17TH SEPTEMBER 2026


THE LONDON BUSINESS GUIDE AN ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE DISTRIBUTED WITH Fast growth in a slow industry


Discover how financial planning, advice and investing firm Octopus Money — and its CEO, Dan Marsh — could help you


‘Move fast and break things’ makes sense when the thing you break is software. Financial advice and investments is rightly one of


the most heavily regulated


sectors in the world. What’s at risk if things go wrong is a family’s retirement or their first home. Te downside of that is it’s also been one of the slowest to evolve. Te impact is clear: 23 million Brits sit in the ‘advice gap’ and aren’t getting the money help they need1


. It’s through solving this problem


that Octopus Money has grown quickly. It works with hundreds of British employers, reaching more than 200,000 UK employees with financial coaching, advice, and services like mortgage and protection advice. It looks after more than £4.5 billion in customer investments, and its planning business is on track to grow tenfold over the next three years.


Marsh, who was appointed


as CEO earlier this year after a decade building business at the Octopus Group, points to three reasons why.


Customer experience, above everything Most people meet the Octopus name through energy, and the resemblance isn’t accidental. Tough they’re completely separate companies, both businesses started from something customers find frustrating, and both know that a great customer experience is non-negotiable. Marsh spends about 20% of his


time talking to customers to find out what’s working, what could be better and where else Octopus Money could help them. He works with his team to action suggestions in hours, rather than months. “Staying flexible and acting quickly


to make things right creates the kind of experience that’s personalised and memorable,” he says.


Decide which parts are allowed to be slow Too many businesses crawl under the weight of hierarchies and approvals, with every decision moving at the speed of


the slowest ones. Marsh


23 million Brits sit in the ‘advice gap’ and aren’t getting the money help they need


draws the line by what the decision touches: “Anything that involves a money


customer’s needs full


scrutiny every time. But if you’re taking three weeks to decide the colour of a button, you’re going to have a problem.”


Finance, Legal & Accounting 7


Software for scale, people for the hard bit Octopus Money built its own technology to run the coaching process end to end, from someone’s first details through to real guidance. Tat brought the cost down far enough that an ordinary employee can get real help, not only people with substantial assets. Te


software handles the


arithmetic and the paperwork. Getting someone to finally deal with a pension they’ve ignored for eight years takes a human on a video call. Marsh is blunt about the ambition:


“Octopus Energy took on the Big Six because energy was broken for everyone. Money is broken for everyone who doesn’t already have plenty of it. We’re here to fix that.”


1 FCA FINANCIAL LIVES 2024 SURVEY, CITED IN FCA POLICY STATEMENT PS25/22 (DECEMBER 2025), PARA 2.2. OCTOPUS MONEY LIMITED IS AN APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVE OF OCTOPUS INVESTMENTS LIMITED WHICH IS AUTHORISED AND REGULATED IN THE UK BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY. REGISTERED OFFICE: 33 HOLBORN, LONDON EC1N 2HT. REGISTERED IN ENGLAND & WALES UNDER NO. 14069098. OCTOPUS MONEY IS A TRADING NAME OF OCTOPUS MONEY FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED. REGISTERED IN ENGLAND AND WALES (NO. 10339119). AUTHORISED AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY. OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES REGISTER NUMBER IS 763630. COACHES DO NOT PROVIDE REGULATED ADVICE. THEY DO NOT MAKE PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS OR REVIEW SUITABILITY FOR INVESTMENT PRODUCTS. IF SOMEONE IS MATCHED WITH AN ADVISER REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY, THE FIRM SETS OUT WHICH PARTS OF THE SERVICE ARE REGULATED ADVICE. IF YOU CHOOSE TO INVEST WITH OCTOPUS MONEY, THE VALUE OF YOUR INVESTMENTS CAN GO DOWN AS WELL AS UP AND YOU MAY GET BACK LESS THAN YOU INVEST. KEEPING SAVINGS IN CASH ALSO COMES WITH RISK, AS INFLATION CAN MAKE YOUR SAVINGS WORTH LESS OVER TIME.


Octopus Money looks after more than £4.5 billion in customer investments


See how it works, and what it costs, at octopusmoney.com


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