London-based wealth management and financial planning firm Clove is set to launch next year after raising £10m in pre-seed funding.

The company was founded by entrepreneurs Christian Owens, who founded Paddle, and Alex Loizou, who co-founded Trouva.

Its launch remains subject to regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.

The pre-seed funding round was led by Accel, with participation from Kindred, Air Street, and a group of angel investors.

The firm’s objective is to close the advice gap, with the Owens and Loizou stating that financial advice does not currently work for most people.

“For all the progress in consumer technology, the way we get help and guidance around our finances has barely changed,” Owens said in a statement.

“There are products to move money, and make investments, but not to answer the questions that matter – the ones about timing, trade-offs, and planning for the future.

“We believe advice should be accessible, affordable, and personal. That’s the foundation of what we’re building at Clove.”

The pre-seed funding will be used to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be combined with human advisers to ‘break’ the traditional economics of the advice industry to deliver tailored advice at scale.

AI will be used to reduce the administrative burden on advisers to give them more time to provide client with advice.

The firm currently has six staff and will be looking to increase its numbers by bringing in advisers, engineers, designers, and operators.

“We are on a long-term mission to build a new kind of financial institution, and advice is just the beginning,” Owens concluded.

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