Alan Mooney’s exit adds to a string of senior departures from Nucleus over the past 18 months following its first sale to private equity in February 2021 and the subsequent departure of founder David Ferguson.
FTAdviser understands recruitment is underway for Mooney’s replacement and that this will be announced soon.
Before Nucleus, Mooney headed platform support and testing at AXA Wealth for nearly eight years. At Nucleus, he started in the same role, before moving to head of production and change and then director of technology.
More recently, Nucleus' technology focus has been on its new FNZ platform.
The business said last month it was still "hoping" to soft launch its new FNZ platform at the back end of this year, but "so be it" if this launch spills over into early next year.
Two sources have previously said the new platform will not be ready for a soft launch until, at the earliest, May 2023. But Nucleus has said this is “categorically untrue”.
FTAdviser understands Mooney himself is not immediately going into a new role.
A number of senior employees at Nucleus have six-month non-compete clauses in their contract, meaning they cannot take on a new role with a similar business for at least six months from when they hand in their notice.
Amira Norris, Nucleus’ former account management, has just joined Novia as its head of sales after completing her six months of notice and gardening leave.
In the past, Nucleus has accused rival platform Novia of “aggressively” recruiting its staff after losing at least four employees to the company over the past year.
Currently, Nucleus is consulting on whether to add three-month notice periods to some of its less senior staff employment contracts, as well as six-month notice periods for more senior heads of department.
On Mooney’s departure, a Nucleus spokesperson said: "We wish Alan well and thank him for his positive contribution to Nucleus.
“Our headcount is significantly up from this time last year and we will shortly be announcing some exciting new hires to help us deliver on our ambitious plans."
The business is currently on the hunt for acquisitions. FTAdviser understands self-invested personal pension providers Curtis Banks and Dentons Pension Management, as well as rival Novia’s investment platform Wealthtime, are all names currently on the table to talk to.
Last month, one analyst labelled Nucleus as “struggling”.
Back in June, FTAdviser understands Nucleus’ platform inflows dipped to just £1mn. Comparatively, £606mn flowed through to Nucleus’ platform between October and December last year.
In response, the business said it “respectfully disagree[s]” with the analysts. It added: “We believe the opinion was based on an incomplete knowledge of our business and lack of understanding of the sector.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
