- Transaction adds a strong institutional investor with unique opportunities for future strategic
- Capital will be used to further accelerate growth of Purpose’s core platform
- Allianz X will join Purpose’s board of directors
Purpose LP ("Purpose Financial"), a leading financial technology platform, today announced a minority investment from Allianz X, the digital investments unit of the Germany-based Allianz Group, which is focused on investments into leading fintech businesses globally. The transaction is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.
The investment from Allianz X will be used to accelerate growth and expand product development across Purpose Financial and its key growth businesses. The transaction will be an initial step in a strategic cooperation between Purpose Financial and Allianz, a leading global insurance and asset management firm, to leverage one another’s deep expertise and develop further partnership opportunities.
"We are excited to welcome Allianz X as an investor and partner in our business alongside our existing investors OMERS and TorQuest,” said Som Seif, Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Financial. “Our business has grown exponentially since founding in 2013 and we are still in the early stages of our journey to innovate within the financial services industry. This partnership will provide us with additional resources and expertise to accelerate our growth and continue to drive innovation across the financial services sector on behalf of consumers.”
Purpose Financial has a core focus on innovating within three exciting areas of financial services:
- Asset Management: Purpose Investments is modernizing asset management, focusing on outcome and liability driven investing to help customers meet long-term goals. Today, Purpose Investments manages over $10 billion in assets with a primary focus on risk management and customer outcomes rather than benchmarks and attractive fees.
- Wealth Management: Purpose Advisor Solutions provides a wealth-as-a-service technology platform to support independent wealth advisors and portfolio managers, allowing them to manage their businesses independently. Since launching in 2018, the business has grown to nearly $2 billion in assets on its innovative platform, with a strong pipeline of new customers driven by a growing demand from wealth advisors looking to take ownership of their business and client experience.
- Small Business Financial Platform: Thinking Capital is building the financial operating system for small businesses (“SMEs”), providing them with financial insights and access to credit to support their operating and growth needs. Since its founding, Thinking Capital has provided over $1 billion in loans to over 16,000 small businesses across Canada. Through its leading-edge technology platform, Thinking Capital partners with major banks, technology providers and other leading companies to help SMEs better manage their cash flows.
As a financial technology platform, Purpose Financial is driven to help Canadian individuals, advisors and small businesses achieve their financial goals. Through its businesses and their synergies, Purpose Financial is innovating to create new products and solutions in segments of the financial services market that have traditionally been underserved.
”Purpose Financial is a disruptor in the Canadian financial services landscape, having established a unique position in its market, particularly with its digital platform for financial advisors. The company is also well positioned for further growth in asset management and SME lending. We see various opportunities to capitalize on joint business opportunities going forward, for example in developing and distributing retirement solutions and investment products”, said Alexander De Kegel, Deal & Project Manager at Allianz X.
Allianz X invests in digital growth companies that are part of the ecosystem related to insurance, and its portfolio includes companies like the telemedicine provider AmWell, the B2B fintech C2FO and Germany-based challenger bank N26. A member of the Allianz X team will be joining the Purpose Financial board of directors.
“Given the current macroeconomic challenges and the growing importance of providing joint life insurance and asset management solutions, this partnership is a significant opportunity for Allianz and Purpose Financial to leverage each other's expertise in financial services and digital technology”, said Cameron Jovanovic, Global Head of Retirement and Wealth Propositions of Allianz SE. “Retirement is a strategic growth pillar for Allianz, and we recognize the importance of creating holistic, digitally-enabled solutions for our customers. We see the partnership with Purpose Financial as a step forward in developing the innovative capabilities necessary to tackle the broad set of opportunities and challenges in the retirement sector, both in Canada and around the world”, he added.
About Purpose Financial
Purpose Financial is an independent financial services company with an unrelenting focus on customer-centric innovation, delivered through technology-driven solutions. Led by entrepreneur Som Seif, the company is developing a diversified product platform aimed at addressing historically underserved segments of the market. Purpose Financial's businesses include Purpose Investments, Purpose Advisor Solutions and Thinking Capital. For more information, please visit: https://purposefin.com/
About Allianz X
Allianz X is the digital investment unit of the Allianz Group. Allianz X invests in and partners with digital frontrunners in the ecosystems relevant to insurance. Allianz X is one of the pillars of Allianz’s digital transformation strategy, and provides an interface between Allianz entities and the wider digital ecosystem. For more information, please visit: https://www.allianzx.com/
Media Contacts
For more information and media requests regarding Purpose Financial, please contact:
Keera Hart, Kaiser & Partners
Keera.hart@kaiserpartners.com
For more information and media requests regarding Allianz X, please contact:
Sebastian Koehnlechner, ASSET Communications
koehnlechner@asset-communication.de