Cairngorm Capital acquires robo-adviser and wealth manager to launch new digital firm
Private equity firm Cairngorm Capital has acquired wealth manager Whitefoord and robo-adviser Munnypot to launch a new digital firm combining financial advice with investment management.
The new firm, called Verso Wealth Management, will combine online investment service Munnypot’s digital platform technology with Whitefoord’s investment management and financial advice services to create an automated advice platform.
It also marks Cairngorm Capital’s entrance into the financial services and wealthech sectors – a “long-held objective”, the firm said.
The acquisitions are expected to complete shortly, subject to FCA approval, and the new venture will aim to support people who have been “underserved” by current investment services to date, including small savers and new investors.
“Our goal is to make this advice available to everyone – not just the wealthy […] Our partnership with Whitefoord will broaden both the types of clients we are able to serve and the range of investment solutions that we are able to recommend,”Verso managing director Simon Redgrove said.
Munnypot was founded in 2015 to deliver affordable and accessible financial advice to individuals online and via an app, with a minumum investment of £25 a month or a £250 single investment.
“Verso’s approach overcomes the inherent inefficiencies in the advisory market, which remains highly manual,” Munnypot said as it announced the deal.
“For advisors, the technology proposition will alleviate many of the regulatory and operational challenges impacting the IFA community, allowing them to spend more time focused on their clients.”
Both Cairngorm and Munnypot said that Verso is in advanced negotiations with a number of “bolt-on targets” and is actively looking for further firms that it can partner with.
“Our firm believes that the parallel trends of the increased complexity of consumers’ advice needs, their growing adoption of digital services and rising automation in wealth management will endure over the long term,” Neil McGill, who led Cairngorm’s investment in Verso, said.