✅ Munnyport Partners Cairngorm Capital On Wealth Management Group
Our first digest takes a look at a new partnership formed between Munnypot Limited and Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP. Not only that, but Munnypot has also acquired Whitefoord LLP to facilitate the launch of Verso Wealth Management. Verso will be a wealth management group providing financial advice and investment management, powered by a digital platform. Using Munnypot’s proven and award-winning technology platform, Verso will blend the expertise of its client advisors with automated advice capability. This will allow for cost-effective customer segmentation by value and complexity. Verso also intends to pursue an IFA consolidation strategy, which will be aided by Cairngorm Capital’s buy, build, and transformation expertise. On the other hand, the Whitefoord LLP acquisition will serve as Verso’s cornerstone advisor once FCA approval has been reached. Whitefoord manages investment portfolios valued in excess of 300 million and provides advice on assets exceeding 310 million, as of Q1 2021. This approach is an attempt to overcome the inherent inefficiencies in the advisory market, which remains highly manual. Because of these new strategic partnerships, it will be able to blend the expertise of its client advisors with an automated advice capability.
—
✅ JPMorgan, Goldman Bet On Tech To Crack UK Consumer Market
For our next digest we get the details on JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs’ push into the UK. Britain has always been a consumer finance market that many outsiders have tried and failed to crack. The two American banking behemoths are testing the UK market to see if their US retail brands, Chase and Marcus, can be rolled out globally. But the way analysts have it, scraping some business from customers who are entrenched with local providers will be a daunting challenge. JPMorgan has already bolstered its British venture by purchasing digital wealth manager Nutmeg for 700 million pounds. Goldman, on the other hand, plans to offer services like automated investment management in the UK next year after gathering more than $30 billion in deposits. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon expressed that, for the bank, the UK is only the beginning to test out a more global strategy. He adds that by offering products digitally, the bank can see what strategies work best without the cost of branches. Goldman also considers the UK to be an important test case because of its established payment system, solid regulatory infrastructure, and affluent customer base. Having that said, cracking the British market is also tough, even the four largest UK banks reported a collective 12% decline in revenues last year. Mike Mayo, a bank analyst at Wells Fargo, notes that the cost of rolling out these initiatives has to be worth it. With bold moves like these, a clear demonstration of a return on tech investments needs to be seen.