Robo-advisers and platform technology firms have been included among the world’s most innovative finance technology companies in this year’s WealthTech 100 list.
Among those named in the list for 2020, published today (April 28), were robo advisers Wealth Wizards and EValue, platform tech firm GBST- which is based in Australia but has a large marketshare in the UK- investment app Tickr, and the Embark Platform.
The WealthTech 100 is an annual collection of global technology firms in the wealth management sector compiled by industry experts and analysts, designed to help senior management and investment professionals evaluate which digital wealth management models have market potential.
FinTech Global, which compiled the list, said Embark was a “genuinely digital platform” which had set out to disrupt the UK investment savings market and improved the ability to deliver services to robo-advice, banking and wealth management markets.
Phil Smith, chief executive of Embark Group, said: “Innovation and a digital-first mindset have been core components of Embark’s DNA from the outset.
“We will continue to invest to ensure we remain at the forefront of the industry, delivering for our clients.”
The experts were also impressed by the “UK’s first online financial adviser” WealthWizards.
FinTech Global said: “The digital financial guidance and advice products combine leading-edge technology, financial services expertise and a market-leading capability to...connect with a diverse customer audience.”
Another company involved with robo-advice, EValue, made the list. EValue delivers “personal and engaging digital advice and guidance”, according to FinTech Global.
GBST — a platform technology company — also made the top 100. According to FinTech Global, GBST’s technology helped “empower wealth managers to engage with investors, employers and financial advisers”, simplified platform technology and reduced overall costs.
Rob DeDominicis, group chief executive at GBST, said the firm had used the very latest technologies to transform how wealth management platforms were delivered in a much more 'componentised' fashion.
He added: “The team at GBST is really proud to receive such an award and be recognised for our innovations whilst developing our technology stack to become fully cloud enabled.”
FinTech Global stated: “There’s plenty of interest and hype about [wealth technology] in the marketplace, but much of it is superficial, incoherent or self-serving and fails the needs of decision-makers in incumbent financial institutions who require independent facts, figures and analysis.”
Other firms to make the top 100 list included Tickr, an app which offers fixed allocation investment portfolios across three risk profiles and four ‘themes’, and WealthObjects, which helps institutions launch a direct to consumer digital investing platform.
Aixigo, which provides the technology for Hargreaves Lansdown, was also mentioned in the top 100 alongside wealth management technology firm Iress and Morningstar’s suitability software, PlanPlus.
imogen.tew@ft.com
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