Manish Prasad (left) and Mark Fordree.

Ignition Advice has engaged Morgan Stanley to raise additional capital for the firm. Morgan Stanley will raise up to $35million, with a post-money valuation of $105 million, via a new Series B capital raise and a partial sell-down.

Shaun Bornstein, Executive Director of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, says, “Ignition’s exponential growth opportunities and the ability to form strategic partnerships with a number of tier one firms makes an exciting investment opportunity.”.

Ignition offers a full end to end platform for enterprise, including onboarding, consumer engagement, compliant advice, sales completion, ongoing account management and client servicing.

Bornstein continues, “Ignition is a smart, global technology company that allows any institution to transform the way they guide and advise customers. The technology is white-label, embeddable and uses AI, machine learning and algorithmic technology across three verticals: investments, insurance and retirement.”.

To accelerate growth, Ignition will focus on strategic partnerships with core banking and wealth recordkeeping platforms that power more than 4,500 banks, including the recently announced global partnership with Avaloq.

Co Founder and Director of Ignition Advice, Mark Fordree says, “We are delighted to be working with Morgan Stanley, a global tier 1 firm that understands our journey and is able to support our business on the exciting road ahead.”.

Morgan Stanley has completed a roadshow, introducing Ignition to a number of institutional investors, family offices and ultra-high net worth clients.

“The timing is right for Ignition to raise extra growth capital. Ignition is identified as one of a small handful of enterprise grade, advice platforms, globally which have solved for insurance, wealth and pensions, as a white label customer first experience. We are now ready to scale and win significant market share,” Fordree explains.

Proceeds from the raise will be used to support business development and product research, ensuring that Ignition’s technology solutions remain at the forefront of global innovation. Ignition is expected to go to IPO in 2022.

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Manish Prasad

Ignition Advice continues its strong growth strategy, announcing a global partnership with one of the world’s leading financial services and digital technology providers, Avaloq. Ignition is proud to be the first Australian fintech to be admitted to the Avaloq.one Ecosystem.

Manish Prasad, CEO of Ignition Advice says, “Ignition’s accelerated growth comes from a focus on strategic partnerships. With our platform complete and validated, strong distribution partnerships will allow us to quickly scale our enterprise client base. We are delighted to partner with Avaloq to bring our solutions to their global network of clients.”

The Avaloq banking suite provides core banking software solutions to more than 150 of the world’s financial institutions, in more than 30 countries, with over USD 4 trillion in assets managed with its software. Avaloq clients include Barclays, HSBC, Societe Generale SA, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Crestone Capital Advisors LLC, Maybank, LGT and Pictet. Through Avaloq’s extensive network, Ignition solutions can be offered to more than 150 target institutions.

Founded in Switzerland in 1985, Avaloq first launched a core banking solution almost thirty years ago. They pioneered Software as a Service (SaaS) and business process as a service (BPaaS) solutions for banks and wealth managers.

Their extensive third party marketplace Avaloq.one Ecosystem leads a new era of open banking, seamlessly connecting approximately 150 financial institutions with more than 120 innovative fintech solutions globally, allowing collaboration and rapid integration.

Terry Donohoe, COO of Ignition Advice says, “The Avaloq credo of complex problems, simple solutions and delivering live customer benefits in months not years is a perfect fit for Ignition. Our proven bank grade solutions are ready to implement, allowing clients to provide better service to their customers with go live in as little as 90 days.”

In 2020 Ignition has developed a strong distribution through partnership strategy and also recently became a member of the Envizage partner ecosystem. Envizage is a UK based holistic analytics platform that services enterprise clients including banks, insurance firms and asset managers. The partnership will allow Ignition and Envizage to bring digital engagement, goals optimisation, personal financial advice and investment, insurance and retirement product fulfilment to the global market.

Founded in 2014 by Mark Fordree and Mike Giles, Ignition is a global leader in digital advice technology, with unique capabilities to deliver advice across investment, retirement and insurance.

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Manish Prasad (left) and Mark Fordree.

