Octopus Group has launched a new brand to offer money coaching and advice to consumers across the UK, regardless of their financial situation.
Octopus Money will provide personalised, one-to-one financial coaching and advice, focusing on providing services through UK employers, replacing Octopus MoneyCoach and Octopus Wealth.
It is launching with £50mn in investment from Octopus Group, and will be run by Ruth Handcock, who stepped down as chief investment officer at Octopus Investments earlier this year.
Handcock, a co-founder of challenger lender Tandem Bank, joined Octopus Investments as chief customer officer in 2018.
Octopus Group bought Hatch Financial Coaching in 2021, which was rebranded as Octopus Money Coach, and last year Handcock refused to rule out buying IFA firms as part of the wider group’s expansion.
Handcock said though individuals currently have access to more information than ever, millions of people are still confused about what to do with their money.
“That’s why everything we’re building at Octopus Money starts with the belief that when it comes to money, people want to engage with a human, not just an app.”
The decision to partner with UK workplaces is due to Octopus’s belief that employers are the countries best hope for improving financial wellbeing.
“Too often, meaningful money conversations are rushed, fumbled or altogether absent inside businesses,” she said.
“This leaves employees feeling confused, frustrated and undervalued. For many UK employers, ‘people’ are the single biggest investment and yet there’s often no one helping employees to make the most of their pay.”
Research by Octopus Money showed that many employees do not feel that companies are doing enough to support them financially, with 66 per cent saying their employer does not care about their personal finances, and 27 per cent saying money conversations at work ended with a positive outcome.
Simon Rogerson, chief executive officer of Octopus Group, said: “Octopus was founded on the simple belief that many industries didn’t exist to best serve their customers.
“That guiding principle has seen us build and invest in truly disruptive, customer-obsessed businesses across a whole host of sectors, with financial services, energy and education chief among them.”
sally.hickey@ft.com
