Our new logo emphasizes the personal part of our name, yet still has a strong foundation in capital. The word “Personal” is front and center to really reflect what we’re all about: helping you meet your goals, and creating a plan for your entire financial life. As financial advisors, leaning into “personal” is one of the best ways we can help you grow and protect your wealth. You’ll also notice a new app icon, which also appears in our financial dashboard. Like the logo, it’s cleaner, more accessible and a friendlier lower-case “p”. We’ve also updated and streamlined our color palette. We selected the new “Personal Capital blue” using the principles of color theory: royal blue is associated with trustworthiness and reliability, and light blue is known to promote feelings of tranquility. Another big change you’ll notice is a total transformation of the website. In the spirit of who we are as a company - straightforward, intuitive, and modern, we redesigned our website to more accurately reflect that. It’s easier to navigate, there’s more information on what we offer, and it has a new, streamlined look. You’ll also see the use of more portrait photography on the web and in our materials to emphasize the “personal” in everything we do. More Than a New Coat of Paint Today, we are bringing our new brand to light. However, our transformation is more than just skin deep. Our new brand is a reflection of our mission to help more people, of all ages and backgrounds, create better financial lives through tech and personal, fiduciary guidance. Speaking for the entire Personal Capital team, thank you for your trust and support over the last ten years. We are grateful for each and every one of you and hope to be your trusted financial partner for years to come. If you have any questions or feedback about our updated brand, please email brand@personalcapital.com Disclaimer: The information on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a complete description of our investment services or performance. No part of this site nor the links contained therein is a solicitation or offer to sell securities or investment advisory services, except where applicable in states where we are registered, or where an exemption or exclusion from such registration exists. Third party data is obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Personal Capital Advisors Corporation cannot guarantee that data’s currency, accuracy, timeliness, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose. Certain sections of this commentary may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimate, projections and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Past performance is not a guarantee of future return, nor is it necessarily indicative of future performance. Keep in mind investing involves risk. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time and you may gain or lose money.

Porter Gale

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