A pension and savings adviser has secured the backing of HGL Private Capital to accelerate its growth, with the private equity specialist’s founders becoming board members as part of the deal.
Manchester-based Pension Pulse has secured an undisclosed investment from HGL Private Capital to tackle the UK’s widening “advice gap”, which it said has left millions of people without access to affordable regulated pension advice.
Founded by chief executive Aidan Carter and CIO James Igoe, Pension Pulse is an independent financial adviser authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Carter said: “We believe the future of financial advice must look completely different to the traditional industry model. Millions of people across the UK need trusted regulated advice but have historically been excluded because they do not meet traditional wealth thresholds.
“Our mission is to create a completely new category which combines technology, operational scale and human interaction to make high-quality advice genuinely accessible.
“HGL Private Capital immediately understood both the scale of the problem and the size of the opportunity. They share our long-term vision and we are excited to build the next phase of Pension Pulse together.”
HGL Private Capital founding directors Chris Hurley and Ged Gould have both joined the Pension Pulse board as non-executive directors. West Midlands-based HGL Private Capital was relaunched in March last year after rebranding to replace Dealspan.
The firm concentrates on equity investments up to £10m, with specialisms including management buyouts, cash out deals and finance for growth plans, both organic and “buy and build” strategies.
Gould said: “The investment in Pension Pulse reflects our growing confidence in scalable, technology-enabled advice businesses capable of addressing one of the UK financial sector’s biggest structural challenges.”
Hurley added: “The investment will support Pension Pulse’s continued expansion, technology development and national growth strategies.
“We look forward to partnering with Aidan and James.”