Smarterly, the workplace savings fintech, has acquired Salvus Master Trust for an undisclosed sum.
The deal is the first acquisition of an authorised master trust following The Pension Regulator’s master trust authorisation regime. Salvus Master Trust had over 68,000 active and deferred members and £208m of assets at 31.12.19.
Smarterly launched its workplace savings platform in 2017 and has secured over 100 large employers who promote its platform to encourage healthy savings habits with the convenience of saving directly from pay. Smarterly’s current proposition is geared around Individual Savings Accounts (Isas), targeting millennials prioritising savings for their first home and higher earners impacted by the reduced annual and lifetime pension allowances.
Latest research from Smarterly shows that almost three quarters of respondents agree that workplace savings shouldn’t just be about pensions – they should include other savings options, such as Isas. And nine in ten expressed interest in exploring a “sidecar” model for their pension scheme – a workplace ISA running alongside their pension scheme.
Smarterly founder and CEO Ben Pollard says: “Our corporate clients have been telling us they want to see more innovation with workplace savings and to make pensions more engaging, much like we have been doing with the Smarterly workplace ISA platform. We now intend to use our tech to help Employee Benefit Consultants and their clients better engage with employees and to make pensions more engaging”.
Salvus founder Steve Goddard says: “This deal will take Salvus to the next level and I look forward to working with Smarterly and developing the technology so that Salvus employers and members alike can benefit from the fintech revolution”.
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