JPMorgan Chase has struck a deal to buy UK roboadviser Nutmeg and plans to use it as a platform to expand in wealth management, as the US group prepares to enter the country’s retail banking market.
The Wall Street bank said on Thursday it had agreed to buy the online wealth manager, which has expanded rapidly since its launch in 2012 to manage about £3.5bn in assets for about 140,000 customers.
Nutmeg would complement the online retail banking operation that JPMorgan plans to set up in the UK, the US bank said. It plans to offer current accounts under the Chase brand later this year.
The London-based company would “form the basis of the bank’s retail wealth management offering internationally over the long term”, JPMorgan said.
Customers should expect Nutmeg’s products and services to be unaffected by the change in ownership, the bank said, although it added it would integrate them with Chase’s “over time”.
Nutmeg executives, led by chief executive Neil Alexander, are to remain in place after the acquisition.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the second half of the year.