Nutmeg losses swell 55% two years after JP Morgan acquisition

Digital wealth manager Nutmeg has seen its annual losses leap in the twelve months or so following its acquisition by banking giant JP Morgan.

Nutmeg reported a loss of nearly £29.9m for 2022, a more than 55 per cent increase compared with the previous year’s £19.3m.

The heightened loss occurred despite revenue jumping to £27.5m from £21.6m, an increase of 27.5 per cent. 

This was due to surging costs with operating expenses jumping by £20m to £57.7m.

JP Morgan snapped up Nutmeg two years ago in June 2021 - reportedly for £700m - ahead of the launch of its digital bank Chase.

Revenues increased most in absolute terms in its core wealth management business but the highest rate of growth came in the firm’s financial advice arm where revenues nearly doubled to £11.5m.

Staff numbers jumped too from 163 in 2021 to 213 in 2022. 

Paradoxically, the total remuneration of key senior employees fell from £4.5m to £2.9m, likely owing to the stepping down of former CEO Neil Alexander in June of 2022.

Nutmeg is now directly overseen by JP Morgan’s Sanjiv Somani.

Overall, however, a higher wage bill was a large part of Nutmeg’s higher annual costs.