Paul Boston, the co-founder of platform Novia Financial, has created financial advice firm HT Money to provide services to “lower-value” clients with less complex needs.
The firm will trade as Hundreds and Thousands.
The vertically-integrated business will provide clients with initial and ongoing advice, platform services, discretionary fund management and underlying funds for less than 150bps per annum.
It said that the company “will streamline the advice process” by utilising AI to guide the client through disclosure documents and the principles of recommendation.
The newly-created company also said that its client base normally falls outside their current advisers’ target market and into the “advice gap”. The firm believes that many advisers are currently facing a dilemma, which has been accentuated by the requirements of the Consumer Duty about what they do with lower-value clients.
‘Locked out’
Hundreds and Thousands co-founder Boston has a long track record in the wealth management space. He was a founder and director at platform Novia Financial and Copia Capital Management and more recently a director at Wychfield Associates.
Boston said: “Too many clients that our industry views as ‘low value’ are being locked out of the financial advice process, even though they are the ones who, arguably, require it most.
“Hundreds and Thousands has been set up to cater to the needs and objectives of these less wealthy clients. The beauty of our service is the ease with which transfers can be made to us and, when the client’s wealth grows and they become part of the adviser’s target market, we transfer them back.”
