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Octopus launches fintech business Octopus Labs

Octopus Investments has launched Octopus Labs, a new fintech business which is developing technology-enabled financial solutions for the mainstream.

Octopus labs will be involved in ‘self-building’ some solutions and will support others through its fintech accelerator programme, with applications now open.
 
Octopus believes that for many, the world of finance – and financial products – remains complex, inaccessible and confusing. While the past few years have witnessed a fintech revolution in the UK, most of the innovations that have sprung up remain unfamiliar and unpalatable to both financial advisers and retail investors.
 
Octopus Labs aims to tackle these twin challenges. Combining established financial services credibility and expertise with start-up agility and technological know-how, it will build next generation fintech products capable of catering for financial advisers – a category it dubs “advisertech”.
 
To support it on its mission, Octopus Labs is also launching an accelerator programme designed to help likeminded, product-ready start-ups hone and distribute their solutions. The programme will provide a mentoring syllabus, central London office space and access to Octopus Investments’ distribution channels of financial advisers and investors.
 
Octopus may also choose to invest or “spin-in” successful cohort businesses. Applications for the 12-week programme are now open until 16 September, with activity kicking off in early October.
 
Octopus Labs will also be self-building fintech solutions in-house. Octopus Choice, which went live earlier this year, is the first self-built fintech product coming out of Labs, with many other self-build products already being developed. Despite the enormous growth of peer-to-peer lending over the past few years, financial advisers have remained cautious about the opportunity. Octopus Choice was built and tested in co-operation with many of the 3,500 advisers within the Octopus network, so as to develop a solution which solves their concerns and adds value to their client base. The product is now being distributed across the entire Octopus Investments network.
 
Richard Wazacz (pictured), head of Octopus Labs, says: “When our founders launched Octopus 16 years ago, they did so with a belief that the financial services sector was broken, that customers deserved better, and that we could deliver it. The world has changed dramatically for our customers since then – but our ambition hasn’t. We want to rebuild financial services the way it should be.
 
“Octopus Labs takes the existing strengths of our business – our established customer base, distribution channels, skills and expertise – and adds a start-up dimension. The result is a powerful new force that will quickly develop new products and services to form part of the Octopus stable.
 
“Our accelerator is a great example of the ambitions we have as a business unit. We want to take existing innovations and ready them for our mainstream audience of advisers and retail investors.
We’re excited to start receiving applications – and even more excited to start supporting our selected teams on their growth journey.”

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