Robo adviser Moneyfarm is branching out in the UK B2B space by launching a digital wealth service designed to help advisers address clients with smaller pots.
Supported by Moneyfarm’s team of investment experts, the service provides low-cost advice and portfolio management to less affluent customers of IFAs, banks and building societies.
This frees them up to focus on higher value and more complex clients, while still engaging with the “next generation” of clients, a press release said.
The UK advice sector accounts for £514bn on platform but many advisers find it uneconomical to service clients with less than £114,000 in investable assets, according to statistics from SimplyBiz.
“The UK is facing an advice crisis and long-term detriment to those with smaller investable assets, more often than not the next generation of clients for an adviser,” Moneyfarm UK head of business development Daniel Giddings said.
“By enhancing their proposition, with the use of our digital solution, advisers, banks and building societies can still participate in the commercials and continue to serve those with smaller pots, but without losing control.”
Moneyfarm has scale and reputation to succeed in UK B2B
CWC Research managing director Clive Waller said the opportunity set in the B2B market is “huge”.
“Firms like Wealthify offer B2B and make the point that small pots are viable,” Waller said. “Moneyfarm is one of the biggest digital players in Europe and has the scale and reputation to succeed in this market.”
Moneyfarm’s B2B service is already used by 65,000 customers in Europe, including those from Poste Italian, Banca Sella and Unicredit’s smart banking app Buddybank.
“Wealth managers, banks, advisers must surely grasp the benefits of digitalisation and widen their market profitably. It’s good for advisers and their customers,” Waller added.
Advisers will have access to Moneyfarm’s range of multi-asset portfolios by default but can choose to map to third party portfolios, according to their preference.
They also be able to monitor client pots via a dashboard, which displays performance and charges, and at any point can switch the client back into full advice service.
