What NOVA does

NOVA, operating as NOVA Wealth Limited, is a London-based financial advice and wealth management firm founded in 2018 and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 778951). The company provides tailored financial planning, retirement planning, mortgage advice, and investment management services to individuals and corporate clients, having rebranded from Octopus Wealth to NOVA Wealth in May 2023. Its service is delivered through a hybrid model that pairs clients with qualified advisers (engaged online, by phone, or face-to-face) and is supported by proprietary self-service tools including the Financial MOT (a free, no-registration health check scoring users out of 100 on retirement readiness) and Lifeline (a real-time goal and asset tracking portal). A separate corporate financial wellbeing proposition delivers 1:1 coaching, financial education, retirement and mortgage advice to employees of UK employers, and the firm claims to have run such programmes for approximately five years.

The firm's revenue model is anchored on an annual fee of 0.95% of assets under management, taken monthly directly from client portfolios and reducing as AUM increases, supplemented by lender commissions on mortgage advice (which is offered free to clients). Customers are segmented into individual high-net-worth clients and pre-retirees as the primary consumer base, with HENRYs (high earners not yet rich), newly promoted UK law firm partners, and corporate employers as secondary segments. NOVA is B Corp certified and operates with a partnership structure — the disclosed team includes founding partner Andrew McMillan plus multiple partner-level advisers (Toby Freeman, Valentina Osborne, Dan Burrows) and a broader bench of financial advisers. The firm runs an apprenticeship scheme, currently in its third cohort, which it uses to develop its adviser pipeline. Headcount is reported in the 11–50 band.

Name

NOVA

Legal name

NOVA Wealth Limited

Website

https://novawm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

NOVA Wealth is a London-based, FCA-authorised financial advice and wealth management firm serving UK individuals and corporate clients with ongoing financial planning, retirement advice, and mortgage guidance, supported by proprietary tools (Financial MOT, Lifeline) and a 0.95% AUM-based fee model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Financial planning advice
• Retirement planning services
• Corporate financial wellbeing
• Mortgage advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. AUM-Based Advisory Fees: Annual fee of 0.95% of assets under management, which reduces the more assets clients have with NOVA. This covers all advice and is taken monthly, straight out of the portfolio. The fee model incentivizes larger client portfolios while providing ongoing advisory services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NOVA Wealth provides tailored financial planning, wealth management, and retirement advisory services to individual clients in the UK, paired with proprietary digital tools (Lifeline for real-time goal tracking and Financial MOT for a free financial health check) and qualified human adviser support delivered online, by phone, or face-to-face. The firm also offers a separate corporate financial wellbeing program to employers and whole-of-market mortgage advice to consumers.

Product overview

NOVA Wealth is a financial advice and wealth management platform that operates as a unified offering combining digital tools with human advisory services. The core product is the NOVA Wealth financial planning service, supported by complementary tools including the Financial MOT (free health check), Lifeline (retirement tracking), and a Corporate Financial Wellbeing program for employers. The platform also includes mortgage advisory services, all delivered through a tech-enabled approach that pairs users with qualified financial advisers for ongoing guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOVA Wealth Financial Planning A tailored financial planning and wealth management service for individuals, covering retirement planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and ongoing advisory support. Clients are matched with a qualified adviser and interact online, by phone, or face-to-face.
• Financial MOT A free self-service financial health check tool that takes under 60 seconds, requires no registration, projects how much the user is set to retire with, scores their financial position out of 100, and provides personalized tips. Available to individual consumers as a top-of-funnel engagement tool.
• Lifeline A real-time tracking tool for existing clients that shows how they are tracking against their financial goals and how their assets and investments are performing, supporting ongoing plan monitoring and behavioral coaching.
• Corporate Financial Wellbeing Programme An employer-focused financial wellbeing programme offering 1:1 financial coaching, bespoke wellbeing solutions, financial education, retirement planning, mortgage advice, and senior support to employees of organisations of all sizes. Sold to corporate HR and benefits buyers.
• Mortgage Advice Service A whole-of-market mortgage advisory service covering remortgaging, first-time buyer, and buy-to-let mortgages, provided free to clients with NOVA remunerated via lender commission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients who take financial advice typically end up £1.2 million better off than those who don't over their lifetime
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Windrush Legal InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2025NOVA joined the Windrush Legal Initiative, a collaborative pro bono project spearheaded by Charles Russell Speechlys in partnership with Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), including contributions from eight law firms. NOVA provides tailored financial guidance to Windrush claimants who receive compensation, helping them with budgeting, saving, and making informed decisions about the future.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• St. James's Place: Largest UK wealth manager with a national adviser network and broad mass-affluent and HNW proposition. Competes for the same retail advice market as NOVA but at significantly greater scale, brand recognition, and product breadth.
• Quilter: UK wealth manager and adviser platform offering investment solutions, financial planning, and adviser support services. Overlaps with NOVA in financial planning-led wealth management, but serves a broader adviser and direct-to-consumer market.
• Charles Stanley & Co. UK wealth manager providing discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to private clients, intermediaries, and charities. Compares to NOVA on financial planning and UK HNW focus but with a larger adviser footprint and broader investment capabilities.
• Rathbones Group: Established UK wealth manager providing discretionary investment management and financial planning to HNW and charitable clients. Operates in the same UK advice and wealth management category as NOVA but with materially greater AUM, headcount, and institutional scale.

Direct peers

• Timothy James & Partners: UK independent financial adviser focused on business owners, professionals, and HNW clients with planning-led holistic advice. Similar advisory-led, fee-based model and UK-centric geographic scope as NOVA.
• EQ Investors: UK-based, FCA-regulated financial planning and wealth management firm targeting professionals and mass-affluent clients with a blend of human advice and digital tools. Closely comparable to NOVA in proposition, segment focus, and UK-only footprint.
• Saltus Financial Planning: UK chartered financial planning firm offering holistic, ongoing advice to high earners and HNW individuals with proprietary tech-enabled planning tools. Highly comparable to NOVA's planning-led, hybrid delivery model and HENRY/HNW client focus.

Emerging players

• Moneybox: UK app-first investment and savings platform targeting younger mass-market and HENRY clients with simple, low-cost portfolios. Competes for the same UK mass-affluent entry-point customers as NOVA, but without full financial advice or planning depth.
• Wealthify: UK B2C digital wealth manager offering low-cost, diversified investment portfolios with light-touch guidance rather than full advice. Competes for the same UK mass-affluent customers as NOVA but from a pure-digital, lower-touch position.
• True Potential: UK wealth management and technology platform using a hybrid adviser-plus-app model to serve mass-affluent clients with low-cost, integrated planning. Closest direct comparison to NOVA's hybrid digital-plus-human proposition, though with a stronger fintech product lineage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-wealth-uk

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOVA