Since we launched in 2016, our investment platform has grown significantly, expanding the original offering of Stocks and Shares ISAs and General Investment Accounts to now include award-winning Ethical Investments, Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs, and more recently Self-Invested Personal Pensions. Wealthify now employs more than 40 people and manages the investments of 30,000 customers.
To help fund this journey, in 2018 Wealthify became majority owned by Aviva and this transaction contained the option for the founders to sell their remaining shares to Aviva. Following the natural progression of Wealthify’s growth, the founders have now exercised this option, and Wealthify is now 100% owned by Aviva.
As part of this change, Andrew Russell has been appointed as our new Chief Executive Officer*. Andy has worked for Aviva for eleven years and has over 20 years’ experience in financial services. With many years of direct-to-consumer savings, investments and leadership experience, Andy is well placed to lead Wealthify on the next stage of its evolution whilst nurturing the Wealthify personality that continues to drive its growth. Andy is passionate about our mission to help people make their money work harder through affordable and accessible investing.
Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer, Richard Theo, has now left the business and Richard Avery-Wright will stand down as Chairman at a time that is right for the business. Michelle Pearce-Burke continues with the business in her post as Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer, together with the other members of the Senior Leadership Team.
‘I have achieved my ambition to create a digital investment service that cuts through complexity and makes investing accessible to everyone, regardless of wealth or experience. I am really proud of everything we’ve achieved at Wealthify. It has been a wonderful and challenging experience to go from a humble start-up to the award-winning investing brand we have become today, and to have witnessed the positive effect of the disruption we have caused within the industry. This would not have been possible without our amazing customers and the trust they put in us. I’m going to miss my brilliant colleagues and the energy and pace of daily life at Wealthify, but I will continue to take a keen interest in the business in my new role as Wealthify’s Number One Fan.’
Former CEO and Co-founder, Richard Theo
As our next phase begins, our new CEO Andy Russell is looking forward taking the reins to start the next chapter of our growth. Here are his initial thoughts about his new role:
‘I’m delighted to join Wealthify at such an exciting time, to help drive forward our mission of giving easy access to affordable investing. Wealthify has a great leadership team, agile technology, and an inspiring start-up culture, that together has created an accessible, award-winning ‘robo’ investment service
I’ve worked in retail savings and investments my whole career, in businesses of varying sizes and cultures, and I’m particularly proud to have the opportunity to lead as dynamic and vibrant a business as Wealthify. It feels like now is the right time in the company’s evolution to fully join up the creativity and agility of Wealthify with the strength and experience of Aviva, and I am looking forward to leading the next phase of Wealthify’s growth. We will remain an independently run business, determining our own investment strategy, focused on simplicity, affordability and transparency, to bring the benefits of investing to mass-market savers.’
If you have any questions, please get in touch, and we’ll be happy to answer them. You can call us on 0800 802 1800, talk to us on Live Chat, or send a secure message from your dashboard.
*subject to regulatory approval
Please remember the value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you could get back less than invested.
