Multiply’s financial advice app wins FCA approval
Multiply has become the first Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-approved provider of fully regulated, automated financial advice, reports Jane Connolly.
The iOS app is due to launch this summer, with the aim of making free holistic financial advice available to the 16 million people that Multiply claims cannot afford professional guidance.
Offering impartial market-wide advice across a range of financial products, the app will assess the user’s financial situation and goals to offer personalised advice and action plans.
Multiply says the benefits include the removal of human bias, as well as access to year-round, optimised advice, rather than the annual reviews offered by traditional independent financial advisors.
The FCA’s approval was granted after a stringent 18-month testing process, to ensure the technology could truly deliver suitable personalised recommendations.
“We’re immensely proud to be the first company to receive FCA approval to automate the full advice process,” says Multiply co-founder and CEO, Vivek Madlani.
“At the moment the industry is going backward, the advice gap is widening. People are ready for Multiply; a free digital-first approach. We want to put the power of a personal financial advisor in everyone’s pocket to help Brits access the advice they need to do the stuff that really matters to them – buying a home, saving for retirement, starting a family.”
Simon Bussy, director of wealth at Altus Consulting, comments that Multiply will face challenges concerning branding, distribution and costs, but the new development raises the bar in an extremely competitive marketplace.
