Smart has passed £2.2bn assets under management on its platform, growing by more than 2,000% in the 3 years since announcing the £100 million milestone.
Smart’s stellar growth to £2.2bn in the 6 years since launch has been built largely organically. Alongside organic growth, the organisation has carried out several M&A deals, many of UK-based pensions master trusts, along with one technology partner. Smart now seeks to rapidly increase its inorganic growth through further acquisitions to complement its strong organic trajectory, including the appointment of a new Group Director of M&A, actively pursuing deals in the UK, as well as the USA and beyond.
Paul Toon, who recently joined the business in the newly created role of Group Director of M&A is responsible for overseeing and executing all aspects of acquisition globally. Paul previously led Corporate Development at Legal & General Investment Management, and oversaw a number of acquisitions and disposals during his tenure.
Since inception, Smart has acquired seven pension master trusts with assets under management totalling more than £277 million with £58 million+ annual contributions. These acquisitions include Welplan, Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.
Michelle Darracott, Group Strategy Director at Smart, who was recently named ‘Fintech Woman of the Year’ by the Women in Financial Advice Awards, said:
“2021 has been a momentous year for Smart, and we have even greater plans for 2022 and beyond. With partners such as J.P. Morgan, Chrysalis Investments, Barclays and others, and a proven strategy that has taken us beyond £2.2 billion in AUM, our momentum is only growing. In July, IBS intelligence listed our most recent funding round as one of the largest 5 fintech rounds globally – a large vote of confidence from investors in our London-headquartered company. All of these factors, combined with our technology platform’s ability to scale many times further still, puts us in a unique position to create value in the UK retirement market, and to deliver greater outcomes for savers.”
Paul Toon, Group Director of M&A at Smart, said:
“Smart’s technology prowess and proven record in disrupting the retirement space puts us in a unique position to deliver value. The growth in the business so far is extremely compelling, and we are very focused on our core goal: offering the very best technology to improve the lives of retirement savers around the world. Our trajectory, combined with our international expansion, is driving an excellent acquisition pipeline. We are actively looking for further possibilities to deploy capital in M&A to bring members and assets onto our technology platform.”
Smart is one of the fastest growing retirement technology providers globally, with a staggering 2000% growth of AUM in just 3 years.