Our first Chief Product Officer, Michele Battelli, has been appointed to spearhead new product development and roll-out as we launch into the UK savings and investment market.
Michele Battelli joins MoneyFarm from Google in California, where he was a Senior Technical Program Manager. He was part of the team that launched OnHub, Google’s new smart wi-fi router, and previously worked on emerging markets development programs and enterprise search. He also was co-founder of the Google Adventure team which took StreetView to some of the world’s highest peaks including Everest.
We have ambitious plans to build on our existing customer base of 50,000 registered users, using technology to deliver high quality advisory and discretionary services at a fraction of the cost of a traditional wealth management firm.
Our model combines a simple user interface (online or via an app) and powerful algorithms with a high quality advisory service. We aim to provide a personal and customised solution designed to deliver investors the investment performance that they are looking for.
Among Michele’s first priorities will be supporting the roll-out of MoneyFarm’s new ISA offering this year. This will be designed to provide high quality investment returns, underpinned by structurally low cost investments such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Michele’s appointment follows the recent announcement that the former CTO of Last.fm, David Jeffrey, is joining our team as our new Chief Technology Officer. Together they will work on developing our ‘mobile first’ approach to allow investors to manage every aspect of their wealth portfolio from a mobile device.
Paolo Galvani, Chairman and co-founder, comments: “Product design and innovation is at the heart of what we do so we are delighted that Michele, who shares our vision on product innovation, is joining us.”
“Michele’s experience in implementing and overseeing major ground-breaking programmes at one of the world’s leading tech companies, means he has exactly the right kind of expertise and passion to help us deliver the kinds of innovative, high quality products that investors are searching for.”
Michele says, “MoneyFarm has developed a highly innovative and exciting model, which has enabled it, within a short space of time, to become a significant player in the European fintech space. I look forward to help build on this success and deliver innovative technologies that will allow MoneyFarm to address people’s needs for high quality products.”
“Investors are often frustrated by what they see as lack of choice and often poor performance in many investment products currently available. Our goal at MoneyFarm is to lead greater product innovation in the marketplace to give investors greater flexibility, greater transparency and greater control in their portfolios.”
“By combining an innovative digital platform with extensive and pro-active investment expertise, MoneyFarm is enabling people to achieve impressive performance without the high costs normally associated with wealth management services.”
