Fintel makes double acquisition of VouchedFor and AKG for combined £9.1m
Fintel, a support specialist for the retail financial services sector, has acquired VouchedFor and AKG for a combined £9.1 million.
VouchedFor is a review site for professional advisors, while AKG is a financial strength ratings company for life companies, investment platforms and discretionary fund managers in the UK.
Fintel acquires VouchedFor and AKG for combined £9.1m
VouchedFor, which claims to have over 5,000 paying members and over 350,000 client reviews regarding financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants, was bought for £7.5 million through the company’s technology and knowledge platform Fintel IQ.
Fintel says that the deal will help it promote the value of financial advice while also increasing consumer confidence and trust in the retail financial services market.
At the same time, it leveraged its subsidiary, the financial ratings system Defaqto, to complete its purchase of AKG in a deal worth £1.6 million.
A financial analytics company founded over three decades ago, AKG is best recognised for its financial strength assessment reports – a service that will now be extended to the 10,000 advisers Fintel claims to serve.
Likewise, Defaqto, which rates risk, performance, functionality, service and ESG for IFAs, wealth managers and paraplanners, is expected to tap the newly acquired company to further establish its position in the investment management and financial advice arena.
Fintel’s double acquisition this week for the total sum of £9.1 million marks its third and fourth acquisitions this year, after the UK-headquartered company previously snapped up investment advisory service Micap and learning and development provider Competent Adviser in July.
Speaking on the company’s latest purchases, Matt Timmins, joint CEO of Fintel, describes VouchedFor and AKG as “highly complementary to our offering”, adding that “both have strong adjacencies in terms of our capabilities and customers”.
