Italian digital wealth management startup MoneyFarm is preparing to enter the UK market after raising EUR16 million from Cabot Square Capital and United Ventures.
MoneyFarm is one of several robo-advisor outfits looking to disrupt the wealth management market by using technology to deliver advisory services at a fraction of the cost seen at traditional providers.
Launched in Italy in 2012, the company now claims around 50,000 registered users and has opened a London office as it prepared to launch next year in the UK, where the digital wealth management market is predicted to be worth up to £30 billion by 2019, according to management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
The FCA-regulated service sees paying users register online or through a mobile app before defining their investment objectives and completing a questionnaire in order to get a recommended portfolio, which is tweaked as investments are made.
Paolo Galvani, chairman, MoneyFarm, says: "Wealth management and advisory services in both the UK and Europe have typically been very expensive while delivering below market performance and poor customer service.
"We believe technology is the key in creating solutions that can achieve far better results for customers at a much cheaper cost. Our mission is to enable people to take control of their savings and manage them in a simple and efficient way."