International travel restrictions are still in effect for most of the globe, but that’s not stopping U.K.-based Chrysalis Investments from sending a boatload of money to Nashville.
Retirement fintech company Smart has raised a $228 million round of funding led by Chrysalis, according to a news release, with additional investors to be announced.
While Smart is based in the U.K., the firm chose Nashville as its U.S. headquarters last year, signing a lease for a 13,203-square-foot office inside Cummins Station in April.
Smart has more than 70,000 retirement plans on its platform throughout the U.K., Ireland, Dubai and Australia, with more than $2.4 billion in assets on its platform. Founded in 2014, the company launched its platform in the U.S. this year, in conjunction with the roll out of the SECURE Act, which expands small business owners’ abilities to set up retirement plans and makes many part-time workers eligible for plans.
Smart’s cloud-based platform is aimed at helping plan advisors, employers of all sizes, as well as gig economy workers, manage retirement savings. The company grew rapidly in 2020, according to the release, with assets on its platform jumping more than 160%.
The new investment will be used to further roll out Smart’s retirement technology platform in the U.S, while expanding its offerings, according to the release.
“This investment provides tremendous support for our momentum in the US market. We believe that there is a major opportunity to transform the retirement market, providing wider access to retirement savings, delivering intuitive retirement income solutions and broadly democratizing retirement for all Americans,” Smart U.S. CEO Jodan Ledford said in the release. “This investment allows us to bring on more talented retirement and technology professionals, expand the presence of our platform, the capabilities of our firm and continually deliver innovative solutions.”
As of April, Smart had 20 U.S. employees, but expected that number to grow to 50 by year’s end and 80 employees by the end of 2022, a spokesperson said at the time. The company has 550 employees globally.
Smart originally chose Chicago for its U.S. headquarters and was expected to open an office there in fall 2019. But in October, Ledford said Smart ultimately chose Nashville because of its emergence as a hub for finance and technology.
Middle Tennessee’s financial sector has gotten a boost in recent years from homegrown startups, such as construction loan fintech Built Technologies, as well as Wall Street power players, such as money manger AllianceBernstein.
Chrysalis is an investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange, with more than $10.5 billion of assets under management, according to the release. Smart’s previous investors include J.P. Morgan, Legal & General, Barclays, the Link Group and Natixis.
“Smart is an innovator and continues to establish itself as the leading retirement technology platform provider globally. In just a few years it has disrupted the retirement savings industry, working with some of the world’s best-known financial services providers to create a better way to save toward retirement and access funds during retirement,” Chrysalis Head of Strategy Richard Watts said in the release. “The world has changed. Just as companies like Wise and Klarna add huge benefits to their users via best in-class financial technology, Smart offers user experience and technology to transform retirement for savers around the world. What Smart has achieved in the last 12 months alone was a real catalyst for our support and we believe that together we can help Smart achieve their global ambitions.”
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