New Robo-adviser Munnypot ‘Like Nothing Else on the Market’

Simon Redgrove and Andrew Fay, founders of Cavanagh Group have teamed up to create Munnypot, a ‘second generation’ robo-advice service intended to disrupt the financial advice market.

Planned to launch in the autumn, Munnypot will provide both an investment service and regulated financial advice; it is backed by SEI Wealth Platform, which provides outsourced investment operations, trading, custody and settlement services.

Mr Fay, who was chief executive of Cavanagh when it was acquired by Close Brothers in 2011 said: ‘the first generation of robo-advice services were, frankly, too robotic and failed to actually give people advice.

‘Munnypot is aiming to change that by creating a more natural, intuitive experience that delivers actionable advice, rather than vague recommendations.’

The user experience provided by Munnypot is described as ‘conversational’ as clients are taken through a series of questions regarding their life goals and they are then presented with a range of different scenarios to understand how their finances could be affected by different decisions.

‘delivers actionable advice, rather than vague recommendations’

According to the company: ‘Munnypot uses a simple, natural chat format – styled like WhatsApp – to engage with users and determine the right investment options for them and keep them up to date with the progress of their savings.

‘Munnypot combines this accessible approach with backing from industry heavyweights – including SEI Wealth Management – and state of the art algorithms to predict and manage the progress of the customer’s investment to help them hit their financial goals.’

The advice it provides is based upon the selection of one of five tracker products in which the client can invest and there are regular updates regarding the performance of the investment as well as advice on possible decisions if things change.

The service has a minimum investment of £250; there will be a platform fee of 0.35% of the value of the investment, plus a 0.4% fee for ongoing advice and servicing.

Mr Redgrove considers UK’s current system of financial advice ‘profoundly unfair and must change’, adding that ‘millions are bamboozled by the variety and complexity of financial products on the market.

‘We’re on a mission to make financial advice affordable and accessible to all’

‘The financial service industry profits from this, charging sky-high fees for advice, whilst often failing to outperform the market.

‘We’re on a mission to make financial advice affordable and accessible to all, so that their money works harder for them. Munnypot will be ‘like nothing else on the market.’

Brett Williams, managing director of SEI Wealth believes that demand for automated advice solutions has increased because of the number of people denied access to financial advice following the Retail Distribution Review.

‘We are delighted to be partnering with Munnypot, which we believe will be a disruptive brand in the UK market and think the company’s user experience, mobile-first design and simplicity will greatly appeal to a broad range of consumers, not just the tech savvy mass affluent millennials,’ he added.

‘The innovative ongoing alert and messaging framework is extremely powerful and gives customers the chance to be regularly updated on their financial matters’

SEI already runs investments for wealth management and advisory firms such as Towry, HSBC, Tilney Bestinvest and Brewin Dolphin and is believed to be engaged in two additional partnerships, one with a UK bank.