Openmoney enters the workplace with Jargonfree Benefits acquisition
OpenMoney, the digital advice firm, has acquired respected employee benefits platform Jargonfree Benefits (JFB) as part of its mission to take high quality affordable financial advice to the masses.
The deal, which completed on 1 November, will see JFB become part of the OpenMoney group of companies, with JFB founder Steve Bee and director Andrew Rice continuing to hold key roles in the business.
Bee set up JFB in 2013 with the aim of helping the estimated 16.3 million workers1 employed at UK small or medium-sized companies (SMEs) gain access to the same standard of workplace benefits as those enjoyed by workers at larger firms.
As part of the OpenMoney group of companies, JFB will have access to a wide range of resources that will enable it to immediately improve its current offering while developing marketing leading innovations that will help it set new standards in employee benefits.
Unlike its rivals, which target wealthy clients with large sums to invest, OpenMoney was set up to offer affordable, personalised advice from a qualified adviser to those with more modest amounts.
Launched in 2016 by Anthony Morrow, the firm aims to combine expert financial advice with intuitive tools to help people make the most of their money.
Morrow says: “While there is no single way to address the advice gap in this country, we believe technology and the workplace have huge roles to play, which is why the deal to acquire Jargonfree Benefits makes sense to us.
“The work Steve and the team do will complement perfectly what we are doing at OpenMoney – making affordable, personalised advice available to the masses.
“The SME workplace is a relatively untapped market in terms of closing the advice gap in this country. Many of the 16.3 million people who work for these companies in the UK do not have access to the same workplace benefits as those who work for the big corporates.
“While lots needs to be done to close that gap, we believe it is absolutely possible and we are ready to play our role in doing that.
Bee says: “This is a hugely exciting moment for the business, our existing clients and the millions of employers up and down the country who care deeply about the people who work for them.
“It makes sense to me that the tools people need to both understand and control their own finances should be readily available in the workplace.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but I’m confident that as part of OpenMoney we can make huge strides in building the benefits market for SMEs and in doing so ensure high quality affordable financial advice might one day become accessible to every worker in the UK.”
1 House of Commons Business Statistics Briefing Paper, 12 December 2018