Founded in Milan in 2011, MoneyFarm gives people access to low-cost wealth management services and launched in the UK earlier this year.
The latest deal will give Allianz Ventures a minority stake, estimated to be worth $7m (£5.3m, €6.2m), in the company and may result in MoneyFarm making active funds available through automated advice during 2017.
How it works
The service currently offers regulated investment advice via its website or over the phones based on six portfolios, with clients recommended an option after working through a questionnaire to establish their attitude to risk.
Like its rival Nutmeg, the automated advice tool uses a mix of asset classed backed by a passive investment strategy of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
MoneyFarm charges nothing for the first £10,000 invested, 0.6% between £10,001 and £100,000, 0.4% between £100,001 and £1m, while investments over £1m are free.
European expansion
Solmaz Altin, chief digital officer of Allianz, said: “The combination of online and offline advisory has become a key trend in the wealth management space enabled by technology.
“Based on the partnership with MoneyFarm, we will further drive innovation to provide better experience to our partners and customers.”
Meanwhile, Paolo Galvani, chairman and co-founder of MoneyFarm, described the transactions as an “endorsement of what we have achieved so far and also an indication that we have so much potential ahead of us”.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that existing players in this space have barely scratched the surface of possibilities.
“Across the whole investment lifecycle there is a need for a better model and a better solution. All the feedback we get from our customers is that this is exactly what they have needed,” he added.
The company currently has 80,000 customers across both Italy and the UK, with Galvani telling UK media earlier in the year that MoneyFarm is already looking at launching the service in a third European country.
