Speaking to InvestorDaily, SelfWealth chief executive Andrew Ward said Pitt Capital turned down 20 other ‘robo-advice’ firms both in Australia and overseas to invest in SelfWealth.
Dean Price, the executive director of Washington H. Soul Pattinson Company-owned Pitt Capital, has also joined SelfWealth’s board.
Mr Ward said Pitt Capital is more of a “true corporate funding partner” than a venture capital fund.
“They want to support us both domestically and internationally over a long period of time,” he said.
According to Mr Ward, Pitt Capital’s investment was based on SelfWealth’s position at the juncture of the digital investing sector and the fastest-growing area of wealth in Australia: self-managed super.
SelfWealth signed a wholesale distribution agreement with software supplier BGL Corporate Solutions on 2 July 2015, giving it exclusive access to 75 per cent of the SMSF space via accountants.
On top of Pitt Capital’s investment, SelfWealth has also raised $1.3 million from its existing investors.
Mr Ward can now claim former iSelect (now Compare the Market) chief executive Matt McCann as a new investor – along with Carsales.com.au chief executive Greg Roebuck.
In total, SelfWealth has raised $8.4 million since its first seed capital raising from the original three directors in February 2012, said Mr Ward.
With most of the infrastructure of SelfWealth’s business built (the final piece is a stockbroking solution that Mr Ward says will be the cheapest in the market) there is no urgent need to raise more capital.
While the company is raising some revenues, the IT team is still being paid via raised capital, Mr Ward said.
“[Revenues have] just started trickling in. We’re about to turn on the pay engine in September.
“BGL’s paying us already, and when we launch the brokerage solution, that has some revenue streams attached to it,” he said.