Ignition Advice has remarkably achieved three finalist places in the global Banking Technology Awards. The innovative partnership between Ignition Advice and Bank of Ireland has earned a place as a finalist in the global category of Best Fintech Partnership amongst an exciting field including Barclays Bank, Lloyds Bank and Santander.

Ignition monopolises the shortlist for the Rising Star category with Ignition leadership team members from around the world, CEO Manish Prasad and CEO Ireland Alan Quinlan both winning finalists honours. With just ten finalists worldwide, securing one fifth of the spots signals Ignition’s people-first growth strategy.

Now in their twentieth year, the Banking Technology Awards are organised by London’s FinTech Futures. The organisation states, “For software providers, a Banking Technology Award is a valuable recognition of the company’s products and services, and an endorsement by the fintech community. For individuals and teams, a Banking Technology Award is a prized acknowledgment of the demonstrated skills, leadership, vision, inspiration and dedication to the industry’s betterment.”

In 2018, Ignition Advice placed as a finalist in the category Best Use of IT in Private Banking / Wealth Management. This category recognises excellence and innovation in the use of IT in financial services worldwide, and the people who make it happen.

The awards will be celebrated at a gala dinner in London on December 5, 2019.

Best Fintech Partnership

The Best Fintech Partnership category lauds the most remarkable partnerships happening in global banking today. The partnership between Ignition Advice and Bank of Ireland has been selected as one of the world’s best (in a total field of 15 finalists).

Named “Life Advice” the Ignition solution gives Bank of Ireland customers a single platform from which to manage their financial needs, from day to day banking through to retirement planning. The Ignition Advice Bank of Ireland deal is a multi year, multi million dollar engagement, seen by both parties as a long term commitment to revolutionise the European digital banking experience.

“Ignition Advice is particularly pleased to be shortlisted as a finalist for the Banking Technology Awards, Best Fintech Partnership category. This reinforces our vision and strategy to form meaningful relationships with the world’s top financial institutions. Bank of Ireland are a great partner for Ignition and we are delighted that together we have now launched live insurance and investment journeys, with a retirement journey to follow in 2020. The early results show Bank of Ireland customers are delighted with the new offerings,” said Manish Prasad, CEO at Ignition Advice.

Ignition Advice delivers world leading bank grade technology combined with a strong drive to innovation and a customer-first ethos. Bank of Ireland’s decision to work with Ignition was driven by their ability to partner in transforming the customer experience and ensuring that customers are supported to make the best possible financial decisions.

“Bank of Ireland were actively looking in the market for a service provider who could support our growth ambitions in this market across all of our business channels and customer segments.

“There are many different types of providers in this market, from pure robo-advisers who are in essence execution only to software providers who can build your current processes to spec and update the look and feel of how your advisers interact with a customer.

“Bank of Ireland is seeking to transform the customer experience by providing omni-channel services but also ensuring that our customers make the best financial decision they could at any given time. We believe this is the key to better financial outcomes for our customers that will improve their financial wellbeing. In our interactions with Ignition Advice we believed they were closest to us in terms of our desire to improve customer outcomes,” said Sean O’Murchu, Director of Wealth Advice and Distribution at Bank of Ireland.

Alan Quinlan, CEO, Ignition Ireland notes that Ignition, Bank of Ireland engagement has evolved and deepened. From a technology and abilities based relationship, the firms now enjoy a true partnership.

“Initially our reasons to partner were all about the technology, the people and our ability to partner with a tier one bank. As we progressed through the proof of concept, we discovered a real alignment on a shared vision we had around how digital advice would evolve over time and the positive impact our platform could bring to our enterprise partners, end customers, advisers and regulators,” said Alan Quinlan, CEO, Ignition.

Ireland Banking Technology Awards – Rising Star

The Banking Technology Awards Rising Star Category recognises individuals who are making a substantive difference to the global world of fintech. Ignition fields a remarkable two finalists out of ten globally.

