Acorns, a US financial wellness and investing platform, has acquired Frich, a peer-led financial education community with 1.6 million members, as it looks to engage younger consumers before they begin investing. The deal brings Frich’s founders into Acorns to lead education and community initiatives, strengthening the company’s focus on making wealth-building more accessible.

Frich co-founders Katrin Kaurov and Aleksandra Medina have joined Acorns as co-leads of education and community. The companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition.

The deal gives Acorns access to Frich’s audience and network of creators producing financial education content. It builds on Acorns’ strategy of reaching first-time investors through creator-led material and social engagement, while continuing its approach of bringing FinTech founders into the business to develop new products and communities.

The acquisition targets a common barrier to investing: the perception that financial markets are difficult to understand and reserved for people with specialist knowledge. Acorns aims to reach consumers through the peer conversations that already shape their attitudes towards money, potentially introducing saving and investing before they turn to financial platforms.

Kaurov and Medina founded Frich in 2021 to address the shortage of relatable financial education for young adults. Its model encourages people to learn from the experiences of their peers through group chats, social media discussions and creator videos, rather than relying solely on formal lessons or traditional financial resources.

Frich also developed a peer-benchmarking tool that lets users compare their financial behaviour with that of others. The feature is designed to help members understand how their spending and money habits compare with those of people in similar circumstances.

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