Sidekick, a wealth management platform for investors, has raised £4.5M in a Seed round and £4M via a debt facility.
The seed round was co-led by Pact VC and TheVentureCity and supported by MS&AD, Blackwood, and 1818, alongside previous investors Octopus Ventures, Seedcamp, and Semantic Ventures. Columbia Lake Partners, backers of Mews, Factorial, Griffin, and Contentsquare, provided the debt financing.
Investors can borrow up to 40 percent of the value of their portfolio, subject to assessment, without needing to bear the brunt of a forced sale. The credit facility is backed by the investor’s portfolio, which helps Sidekick provide larger loan amounts, lower fees, and greater flexibility. The product is designed to enable more long term investment horizons; it can’t be used for investing.
A recent Resolution Foundation report highlighted households in higher wealth deciles proportionally hold much more of their money in higher-returning assets, resulting in an ever-increasing wealth divide. This disparity is partly due to different liquidity needs, with lower-income households often holding more cash to safeguard against unexpected expenses.
Sidekick caters to investors who have graduated beyond dabbling in stock picking and robo-advisory and are seeking to grow their wealth.
The company obtained a comprehensive set of regulatory permissions from the FCA and launched its actively managed flagship equities product in January. It is the only wealth management service of its type in the UK to offer a Portfolio Line of Credit, a lombard lending product designed to help investors stay invested over the long term while still having access to liquidity when needed.
Matthew Ford, Co-Founder and CEO of Sidekick, explained: "We’re looking to address the growing inequity of wealth creation and let the money of hard-working entrepreneurs and professionals work harder. With over a million people in our target demographic in the UK seeking support for their financial goals, the demand for innovative wealth management solutions tailored to their unique needs is undeniable. Sidekick exists to ensure that it’s not just the ultra-wealthy that have access to the tools and products needed to secure long-term financial prosperity."
Monik Pham, Founding Partner at Pact VC, commented: "Sidekick addresses wealth disparity and the limited options in the market, which often restrict investors to extreme ends of the spectrum: solely passive investing or active speculating. By catering to an underserved segment with innovative financial products and inclusive wealth-creation opportunities, Sidekick is changing private wealth for the new generation.”
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