Fundhouse Octopus is targeting the platforms market after acquiring technology business Seccl for £10m.
Seccl is a platforms technology firm that allows advisers to create their own platform in house, including offering funds, investment trusts and share dealing. The company was founded in 2017.
After acquiring the Bath-based business, which is subject to regulatory approval, Octopus plans to move staff from its existing Octopus Wealth division over to the new business, as well as expand the number of design and technical staff.
In an announcement this morning (August 15) a representative said: “The acquisition comes at a time when many adviser and wealth management firms are struggling with rising costs and limitations of legacy systems, and where there is a growing pressure to provide customers with a smoother and more intuitive user experience.
"For smaller advice firms who might prefer an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution, Seccl and Octopus will also build a full-service platform offering investment integration alongside Octopus Cash, the Octopus Investments cash management solution.
"Customers holding cash on the platform will, therefore, have easy access to a top tier interest rate.“
David Harvey, co-founder of Seccl said: “Having created Seccl from scratch, rather than building on legacy systems, we operate with a fraction of the code base, which means we are cheaper, can move faster, and are ultimately open to smaller firms that can’t get a shoe in with the big providers today.”
Simon Rogerson, chief executive of Octopus, said the provider was keen to disrupt the market.
He said: "Millions of us use platform technology everyday whether for online banking or managing investments. It determines our user experience and investment costs.
"But it’s a market crying out for change. Seccl’s innovative technology has the potential to completely transform the customer and client experience across retail financial services.
"The market opportunity is enormous and we are all excited by its potential."
david.thorpe@ft.com
