Wealthsimple Crosses the Pond with UK Expansion

Canada’s leading digital investing service is crossing the pond. Wealthsimple is expanding its digital investing service to the United Kingdom.

A beta version of Wealthsimple’s investing service will be launching this summer, followed by a public launch in September.

“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.

Katchen was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2016 Canadian Startup Awards earlier this year.

“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 platform as clients do in the US and Canada to open an optimized investment account in just minutes through Wealthsimple’s website or mobile app.

Investors will be able to choose between Wealthsimple’s standard or socially responsible investment portfolio and will have access to human advisors whenever they’d like.

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. The Power Financial Corporation group of companies has invested $100 million in Wealthsimple to date and they are aggressively hiring.

Wealthsimple launched in the United States at the end of January and the UK is the company’s second international market.

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.