CoFunds

CoFunds emerged in the UK financial landscape in 2001, co-founded by Andy Bell and Hugo Thorman, both of whom brought significant experience from the financial services industry. Andy Bell, who also co-founded AJ Bell, played a pivotal role in its inception. The firm was established to provide a comprehensive investment platform catering specifically to financial advisers and other institutional clients. Its core business revolves around offering administration, dealing, and custody services, thereby streamlining the investment process for intermediaries. The platform's business model is B2B, generating revenue by providing these essential services to financial institutions and advisers rather than engaging directly with the end investor. This strategic decision positioned Cofunds as a supportive partner to advisers, avoiding any conflict of interest.

Over the years, Cofunds grew to become one of the largest investment platforms in the United Kingdom. A significant milestone in its history was its acquisition by Legal & General (L&G) in 2013, which purchased the remaining 75% of the company it did not already own. This move consolidated L&G's position in the platform market. Subsequently, in a major industry shift, Aegon UK acquired Cofunds from Legal & General in 2016 for £140 million. Following the acquisition, Aegon undertook a substantial project to re-platform Cofunds' assets onto its own technology, a process that marked the final chapter for the Cofunds brand as it was integrated into the Aegon platform.

The Cofunds platform itself provided advisers with a tool to manage their clients' investment portfolios efficiently. It offered access to a wide array of funds from various managers, all consolidated in one place. This provided a centralized view and simplified the administration associated with managing multiple investments for multiple clients. For financial institutions, it offered robust dealing and custody services. The key benefit for its users was the operational efficiency and scale it brought to their own advisory businesses.

Keywords: investment platform, financial advisers, asset administration, custody services, B2B fintech, fund management, wealth management, Legal & General, Aegon, portfolio management