A message from Co-Founder and Chief Executive Giovanni Daprà.
Moneyfarm reached a number of exciting milestones in the first six months of the year, as we focused on greater personalisation of the investment advice we give to help support and guide you, our customers, along your wealth journey.
We secured a £40 million funding round, the largest of its kind, and launched the Moneyfarm Pension and Advice Centre, amongst other important developments.
Over the last few years, we’ve grown rapidly to become one of the largest digital wealth managers in Europe, with over £400 million in assets under management (AUM) and over 27,000 active investors.
I’m proud of the work we’re doing to help people make better decisions with their money, and am looking forward to another busy six months.
The Moneyfarm Pension
After much hard work across the business, we’re proud to be one of the first robo advisors in the UK to offer advice with a target date product through the Moneyfarm Pension.
This functionality allows customers to set a self-determined retirement date and as it approaches, the portfolio asset allocation will adjust to ensure suitability right up until investors want to draw from their pension.
The world-class technology that sits behind the Moneyfarm Pension allows us to bring a more personalised solution to those that want to consolidate existing investments with our quick, easy and managed transfer process. Consolidating your old pensions into one place can make it easier to understand whether you’re on track to reach your retirement goals.
Unlike some pension products, flexi-access drawdown is a standard feature of the new pension product. This will provide investors with the freedom to manage their retirement income according to their needs.
I believe the benefit of easy transfers, simplicity and cost-efficient investment advice will help empower individuals to make the right decisions with their wealth to ensure financial security in retirement.
Funding round
We secured the largest series B funding round by a European digital wealth manager earlier this year. We’re using the £40 million to further expand our vision through our advisory service, including goal based investing, our product offering and investment proposition.
This capital will help bolster our product and investment advice offering as we explore integrating Goal-Based Investments. Adding an additional layer of personalisation means that individuals and families will be allocated portfolios that help them achieve their financial dreams, whether it’s a child’s higher-education or building a retirement nest-egg.
Incorporating more data points into the investment advice process will mean investments are catered to households as well as individuals’ investment needs.
We’re pleased that Allianz Asset Management led the round, increasing its minority stake in Moneyfarm following its first investment in us in 2016.
As one of the five largest asset managers globally and a market-leading insurer, this is recognition from an established financial business that technology is changing the relationship people have with their money for the better.
Also joining the investment round were venture capitalist firm Endeavor Catalyst and Italian finance firm Fondazione di Sardegna. Further funding from existing backers include private equity firm Cabot Square Capital and initial investor United Ventures.
This combination of a strategic investor and venture capital/private equity is a unique and powerful mix for our customers and I believe we’re well placed to accelerate our growth as a financial services company through the expansion of our products and distribution.
Advice Centre
We made it even easier for you to understand your investor profile and investment portfolios with our new Advice Centre feature.
We pride ourselves on providing a unique combination of simple investment advice and discretionary management to help you grow your wealth over time. Innovation means you can now access investment advice at the touch of a button, and at a fraction of the price of the traditional industry.
It’s crucial that we continually check the suitability of your investments to help you reach your financial goals. Our suitability algorithm runs every time you make an update, or every month, whichever comes first.
You can access the Advice Centre from your account on your app and desktop.
Innovation of the Year
We were thrilled to win Innovation of the Year at the 2018 British Bank Awards in March.
The British Bank Awards is the most widely reporting banking awards in the UK, and over 24,000 consumers and businesses voted in this year’s awards.
Moneyfarm was shortlisted for the Innovation of the Year award alongside Wealthify, WiseAlpha, Habito, True Potential Investor, and Revolut, so it was an honour to win the award, which was powered by Bud.
Technology sits at the heart of our product. Yet I believe that by combining technology with human empathy and financial expertise we deliver something truly innovative – delivering cost-effective advice and investment solutions to every user.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues at Moneyfarm for all their hard work in the first half of the year, and to our customers for sharing our vision. I hope you enjoy your summer.
We’ll keep you updated throughout the year, but if you’d like to get in touch with one of our Investment Consultants to talk through any new products, services, or to find out more about your portfolio, book a call today.
