The firm was founded in September 2014 by Michael Katchen, Brett Huneycutt, Som Seif, and Rudy Adler and is based in Toronto.

[1] After Ancestry.com bought 1000Memories in 2012, Katchen developed a spreadsheet with tips to help his colleagues set up investment portfolios.

[11][12] The acquisition of Canadian ShareOwner Investment Inc. resulted in the assets under management comprising CA$400,000,000 across 10,000 customer accounts.

[14] In March 2016, Wealthsimple began offering clients access to socially responsible investment funds.

Spending features such as a Visa Debit card, e-transfers, bill payments, and paycheque/cheque deposits are planned to be rolled out through 2020.

The company does not occupy retail space; instead its advisors are available via phone, text message, email or video chat.

[37] In January 2020, the company launched Wealthsimple Cash for Canadian customers, a hybrid savings/chequing account offering high interest on balances.

[38] Wealthsimple Trade is a self-directed investment platform, allowing users to buy and sell various individual stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on major Canadian and U.S.

[26] This platform was introduced in March 2019, offering a stock and ETF trading account with zero-commission fees in the U.S. and Canada.

[39] Wealthsimple Crypto is the company's platform for buying and selling several cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH.

The acquisition of SimpleTax added online tax-return preparation and filing service to Wealthsimple's suite of financial products.

[46] In May 2014, the company raised CA$1.9 million from investors Eric Kirzner, Joe Canavan, and Roger Martin.