In the fast-evolving world of fintech, few voices carry both authority and empathy. Margaret J. Hartigan, founder and CEO of Marstone, Inc., is one of them. A former Merrill Lynch advisor turned fintech pioneer, Hartigan has spent over a decade challenging how institutions deliver investing experiences to everyday people. Through Marstone, she’s not just offering digital solutions, she’s rewriting the blueprint for how wealth is accessed, understood, and grown.
“Always forward, rarely straight”
That mantra has defined Hartigan’s journey. After spending the early 2000s guiding clients through the highs and devastating lows of traditional finance, including the 2008 financial crisis, she witnessed how the system failed ordinary investors. The experience didn’t just leave a mark. It sparked a mission.
“The historic wealth transfer people talk about now? It actually began in 2008,” Hartigan says. “And we, as an industry, weren’t ready.”
The result was Marstone: a digital investment platform that partners with banks, credit unions, RIAs, and broker-dealers to deliver white-labeled wealth tools, everything from paperless onboarding and goal-based planning to AI-driven financial literacy modules.
“A bold vision in an uncharted market.”
Building Marstone wasn’t easy. Hartigan and her team entered the space before “embedded wealth” became a buzzword. In fact, they had to prove the market even existed.
Their biggest strategic choice? Going B2B2C. While most startups rushed to launch direct-to-consumer plays, Marstone took the longer route, building inside the system rather than trying to disrupt it from the outside.
“We didn’t try to replace advisors or bankers,” Hartigan says. “We built tools to help them scale and stay relevant.”
That approach led to deep integrations with banking cores like Jack Henry and FIS and custodians. The company also has partnerships with TPMs like LPL, Cetera, and Raymond James. Today, Marstone isn’t just another fintech, it’s part of the financial infrastructure that institutions rely on.
“We make quality investing accessible to everyone, regardless of how much they have to start.”
One of Hartigan’s proudest achievements is bringing accessibility to an industry known for gatekeeping. Through Marstone, institutions can now offer personalized portfolios to customers, making quality investing possible for everyone.
“Our first client was HSBC,” she says. “And our first partner was BNY Pershing. That was a baptism by fire.”
Since then, Marstone has powered wealth solutions for institutions of all sizes, helping them retain deposits, deepen relationships, and generate new revenue streams. The company’s impact has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a “Leader to Watch” and celebrated for its platform excellence.
But for Hartigan, the real achievement isn’t on paper. It’s in the people.
“Marstone is filled with brilliant, deeply kind people,” she says. “That culture is our moat.”
“Finance should empower people, not intimidate them”
Hartigan’s purpose is clear: demystify money. Her humanities background, rare in the spreadsheet-heavy world of fintech, gives her a storytelling lens that most executives don’t possess.
“I was client facing for more than a decade – during the best and worst times of the market – and it was from that experience that I observed the challenges and opportunities retail clients and institutions faced. At the end of the day, people sacrifice, save, and invest to provide for the people and things they love and desire. It’s Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. We care about our health, our loved ones, our pets, hobbies and, if we are fortunate, there is a bit for aspiration and whimsy. How we complicate our lives with expensive rents, car leases, discretionary spending? That’s our own doing. So, knowing this, I set out to create a platform that would help people see themselves in their money and articulate their why.”
This perspective influences every corner of Marstone, from product development to customer experience. The platform blends empathetic design with robust infrastructure, offering an “Apple-like” interface while connecting deeply into financial systems on the back end.
The result is a product that feels approachable without compromising on power.
“We’re building plug-and-play finance for everyone”
Looking ahead, Marstone is scaling fast. One major focus is Marstone@Work, the company’s initiative to offer investing tools through employer benefit programs, especially for traditionally underserved employees.
Another key project involves AI-powered goal planning, a personalized checklist-style experience that helps users navigate life milestones like buying a home or preparing for retirement.
Hartigan envisions Marstone becoming the gold standard for embedded wealth, seamlessly connecting savings, lending, and investing into a unified customer journey.
“This industry needs more inclusive leadership”
As one of the only female founders in a male-dominated industry, part of the 2.4% of VC-backed women, Hartigan is vocal about inclusion. She mentors other women in fintech and actively advocates for systemic change.
A recent McKinsey study highlights a critical trend: about 70% of clients aged 25-44 want to consolidate their banking and investing services. This means banks and credit unions that do not offer wealth management are actively losing the next generation of investors and their most valuable affluent consumers. Institutions that fail to integrate investment and goal-based planning into their digital and mobile strategy risk losing these customers, possibly forever.
“It’s not just business,” she says. “It’s personal. I believe community banks and credit unions have a right to win in wealth management. And I’m here to help them do it.”
That belief fuels her daily work and long-term vision. For Hartigan, fintech isn’t just about disruption. It’s about dignity. And she’s proving that scale and empathy can coexist.
“We put empathy into code”
Hartigan and Marstone sit at the intersection of fintech innovation and human-centered design. Their work shows what’s possible when purpose meets execution.
From international expansion to new integrations, the road ahead is ambitious. But Hartigan isn’t chasing buzzwords. She’s focused on outcomes.
“If you’re covering embedded wealth or the next wave of financial wellness,” she says, “you’ll find Marstone right in the middle of it.”
And behind it all is a founder who knows that the path to change is rarely straight, but always forward.
