These firms have brought a new meaning to the saying “look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.”
Trying to make the most of your money has always been a top priority for most people, but with the help of digital wealth managers, a lot of the hard work is done for you.
Robo Investors and digital wealth managers have brought managed investing to the average person, letting ‘regular’ people tap into an area of financial management previously reserved for high-net-worth individuals.
The below companies have been chosen for a combination of factors, largely the size of their customer base, how much they have raised and how much they hold in deposits.
So without further ado, here are 6 of the UK’s leading digital wealth managers.
Moneybox
Who started it?
Moneybox was founded by Charlie Mortimer and Ben Stanway, who co-founded Bloom & Wild and was previously an investor, first at Fidelity, then as part of the founding team of Habrok Capital, a $2bn global equity hedge fund.
Mortimer co-founded a personal finance app, OnTrees, that was later acquired by MoneySuperMarket in 2014.
How is it funded?
Moneybox has raised a total of £21.3m to date, including a £14m Series B round in July 2018.
Who are the customers?
Moneybox has over 400,000 customers who have signed up to a host of products including a Stocks and Shares ISA, a 95-day notice account and a personal pension pot, which, before its official launch, had a waitlist of 100,000.
In 2019, Moneybox was voted best digital wealth manager of the year at the AltFi Awards.
Moneyfarm
Who started it?
Moneyfarm was founded in Italy in 2012 by Giovanni Daprà and Paolo Galvani and has since expanded to the UK and Germany.
The fintech was one of Europe’s first digital wealth managers and moved its headquarters to London following its FCA approval in July 2015.
How is it funded?
Moneyfarm has raised roughly £100m to date, including most recently a £36m round led by Poste Italiane and Allianz Asset Management, with the latter holding a minority stake, thought to be worth around £7m, in the fintech.
Who are the customers?
Moneyfarm has over 40,000 customers across Europe and currently has just shy of £875m of assets under management.
Nutmeg
Who started it?
Nutmeg was founded in 2011 by former stockbroker Nick Hungerford and William Todd, who left to found money management fintech Hulgrave in 2015.
In December last year, the fintech’s former CEO Martin Stead stood down from the role and former chief financial and operating officer, Neil Alexander assumed his new position as Nutmeg’s CEO.
How is it funded?
To date, the fintech has raised $153.6m (£121.6m), including its most recent £45m funding round that was lead by Goldman Sachs and Convoy, a Hong Kong-based financial advisory firm.
Who are the customers?
Nutmeg has over 80,000 customers and recently reportedly became Europe’s largest digital wealth manager after it surpassed £2bn in assets under management.
Scalable Capital
Who started it?
Scalable Capital was founded in 2014 by Erik Podzuweit, Florian Prucker, Adam French and Prof. Dr. Stefan Mittnik.
The group’s founding aim was to democratise wealth management and the fintech has since become Europe’s second-largest digital wealth management fund, after being dethroned by Nutmeg earlier this year.
How is it funded?
To date, Scalable Capital has raised £56m in three fundraising rounds, including most recently a €25m Series C round that saw investments from the likes of BlackRock, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and Tengelmann Ventures.
Who are the customers?
Scalable Capital has over 60,000 customers and has more than €2bn in deposits.
Of its 60,000 customers, roughly two-thirds of Scalable Capital's customers have a university degree in business, information technology or engineering and, on average, the company manages €35,000 per customer.
One-third of its total assets under management sit in portfolios with a balance greater than €100,000 and almost half of its customers have a monthly saving plan averaging €400.
Wealthify
Who started it?
Wealthify was founded by Michelle Pearce-Burke, Richard Avery-Wright and Dr Richard Theo in 2014.
The Cardiff-based wealth fund was recently fully acquired by Aviva and current CEO and co-founder Dr Richard Theo stepping down from his role and fellow co-founder Richard Avery-Wright standing down as chairman and member of the Investment Committee.
How is it funded?
To date, Wealthify has raised £17.5m and in 2018 became majority-owned by Aviva, although it is now wholly owned by the insurance company.
The vast majority, over 73 per cent, of Wealthify’s investments consist of buying stocks, with government bonds being the second largest investment option on its books.
Who are the customers?
Wealthify has over 30,000 customers and has grown significantly since its launch in 2016, expanding its original offering of Stocks and Shares ISAs and General Investment Accounts to now include Ethical Investments, Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs, and more recently Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)
Wealthsimple
Who started it?
Wealthsimple was founded in 2014 by CEO Michael Katchen and chief product officer Rudy Adler who wanted to bring investment management services to millennials.
The Canadian fintech first launched in the UK in 2017 and has offices in London, Toronto and New York.
How is it funded?
To date, the fintech has raised a massive CA$266.9m (£156m), including a bumper $75m investment from Allianz in May 2019.
Who are the customers?
As of August 2019, Wealthsimple has over 175,000 customers across Canada, the US and the UK and has over $5bn of assets under management.
Wealthsimple’s large customer base can be largely attributed to its socially-focused approach to investment.
The Canadian fintech offers Sharia-compliant investment opportunities for Muslims, as well as socially responsible portfolios that allow investors to avoid companies that don’t meet certain environmental, social and governance criteria.
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