Smart, a London-headquartered FinTech aiming to transform the global retirement savings market, has raised $95m in Series E funding.
The round was led by Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm based in New York and London.
Existing investors also participated in the round including Chrysalis Investments, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, DWS, Barclays and Natixis Investment Managers.
According to Smart, as populations age and governments struggle with high national debt and large fiscal deficits, the responsibility to save for retirement is increasingly being pushed, by regulation, onto individuals and employees via the workplace.
To help them close the retirement savings gap, governments and large-scale financial institutions are leaning on Smart’s Keystone technology to ensure that people are saving more and are empowered to manage their money effectively.
In pursuit of these crucial objectives, Keystone provides, at scale, a leap forward in digital experience, bringing the retirement savings sector in line with advanced technology sectors such as ecommerce and online banking.
Smart said funds from this investment round will bolster its global expansion plans, building on the company’s strong performance in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia.
The capital will also help finance near-term acquisitions and accelerate Smart’s investment in and distribution of its proprietary retirement savings technology platform, Keystone. The market-leading growth and profitability of its UK-based Smart Pension business is underpinned by the scalability of the Keystone platform.
Andrew Evans and Will Wynne, the co-founders of Smart, said, “This investment is strong recognition of Smart’s success and journey to date, and highlights the immense opportunity that lies ahead. It is also a resounding vote of confidence in the UK’s FinTech sector, and its leadership in financial services provision.
“We are on a mission to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing. We are the global leader in retirement technology and our industry-leading platform, Keystone, is being deployed by the biggest, most successful financial institutions around the world. This is a $62trn global sector in the early stages of being disrupted, and we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of that. We have already reached scale and profitability in the UK, with Smart Pension now serving in excess of one million savers, and this backing allows us to achieve that scale and profitability in our global markets across the group. We welcome Aquiline to our board and we’re incredibly excited for the years ahead.”
Earlier this month, Charlie, a ground-breaking startup that delivers banking services specifically for the 62+ demographic, launched, redefining retirement banking.
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