Equiniti has acquired all of the assets of dorect-to-consumer platform Selftrade for an undisclosed sum by in a move that will see a new platform launched.
Selftrade currently has about 130,000 stockbroking clients holding £4.2bn in assets. Pension and investment services provider Equiniti’s Investment Services division, established over 10 years ago, deals with £17bn of customer assets.
According to a statement from the companies, the two businesses have been working together for a number of years, with Equiniti providing financial custody and settlement services and the technology platform on which Selftrade is built.
Equiniti has said it will maintain Selftrade’s pricing structure and has committed to invest in a new platform that will be developed in line with customer feedback.
Mark Taylor, managing director of Equiniti’s Investment Services division, said “Equiniti’s acquisition of Selftrade’s customer portfolio is a natural extension of our core offering which supports 18m consumers with shareholder, investment and employee services in the UK.
“As well as committing to maintain the pricing for Selftrade’s customers and waiving any transfer fees for 12 months, we will look to combine the strengths of Equiniti and Selftrade to develop a sophisticated product and investment platform which reflects the needs of the customer.
“We have committed to invest significantly in this new platform. The project will be managed through a dedicated team, ensuring existing client service levels remain a priority, with all benefiting from greater scale, platform enhancements and experience as we look to the future.”
Alex Buffet, chief executive of Selftrade, said: “The Selftrade team remains committed to all our customers and we will be working closely with Equiniti and our regulators to ensure a smooth transition during this time.”