Ignition Advice, CEO, Manish Prasad and Ignition Advice Ireland, CEO, Alan Quinlan both feature as finalists. This level of industry recognition highlights Ignition’s success in attracting the world’s finest fintech innovators around the globe. With teams based in Sydney and Dublin, attracting leadership staff who are acknowledged as global rising stars speaks to the firm’s commitment to lead from a capabilities and culture ethos.

“Ignition is extremely proud to have not one but two finalists in the global Banking Technology Awards category: Rising Star.

This kind of recognition from the very best of our industry peers validates our company ethos of hiring the best to deliver the best. This ensures that the solutions serving our clients and customers are created with the innovative flair of the world’s rising fintech stars,” said Mark Fordree, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ignition Advice.

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Bank of Ireland’s Seán Ó Murchú joined Manish Prasad and Alan Quinlan from Ignition Advice in today launching a new digital advice platform for Irish consumers.

Seán Ó Murchú, Director, Wealth Advice and Distribution at Bank of Ireland, said, “Creating a single, digital advice platform will have a transformational impact on the Irish market,”.

Ignition Advice technology will support Bank of Ireland customers across all areas of their financial lives, from financial wellness and saving, to investment and insurance. Scalable solutions allow the bank to offer digital financial advice to all of their customers, while the Ignition Advice hybrid model allows the bank to fully integrate digital advice with telephone or in-person experiences, as the customer requires. Ignition Advice delivers a custom-designed user experience, for maximum customer engagement.

Seán Ó Murchú, Director, Wealth Advice and Distribution at Bank of Ireland, said, “Consumers are increasingly using digital tools for many of their daily banking, shopping and entertainment needs. They want to complete simple transactions on-line, to easily access information, and to be supported, as appropriate through technology or by advisers, depending on the complexity of their requirements. Our new Life Advice platform provides the appropriate combination of technology and support from advisors and the offering will continue to expand through 2019. This is a genuine opportunity to enhance our customer interactions through a single advice platform which will have a transformational impact on the Irish market.”.

Alan Quinlan, CEO, Ignition Advice Ireland, who leads the European business, said, “Ignition is delighted to partner with Bank of Ireland as they implement a truly customer-centric and ambitious wealth transformation. As we build our European business Ignition will continue to announce partnerships with like-minded enterprise clients across the spectrum of financial services.”.

While Ignition Advice is already established as the leading provider of highly customised, bank grade, SaaS platforms for enterprise clients in Australia, the partnership with Bank of Ireland represents the firm’s first announcement of a major European deal.

Manish Prasad, Group CEO, Ignition Advice, acknowledged the partnership as a significant milestone, commenting, “We are excited to bring our world class digital advice technology to the European market. Ignition is a unique, bank grade, global enterprise solution with significant data security and risk management capabilities. The firm holds ISO/IEC27001 certification and is GDPR compliant. Meeting the technology innovation needs and compliance standards required to partner with a tier one European bank is a significant milestone for Ignition and demonstrates our commitment to innovation and excellence.”.

The Life Advice platform, when fully rolled out, will facilitate end to end online applications for life insurance; personal pensions; savings and investments; providing a digital one-stop-shop for personal financial advice.

The first phase of Life Advice is now live and enables Bank of Ireland customers to calculate their life insurance requirements, receive a quote and complete the application process in minutes. Over the coming months additional insurance products, personal pensions, savings and investments will be added to the platform. During 2019 Life Advice will be launched to New Ireland’s financial advisors and brokers.

The platform also enables customers to identify their financial goals, put targets and timelines in place and monitor their progress. Customers can choose how they access advice and if they need to talk to or meet an adviser.

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Manish Prasad (left) and Mark Fordree.

MyPrivateBanking, one of the world’s leading independent financial services research houses, has named Ignition Advice as the world’s most innovative and flexible robo-advice solution.

Headquartered in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, MyPrivateBanking Research is an independentfirm specialising in research and analysis for wealth managers and financial services firms.

With more than two decades of experience MyPrivateBanking boasts a team of highly experienced analysts and industry experts.

