Smarterly, the digital wealth platform for the workplace, has secured £7 million investment to support its continued growth as it brings innovation to workplace savings, allowing people to save and invest directly through payroll.

The funding was led by a family office, Major Oak, who invested £5 million with the remainder coming from existing angel and crowdfunding investors. Some of the investment was used to complete the recent acquisition of Salvus. The rest of the funding will be used to further develop Smarterly’s product proposition and allow further growth in the market.

Founded in 2017, Smarterly was the first workplace savings provider to introduce a Lifetime ISA through payroll deduction, helping clients to engage younger employees with their immediate financial needs. Employees can save as little as £10 a month, breaking down affordability barriers that exist with certain investment.  Smarterly now has over 80,000 customers with £230m assets under management and works with over 100 businesses including many of the UK’s largest employers.

Phil Hollingdale, Co-founder said: “Smarterly is changing the face of workplace savings, particularly as we move into unchartered territory of the working world post-Covid-19. Financial wellbeing is no longer one dimensional, it’s about supporting employees throughout their entire life journey.”

With over 16 million people in the UK with less than £100 in savings^[1], Smarterly is on a mission to use the workplace to turn the UK into a nation of savers. The business was founded by Ben Pollard, an actuary, who was so underwhelmed with his own experience in setting up an ISA that he decided to build his own platform and simplify investing for everyone.

Smarterly works with employers to provide employees with a fully automated savings and investment platform, using data analytics and algorithms to design and monitor personalised portfolios, making investing easy for everyone.

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37504449