Financial Planner and wealth manager Tavistock is planning to become an 'industry disruptor' after completing its £6m acquisition of Lifetime Financial Management today in a move it says will help roll out its AI and hybrid advice ambitions.
Tavistock is planning to rebrand its whole business as Vertex, its fintech brand name, as its seeks to launch a hybrid advice model and target a wider audience.
Tavistock says Lifetime will continue to develop an “advisory ecosystem” to target a "tenfold increase" in adviser productivity and offer a route for the financial services sector to expand the reach of “human-centric advice provision.”
The deal to acquire Lifetime was announced in September and has now received FCA approval. Tavistock says it will use the acquisition of Lifetime to launch a comprehensive hybrid advice model.
At the time it announced its takeover of Lifetime, Tavistock said Lifetime would help provide Tavistock with an, “established and proven, hybrid model that breaks down the traditional barriers to financial advice.”
It added: “The appropriate use of AI in support of professional advisers greatly reduces the cost of delivering support to clients, especially those clients that other firms have been turning away.”
Tavistock also acquired asset manager, Alpha Beta Partners, in February 2025 as part of a move to refocus its business on providing financial wellbeing to every segment of the UK population “regardless of wealth.”
The Tavistock board says the business will be rebranded in due course as it seeks to become an "industry disruptor."
The firm says that with the FCA's 2024 Financial Lives Survey revealing that only 9% of UK consumers receive financial advice many millions are left without access to guidance.
Tavistock believes advisory firms, “increasingly burdened by regulation” struggle to commercially support lower value clients and this needs to change. Tavistock will use Lifetime's digital-first platform to make significant use of technology and AI in supporting qualified professionals, “with guaranteed human involvement.”
Supporting the "neglected 91%" and the rapidly growing number of "orphaned" lower value clients present “enormous market opportunities”, Tavistock says.
Brian Raven, Tavistock chief executive, said: "Our conviction is that everyone deserves financial peace of mind regardless of age or wealth. Lifetime brings a proven, hybrid model that breaks down traditional barriers to financial advice and wealth creation. It is the answer for the financial well-being of UK adults today and offers our shareholders an opportunity for creating significant incremental value."
Ian Dickinson, Lifetime's chief executive, said: "We are delighted to be joining Tavistock to pursue our common purpose to provide retail financial investors with professional, affordable financial advice and low-cost investment solutions. Lifetime has been on an incredible journey for the last 23 years and we are excited to embark on our next chapter."