Cracking 401(k)s: Sphere’s Climate-Friendly Fund with CEO Alex Wright-Gladstein

In this episode, Chris speaks with Alex Wright-Gladstein, founder & CEO of Sphere, the company behind the Sphere 500 Climate Fund—a low-fee, index-like mutual fund for 401(k)s that excludes fossil fuel companies and is now available on Fidelity and Schwab. Alex explains how her team navigated years of audits, platform approvals, and AUM thresholds to unlock real adoption within the retirement ecosystem—and why crossing $100M AUM is the tipping point that could lead to billions in inflows from the largest corporate 401(k)s.Highlights include...Why most 401(k)s don't offer real climate-friendly fundsHow Sphere built a low-fee (0.07% expense ratio) S&P 500-like fund that screens out fossil fuelsThe 3-year effort to get approved by Fidelity and SchwabWhy $100M AUM unlocks access to the biggest 401(k) plansHow employee movements at Google, Apple, Microsoft create demand for these optionsSphere’s go-to-market via creative advocacy campaigns (150M+ views)Business model: starting with low-fee scalability → expanding to higher-margin productsAlex’s track record (co-founded Ayar Labs, now $1B+ valuation)2:00 – Alex’s background & founding Sphere4:30 – What is the Sphere 500 Climate Fund?6:45 – Why 401(k)s are hard: fees, lawsuits & mutual funds vs ETFs9:40 – Getting onto Fidelity & Schwab: the 3-year process12:10 – AUM milestones: Why $100M matters14:50 – Building demand: Employee movements & advocacy campaigns17:30 – Business model & future fund lineup20:15 – Competitive moat & brand trust23:00 – Market size & exit thoughts (IPO vs M&A)