“Ignition offers a strong product proposition and offers the entire spectrum of services demanded by this industry, making it a strong and dependable partner. The solution offers a wide range of customisation capabilities across the spectrum of business needs. In particular, the approach to content and education features, as well as the design capabilities, deserves to be highlighted.” MyPrivateBanking, How to build the best Robo- Advisor Platform – Solutions and Vendors for automated investment services report, September 2018.

Founded in Sydney, Australia, Ignition Advice has a well established Australian business providing highly customised, bank grade, SaaS technology for enterprise and retirement
fund (or superfund) clients. Ignition Advice is also building a European footprint, from Dublin headquarters. The firm offers multi-currency, multi-language solutions, customised to local customs and regulatory compliance requirements.

“Ignition is a unique bank grade, fully compliant, enterprise solution. Working at a global level and understanding the needs of international customers we pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and flexibility. Recognition for the Ignition team’s dedication from a respected institution such as MyPrivateBanking is very welcome”, said Manish Prasad, CEO, Ignition Advice.

Ignition Advice continues to expand rapidly, and throughout 2018 has attracted new enterprise clients and investors, recently receiving a significant investment from Jacques Nasser, one of Australia’s most respected businessmen and philanthropists.

“The global financial services sector is a prime candidate for further transformation. Ignition is well placed with a foundation of leading edge technology, people and relationships to help facilitate the required changes”, said Jacques Nasser, Investor, Ignition Advice.

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Manish Prasad and Helen Thom

The Ignition Wealth Leadership Team yesterday announced the appointment of Helen Thom as Head of Sales, effective immediately. Helen boasts an exceptional pedigree, having served at Midwinter, Decimal, AMP and RetireInvest.

Manish Prasad (Ignition Wealth CEO) tell us, “As Ignition Wealth continues to expand, we will maintain our focus on a capabilities and culture mindset. Helen Thom represents this perfectly. She is an absolute leader in her field of expertise having lived through the advice technology revolution. She has an incredibly determined work ethic and she’s a lot of fun. We are delighted that Helen is joining the team.”.

Helen is extremely well respected in the industry and holds an enviable reputation for her can-do attitude and her passion for rich goals-based engagement, decision support and advice. Helen has a practical hands-on understanding of the needs of both the consumer and the professional working in the advice industry.

Helen says, “In my early career in the advice software space I was hands-on, trialing and piloting the first advice platforms and training paraplanners in different types of technology. From the beginning, I have always been very passionate about making the digital experience intuitive and effective so that these professionals can provide the very best customer experience to their clients.”.

Helen is enthusiastic about the opportunity at Ignition Wealth. She is grateful for the privilege of having worked with some of Australia’s leading digital advice firms and thankful to the mentors who have guided her over the years. In turn, Helen is renowned as an empowering team leader, building her team for success.

Looking to her new role, Helen shares, “It’s exciting to be joining Ignition Wealth at a time of such transformation. I’m looking forward to working closely with enterprise clients, but even more exciting is the opportunity to take decision guidance out of financial services and into endless new industries with myriad applications.”.

As Ignition Wealth expands globally, recruiting and retaining the best staff is a key deliverable across all areas of the business. The firm will continue to scale up rapidly in 2018, doubling the headcount by the end of 2019.

Manish predicts, “Ignition Wealth is well placed to keep momentum through the sales cycle with a strong sales team, leading product design capabilities, and a distinguished development team able to support our client needs in Australia and around the world.”.

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Wade Matterson and Manish Prasad

Milliman Australia Practice Leader Wade Matterson and Ignition Wealth CEO Manish Prasad have announced a global collaboration between their two firms to combine Ignition Wealth’s integrated bank grade white label digital engagement and advice solutions with Milliman’s analytics, data and consulting prowess.

Wade Matterson, Practice Leader, Milliman Australia and Manish Prasad, CEO, Ignition Wealth said, “We are delighted to announce a symbiotic new collaboration between Milliman and Ignition Wealth. Our businesses share a commitment to enrich the advice experience and enable better financial outcomes for every consumer.”.

The relationship has grown naturally from multiple synergies including an emphatic consumer-centric focus, growing global footprints and equally matched best in class status as industry leaders.

