"Our mission is to make smart financial services accessible to everyone in the world. There are a lot of people in the UK who aren't getting the tools and advice they need to live their best financial lives, and in particular young and first-time investors," said Michael Katchen, founder and CEO of Wealthsimple. "We're really excited to introduce our first UK clients to the simple, smart, accessible service Wealthsimple is known for."

Clients in the UK will be able to use the same award-winning platform as they do in the US and Canada to open an optimized investment account in just minutes through Wealthsimple's website or mobile app. They'll also be able to have access to human advisors whenever they'd like, and will pay a transparent, and remarkably low management fee. Investors will be able to choose either our standard or our socially responsible investment portfolio.

The waitlist is open for the invitation-only beta version of the product, which will launch later this summer; UK residents can sign up now at wealthsimple.com. Wealthsimple's full product will be available to everyone in September.

Toby Triebel, a fintech entrepreneur and financial services veteran, will be leading Wealthsimple's UK business. He previously co-founded the online lending platform Spotcap, which he helped grow to 100 employees operating in five countries.

In less than three years, Wealthsimple has grown to serve more than 30,000 clients with $1 billion in assets. It's backed by the Power Financial Corporation group of companies, which have invested $100 million in Wealthsimple to date. The UK is the company's second international market. Wealthsimple launched in the United States at the end of January.