News
Nucleus Scoops SFE prize for innovation
Nucleus Financial Group (Nucleus) was rewarded for its ground-breaking approach at the Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE)Innovators Awards held in Edinburgh on 29 November 2007.
The company beat off stiff competition from Royal Bank of Scotland and Mform to win top prize in the ‘innovation in business approach’ category. Nucleus was commended for its transparent pricing structure and is shifting the power balance from large institutions to IFAs and in doing so challenging the industry status quo.
The Award marks the end of a successful first year for the IFA-owned business, which is on course to sign-up over 50 IFA firms to its wrap platform by the end of 2007.
This year’s victors were selected by a five-man judging panel comprising Andrew Flannagan, non-executive director of NESTA and former chief executive of SMG; Bill Jamieson, executive editor of The Scotsman; Jeremy Peat, BBC national governor for Scotland and former group chief economist of Royal Bank of Scotland; David Henderson, non-executive director and former chief executive of Aegon UK; and Stuart Williamson, general manager with BT Finance Industry Solutions.
The Innovators Awards were introduced in 2005 by the SFE to highlight and celebrate the innovative developments taking place in Scotland's financial services industry. This year the awards were split into five categories - innovation in banking; innovation in investments; innovation in life and pensions; innovation in business approach; and innovation in corporate citizenship – plus an overall winner.
Commenting on the award, David Ferguson, chief executive of Nucleus, said: “The Scottish financial services industry has an impressive track record of innovation that is respected around the world. To be recognised as being part of the next generation of innovators is a tremendous achievement for the business and something the whole team is extremely proud of.”
Ends
For further information please contact:
David Ferguson, Nucleus, 0131 226 9800
Andrew Appleyard, MRM, 020 3008 6061 / 07909 684 468
Emma Wylie, MRM, 020 3008 5223 / 07766111824
Notes to editors:
Nucleus Financial Group is a new type of financial services business designed to challenge the existing structure of the sector.
Launched in December 2006, Nucleus is backed and designed by a consortium of over 20 leading Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) firms that represent clients with over £7bn of investible assets.
By employing end-to-end wrap technology, wholesale investment fund pricing, class leading portfolio management tools and advanced financial planning principles the business aims to create an entirely new proposition that will allow advisers to become more aligned with their clients than ever before.
With transparency and customer respect very much at the centre of the proposition Nucleus offers access to the universe of funds, tax wrappers as required and best in class technical, fiscal and legal expertise.
The management team is led by David Ferguson and Philip Martin, chief executive and business development director respectively, and offers extensive experience across all areas of the UK retail financial services market, including onshore and offshore life assurance, asset management and banking and in the actuarial, product development, administration, IT, finance, operations and marketing disciplines.
The Innovators is a unique initiative, launched in 2005 by Scottish Financial Enterprise in association with Ernst & Young, which recognises the best new concepts and developments from across the financial services industry in Scotland. The Innovators 2007 was sponsored by BT Scotland, NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), Scottish Enterprise and the Scotsman.
The Innovators is open to any financial services company based in Scotland and companies in Scotland that provide support services to the industry. The innovations entered must have been developed in Scotland, but may be making an impact on the business anywhere in the world.
The Innovators 2007 Judging Panel was chaired by Gordon Arthur, Interim Chief Executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) and included: Andrew Flanagan, Non-Executive Director of NESTA; David Henderson, Non-Executive Director of AEGON UK and Chairman of Lamont Property; Bill Jamieson, Executive Editor of The Scotsman; Jeremy Peat, BBC National Governor for Scotland; and Stuart Williamson, General Manager, BT Finance Industry Solutions.
The Innovators Awards Ceremony took place as the highlight of The SFE Annual Dinner, which is a key event on the financial services calendar in Scotland. The evening was attended by many senior industry figures, as well as politicians and other guests. This year the event, held on 29 November at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, was sold out and was be attended by over 650 guests.
The Innovators has attracted entries from a wide spectrum of companies, from established financial institutions to niche support service firms. The Royal Bank of Scotland won the overall award in 2006 for its new ‘contactless’ card payment process while in 2005 Edinburgh University’s groundbreaking MSc in Finance and Investment was the overall winner.
For further details of The Innovators, including sponsors, judges and past winners, please visit www.sfe.org.uk/innovators.