Canadian robo-advisor Wealthsimple arrives in UK
Wealthsimple comes to the UK
Wealthsimple, a Canada-based online investment management service, is coming to the UK.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of Wealthsimple’s initial move outside its home market – to the US.
The UK will be the second international market for the robo-advisory start-up. Its CEO, Michael Katchen, feels the UK and Canada have a lot of similarities – “similar language and culture, the financial services industry is in a similar place”.
The solution is currently in an invitation-only beta stage in the UK. A public launch will take place in September this year.
The UK/European operations will be led by Toby Triebel, who previously co-founded online SME lender Spotcap.
It will be competing with the likes of Nutmeg, eToro, Munnypot, HSBC, Moola and UBS’s SmartWealth.
Wealthsimple was founded in 2014. It currently has $1 billion in assets under administration and 30,000 customers. Earlier this year it raised $50 million from Power Financial Group, a financial holding company. Power Financial’s senior VP, Paul Desmarais, now sits on Wealthsimple’s board of directors. The board also has Bertrand Badre, former CFO of the World Bank.
Banking Technology met up with Wealthsimple last year on our fintech tour of Toronto.
Can robo-advisors stand the test of time? We explore in this article. Views and comments are welcome!