Prasad is looking forward to the improved client value, saying, “Milliman is one of the world’s leading actuarial firms and the Milliman platform offers the most robust actuarial technology in the market. Underpinning Ignition Wealth’s bank grade enterprise solutions with the Milliman data platform ensures that we deliver world beating digital decision making and advice at scale, with an enviable actuarial pedigree. Our existing and new clients will enjoy tremendous value and be recognised as leading their respective markets.”.

The alliance combines Milliman’s quantitative expertise and ability to analyse and understand big data with Ignition Wealth’s digital advice and intuitive user experience to create the next generation of rich goals-based engagement, decision support and advice.

Developing digital engagement and advice solutions based on rich datasets allows complex comparisons. Benchmark data will allow consumers to gain meaningful insight into their position as compared to their peers, to develop a real understanding about normal spending patterns in accumulation and into retirement.

Speaking to the current market, Matterson says, “With global and Australian scrutiny of the financial service industry at an all time high, everyone, especially advice providers, has to change. Increasingly advisers and large institutions need technology that is robust and powerful to help them deliver better outcomes for their clients. Our collaboration will deliver robust digital advice technology to meet this need across multiple markets.”

Ignition Wealth and Milliman share a global view of the advice market; Milliman is well established internationally while Ignition Wealth has extended its core Australian business with a growing European presence based out of Dublin. Unique global intelligence and thought leadership from Milliman data and analysis will inform and support the development of Ignition Wealth’s global multi-language, multi-currency engagement and advice platform.

Prasad continues, “This alliance will greatly benefit our clients’ consumers. Ignition Wealth aims to give people actionable help and advice that suits their circumstances, at the time and in the manner they need it. Starting from a strong basis of understanding, education and knowledge, our ambition is to move to meaningful behavioural change, significantly impacting consumers’ financial outcomes and lifestyles.

“Working in partnership with the world’s leading enterprises, especially those with large client bases, allows Ignition Wealth to make the biggest impact on consumers globally.”.

Milliman and Ignition Wealth have begun to design and build a broad spectrum of next generation solutions, with artificial intelligence, machine learning and leading data analytics at the heart of the development roadmap.

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Manish Prasad (left) and Mark Fordree.

Ignition Wealth Co-Founder and inaugural CEO Mark Fordree has announced the appointment of Manish Prasad to the role of CEO of Ignition Wealth.

“On behalf of the Ignition Wealth Board, executive team and staff, we are extremely pleased to have engaged Manish Prasad to lead Ignition Wealth. Manish is a deeply experienced and well respected financial services executive, whose expertise and knowledge will guide Ignition Wealth as we continue to grow” said Mark Fordree, Executive Director, Ignition Wealth.

Manish is a highly credentialed financial services executive with deep domain experience in financial advice across all channels and segments. Manish’s career includes senior roles globally for NAB/MLC, AMP/AXA, Genesys Wealth Advisors, Capital Position LLC and most recently KPMG where he held the title of Director of Asset and Wealth Management.

Manish’s corporate career has focused on growth and commercial management of advice organisations and his appointment will drive Ignition Wealth’s expansion into the savings, retirement and scaled advice markets.

Manish Prasad, CEO, Ignition Wealth said, “Digital financial advice as an industry is at a very exciting stage. I am looking forward to driving the business at Australia’s leading B2B robo-advice solutions provider Ignition Wealth.”

Manish’s recruitment follows Ignition Wealth’s January announcement of Alan Quinlan’s appointment to the role of CEO, Ignition Wealth Ireland and forms a key part of the business’ enterprise partnership and development strategy.

“From our beginnings, an important focus for Ignition Wealth has been to ensure that our executive team boasts industry experts who can provide real thought leadership. The appointment of Manish Prasad reflects this.” stated Mark Fordree, Executive Director, Ignition Wealth.

In his role as Executive Director, Mark Fordree will focus on the global expansion of the business, pursuing domestic and offshore opportunities, managing investor relationships and key partnerships, and steering strategy at an executive and board level.

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