Moneyfarm is owned by its co-founders Giovanni Daprà and Paolo Galvani and is backed by several major institutional investors. These include Allianz Asset Management, M&G, London-based Cabot Square Capital, Rome-headquartered Poste Italiane and Milan-based venture capital firm United Ventures.
Launched in 2012 and headquartered in the UK, Moneyfarm provides digital wealth management (or robo-advice) to more than 90,000 users, for whom it manages more than £2.4 billion in assets.
According to the UK’s Companies House database, the firm’s single biggest backer appears to be Germany-headquartered financial services multinational Allianz SE. Allianz is the only single entity to own between 25% to 50% of shares in the firm’s holding company MFM Investment. Cabot Square Capital also previously held a stake within the same range from 2016 to 2018.
Moneyfarm’s CEO Giovanni Daprà worked at Deutsche Bank before co-founding the company, while fellow co-founder Paolo Galvani Paolo previously worked in fintech and was CEO of Sella Capital Management.
The firm’s directors include chair Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the former CEO of Virgin Money, as well as representatives of its institutional backers.
The latter are Allianz chief operating officer Kay Müller, Poste Italiane chief financial officer Camillo Greco, United Ventures managing director Paolo Gesess, and Cabot Square Capital founding partner James Clark.
When relatively new platforms such as Moneyfarm have major institutional backers with strong reputations and experienced directors on the board, this is usually a good sign for investors. It means decisions by management are more likely to be held to scrutiny, and institutions will not want to risk their own reputations by allowing the firms they back to treat their customers poorly. It also makes it likely the firm has the necessary funding and support to grow as well as improve its services.
Senior executives at the firm include its chief investment officer Richard Flax, who joined Moneyfarm in 2016 from his role as a portfolio manager at PIMCO, as well as head of investment advisory Andrea Rocchetti. The firm is also advised by Mario Cuccia, a consultant who previously held senior roles at Allianz.
In addition to its direct-to-client services, Moneyfarm provides its business-to-business services which combine a technology platform, as well as product wrappers and asset management capabilities.
These include UK-headquartered financial services giant and Moneyfarm investor M&G, whose digital investment service &me – launched in 2023 – is supported by Moneyfarm’s technology.
Robin has more than six years of experience as a financial journalist, most of which were spent at Citywire, and covers the latest developments in the investing, trading and currency transfer space. Outside of work, he enjoys reading literature and philosophy and playing the piano.
You can contact Robin at robin@goodmoneyguide.com
