UK Wealth Manager Nutmeg To Become Part Of JPMorgan

U.K. digital wealth manager Nutmeg will soon become part of JPMorgan Chase, the company announced Thursday (June 17).

With more than 140,000 clients and over £3.5 billion of assets under management, Nutmeg “will form the bedrock of the bank’s retail digital wealth management offering internationally over the long term, complementing the launch of Chase as a digital bank in the UK later this year,” Nutmeg CEO Neil Alexander said on the company blog.

Alexander said the products and services customers receive from Nutmeg will not be affected. When the deal is finalized later this year once approvals are received, JPMorgan and Nutmeg will work together on “further developing our offering to the benefit of our investors.”

Nutmeg says its services have helped more than 140,000 people invest for their first homes or to save for retirement. Since its launch 10 years ago, it has attracted the attention of venture capitalist and institutional investors, as well as 2,000 crowdfund investors.

In its announcement of the acquisition, JPMorgan Chase said Nutmeg “will complement the digital bank that is planned for launch in the U.K. later this year under the Chase brand.”

The firm’s acquisition by JPMorgan Chase comes at a moment when many FinTech startups are consolidating in order to survive, as PYMNTS reported in March.

JPMorgan Chase, like many banks of its size, recently reported a continued upswing in debit spending, as well as first quarter equities trading revenues of $3.3 billion, a 47 percent increase from the same period last year.

“We are building Chase in the UK from scratch using the very latest technology and putting the customer’s experience at the heart of our offering, principles that Nutmeg shares with us,” said Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO of International Consumer at JPMorgan Chase. “We look forward to positioning their award-winning products alongside our own and continuing to support their innovative work in retail wealth management.”