Will Wynne (Group MD & Co-Founder) and Andrew Evans (Group CEO & Co-Founder) | Image credit: Smart (YouTube)
London-based Smart, a fintech company that develops software designed to provide retirement services, including its own pension plan, announced on Monday (May 15) that it has closed its $95 million (approximately €87.35 million) Series E funding round.
Smart claims to have “exceptional” growth, with group revenues of £67m (nearly €77m) in 2022 – a 65 per cent increase on the previous year. The firm has over £5.5B (nearly €6.32B) in assets under management (AUM) on its platform and aims to exceed £10B by the end of June 2023 following current funding.
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The investment was led by Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm. Existing investors Chrysalis Investments, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, DWS, Barclays and Natixis Investment Managers also participated in this round.
With this agreement, Charles Janeway from Aquiline has joined Smart’s board as a non-executive director.
“Change retirement, savings and financial well-being”
Founded in 2014 by Andrew Evans and Will Wynne, Smart is a global provider of savings and investment technology platforms.
It claims to own and operate Smart Pension, one of the “big four” UK auto enrollment champions, serving over one million savers and 70,000 employers. The company’s goal is to transform retirement, savings and financial well-being, across all generations, globally.
The platform already operates a number of retirement savings options. These collaborations include one with a reputable financial company in Ireland, the national rollout of integrated pension solutions in the US, and a partnership with Zurich Workplace Solutions (Middle East), a division of Zurich Insurance Group, on the Dubai Government’s Workplace Savings Scheme. .
Capital utilization
Smart says that after running successful businesses in Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia, the funds raised will support the company’s goal of global expansion.
The proceeds will also support short-term acquisitions and accelerate Smart’s rollout of Keystone, the retirement savings technology platform. The scalability of the Keystone platform supports the development and profitability of the Smart Pension business.
Keystone was created to help governments and financial organizations (such as insurance companies, asset managers, banks and financial advisors) provide digital, personalized and affordable retirement savings and income solutions.
In addition to the UK, Smart operates in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with more than one million depositors contributing over £5B in assets to the Keystone platform.
Andrew Evans and Will Wynne say: “We’re on a mission to transform retirement, savings and financial well-being. We’re a world leader in retirement technology, and our industry-leading platform, Keystone, is deployed by the largest, most successful financial institutions around the world. »
“We have already achieved scale and profitability in the UK, with Smart Pension now serving over one million savers, and this support allows us to achieve this scale and profitability in our global markets across the group.”
About Aquiline Capital Partners LLC
Based in New York and London, Aquiline Capital Partners supports financial services, technology, healthcare and business services companies. The company’s AUM is $9.6 billion.
Speaking about the investment in Smart, Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Aquiline, said, “Smart’s distinct leadership in retirement technology combined with Aquiline’s deep experience in the retirement technology industry makes this a compelling investment, as does the growing global need for better retirement savings. technology.”
“Smart has consistently delivered impressive commercial growth and is backed by a number of top-tier investors who we are delighted to join. Under the leadership of Andrew and Will, we have every confidence that Smart is a multi-billion pound company in the making.”
Greenberg adds, “The UK remains at the forefront of digitizing and democratizing retirement savings and we are delighted to support a UK leader in the sector as it helps to solve pressing issues facing savers, financial institutions and governments around the world opposite.”
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