LearnVest

Alexa von Tobel dropped out of Harvard to launch LearnVest in 2008, but "there was never a day where I was like, 'Wow, this is working,'" she says.

The move by Alexa von Tobel's startup to drop planning services reveals a deal marked by challenges from the very beginning, experts say.

Personal finance service LearnVest's excellent app monitors your money automatically. It doesn't include bill pay reminders or your credit score, but LearnVest can put you in touch with a personal financial planner, for a fee.

Outlook for the planners -- who were recruited with a promise that they would "not be required to sell" -- seems to depend on whether you talk to Northwestern Mutual or LearnVest.

Insurance company Northwestern Mutual will buy financial planning disruptor LearnVest, the companies announced Wednesday.

After six years of operation, the New York startup sells for more than $250 million.

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