The robo-advice platform has peaked interest from many prominent investors and businessmen.
The robo-advice platform has peaked interest from many prominent investors and businessmen.
With £600m in assets under management, Nutmeg is one the largest online wealth management platforms in the UK. It hasn’t gotten to that number just by luck. It has backers from some of the leading businessmen and venture capital firms. It’s also one of the few robo platforms that offer an pension option.
So who exactly are the ten people who back Nutmeg?
One of the most familiar names in the fintech space Balderton Capital, is also an investor of robo advice. The venture capital firm is one of the largest in Europe and manages £2.2bn in assets. Founded in 2000, it has invested in 100 companies, such as Betfair, MySQL and NaturalMotion. Former Goldman Sachs executive Tim Bunting holds a spot on Nutmeg’s board as Balderton’s representative. Bunting worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years as the Global Head of Equity Capital Markets before joining the venture capital firm.
Media giant Charles Dunstone, who is the co-founder and CEO of of mobile phone giant The Carphone Warehouse, is another backer. With over 1,700 across Europe and as chairman of the TalkTalk Group, Dunstone is one of the UK’s biggest influencers in the mobile communications industry. Knighted in 2012, he is also a member of The Prince’s Trust.
Daniel Aegerter, who has been an entrepreneur since the age of 18, is another believer in Nutmeg. He is currently the chairman and founder of venture fund Armada Investment Group.
He previously sold one of the largest software transactions ever when he sold B2B firm TRADEX to Ariba in March 2000 for USD $5.6bn.
Not all believers in fintech are startup and venture capital firms. John Kay is a visiting professor of economics at the London School of Economics and a fellow at St. John’s College in Oxford. He has also published numerous books on finances and has a weekly column in the Financial Times. Kay has also chaired the review of the UK equity markets, which reported to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in July 2012.
Nutmeg has also captured the eye of an investor who was once elected as Europe’s most successful Entrepreneur Private Investor by business schools IESE, INSEAD and the University of St. Gallen. Klaus Hommels, who lives in Zurich, has his own venture capital fund under the name Hommels Holding. He has invested in mostly internet businesses and has been involved in Skype, Facebook and Xing.
The other big name of investors is global asset management company Schroders. It has offices in 27 different countries, with £418.2bn (€476.3bn/$543.3bn) in assets under management. The firm does not have a seat on Nutmeg’s board.
The chairman of the Saracens rugby club, Nigel Wray, also happens to be an entrepreneur and backer of Nutmeg. He has also been a director and shareholder in Domino’s Pizza, Singer & Friedlander Group.
Another venture capital firm that invests in the robo-advice platform is Pentech Ventures. The company has investing in various companies, including Secretsales, Maxymiser and Struq.
Other venture capital firms include Draper Associates, founded by Tim Draper in 1985. The firm has invested in Hotmail, Tesla and Baidu. Draper didn’t start out as an entrepreneur though. He studied electrical engineering at Stanford University and got his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Last but not least, business leader Todd Ruppert is also a backer of Nutmeg. A former board member and president of T. Rowe Price International, he is now the founder and CEO of Ruppert International Inc.
This article first appeared on www.roboadvicenews.com
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