The funding comes from a small group of private backers, one of whom was a user of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com who recognised the growth potential of the business after being successfully matched with a wealth manager.

The investment represents findaWEALTHMANAGER.com’s first external funding round since launch in 2012. The business has been cash-generative throughout this period, is profitable and has no debt.

The new investment will be used to meet recruitment costs, for enhancements to the service and user experience, increased marketing and for launching findaWEALTHMANAGER.com in the thriving Asian wealth management hub of Singapore.

The business was founded by Dominic Gamble, a former private banker, and Lee Goggin, who spent 25 years in investment banking prior to launching findaWEALTHMANAGER.com.

Dominic Gamble, co-founder of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com, says:

“We launched the business because we saw that wealthy individuals were increasingly looking online for information about how to choose the best wealth manager for their needs. We realised there was lack of useful guidance to help them do this and so the idea for a matching service was born.

“We are very excited that, three years on, our service has resonated so strongly with a group of individuals - including a user of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com - that they have backed us with their personal wealth to build the business in core markets.

“We now have almost 40 wealth managers on our panel, from the largest, best-known and most prestigious names in the sector, to smaller and niche providers catering to ultra-high net worth individuals or investors with specialist needs. We have already helped more than 1,000 investors find the right wealth manager for their profile.”

At the heart of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com is a proprietary algorithm that matches investors with wealth management firms according to their needs and preferences, and the services and specialisms of the wealth managers. Based on analysis of user information, the algorithm selects a maximum of three best-matched wealth managers, who will then contact the prospective client and provide a free, no-obligation consultation on their investment management/financial planning needs.

Co-founder Lee Goggin says:

“There are plenty of great wealth managers out there, but it can be difficult to find them on your own. We wanted to build something for wealthy individuals with £50,000 and above in investible assets that is quick and easy to use.

“Our service is revolutionising the way high net worth individuals find the best-matched institutions for their needs - forming an important part of the increasing digitisation and embracing of technology[i] in what is often thought of as a very traditional relationship business.”

It is not just investors who are benefiting from findaWEALTHMANAGER.com. The wealth management industry is increasingly recognising the value of the service. Wealth managers on the findaWEALTHMANAGER.com panel have found it is a powerful tool for reaching out to the client segments they can best serve, in a highly-targeted way. A recent survey of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com’s users found that high-profile advertising and sponsorships would do absolutely nothing to attract 61% of affluent investors to a wealth manager, underscoring the appeal of a more objective route in today’s consumer-savvy times.

Key facts and figures:

• Users of the service are diverse, from investors with £50,000 through to those with more than £50m. At least one match has been with an investor with more £100m of investible wealth
• The UK site attracts 8,000 visitors a month, bolstered by high-profile media coverage; similar interest levels are already building in Singapore
• In the past 12 months findaWEALTHMANAGER.com has referred clients with more than £250m of investible assets to wealth managers
• Soon to be 40 wealth managers on the panel, from traditional private banks to stockbrokers and discretionary and boutique fund managers
• findaWEALTHMANAGER.com, like all the wealth managers on its panel, is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority

Asian expansion

Some of the new investment will be used to fund the launch of findaWEALTHMANAGER.com in Asia. The business has already been established in Singapore and the service is due to become operational within a few weeks.

Mr Gamble, who is running the Asian business from Singapore, says:

“Singapore and Hong Kong are widely expected to overtake Switzerland as the world’s leading jurisdictions for offshore wealth management and so setting up findaWEALTHMANAGER.com in Asia is a natural step. As well as being a regional wealth management hub, Singapore is a centre for tech innovation, which has fed through to investing and private banking, where use of technology and apps is more widespread than in Europe. However, there is nothing comparable to findaWEALTHMANAGER.com in Asia. We have had great feedback about the service in Asia and we are confident we will be able build on our UK success here.”