In September 2026, FNZ’s chief executive stepped down. Weeks earlier, the company had agreed to sell its own German bank. For 2025 it reported a pre-tax loss of about US$1.36 billion, on a platform holding US$2.5 trillion in client assets.
So how does FNZ make money, and why is a business that large still losing it? We set out what the record shows, and where FNZ’s public disclosure runs out.
What Is FNZ and Who Founded It?
FNZ is a wealth management platform that runs technology and operations for financial institutions, and Adrian Durham founded it in Wellington in 2003.
Durham started the business inside First NZ Capital, later Jarden. FNZ employs more than 7,000 people across about 30 locations.
Blythe Masters succeeded Durham as chief executive in 2024 and left the role in September 2026. Stephen Welch became executive group chair and interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor.
How Does FNZ Make Money?
FNZ makes money by providing wealth management technology, platform services and outsourced operations to financial institutions.
Recurring fees linked to assets under administration form a major part of the model, while client implementations and platform migrations can generate additional revenue.
The exact breakdown of these streams in 2025 is not clear from the public figures available.
FNZ says growth in client assets feeds directly into its revenue and that its model shares growth and risk with clients. Preqin’s profile also describes an asset-linked model.
That structure can connect revenue to platform growth and market movements.
But assets on platform alone do not explain profitability.
The cost of delivering services, implementing technology and operating the business also matters, and the public figures do not establish how much each factor contributed to FNZ’s 2025 loss.
FNZ's Revenue Model and Income Streams
Recurring asset-servicing fees are central to FNZ's revenue model, but they are not the whole picture. Implementation, enhancement and client-migration work can also generate revenue.
What remains unclear is how much each stream contributed to the group's 2025 revenue.
Investment News NZ, reading FNZ’s 2025 accounts, put gross platform revenue at US$1.7 billion. The Globe and Mail, citing company filings, reported revenue up 9 percent to US$1.13 billion.
The figures appear to measure different things, and neither outlet explains the gap, so we name each measure.
Implementation matters operationally: analyst Alois Pirker said some North American client implementations were far more involved than expected.
We found no verified figure for what implementation or development work earns, so we have not guessed one.
That is the biggest hole in the public picture of FNZ revenue streams.
FNZ Pricing Model and Why Assets Drive the Fees
The FNZ pricing model charges clients fees based on the assets FNZ administers, and in 2026 it split into two service tiers.
FNZ introduced FNZ Select and FNZ Core.
Select is the higher-cost, full-service option, with priority access to FNZ’s innovation roadmap and built-in AI features.
Core is the modular option. Any client can choose Select, whatever the size of its assets.
We found no published fee rates or contract lengths, so we cannot say how long clients are tied in or what they pay.
FNZ Business Model: Technology Plus Operations in a Regulated Entity
The FNZ business model combines wealth management technology with business and investment operations. Its platform is designed to integrate these services within a regulated financial institution, rather than leaving clients to assemble the technology and operational infrastructure separately.
FNZ’s own research says outsourcing middle-office and operations work can cut operating costs by up to 30 per cent.
That regulated element is changing.
On 4 August 2026, FNZ agreed to sell FNZ Bank, formerly ebase, to Advent and a consortium including HarbourVest Partners, citing a sharper focus on its core platform. FinTech Futures reports completion is expected in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
Who Uses FNZ? Key Clients and Platform Growth
FNZ works with more than 650 financial institutions and 12,000 wealth management firms, and holds US$2.5 trillion in assets on its platform.
Named clients include Aviva, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Quilter, Vanguard and Raymond James.
Assets on platform passed US$2 trillion in August 2025, up 406 per cent in five years. That month FNZ also said six of the ten most recommended UK adviser platforms in Defaqto’s latest list use its technology.
That scale prompts the obvious question: how does FNZ make money from it once costs are counted?
FNZ Funding, Valuation and Ownership
FNZ was valued at more than US$20 billion in February 2022, when CPP Investments and Motive Partners invested US$1.4 billion. That remains the last publicly stated valuation we could verify.
The subsequent funding rounds show continued investor support, but they do not establish that FNZ is still worth US$20 billion today.
Existing shareholders have kept writing cheques since.
La Caisse is the largest shareholder, and CPP Investments put in US$1.1 billion in 2022. We found no verified ownership percentages and no valuation newer than 2022.
Risks and Controversies
FNZ faces heavy losses, a US$4.6 billion employee shareholder claim and the aftermath of a UK regulatory review that has now closed.
FNZ reported a pre-tax loss of US$1.36 billion for 2025, roughly double the previous year’s loss. The result included a US$471.5 million impairment of intangible assets.
In 2025, Blythe Masters said FNZ was targeting positive free cash flow in the second half of 2027. That remains a target, not a confirmed outcome.
Employee shareholders filed a US$4.6 billion claim in July 2025 against FNZ Group and 17 current and former directors.
They allege that preference shares and warrants issued in 2024 and 2025 diluted their holdings on non-commercial terms. FNZ calls the claim entirely without merit.
On 20 October 2026, a New Zealand judge found, on a prima facie basis, that the main claims fall within an arbitration agreement, sending them towards London, while directors’ duties claims pursued as a derivative claim can still be heard in New Zealand.
Further submissions on a stay are pending, both sides claim a win, and the case is unresolved.
The FCA told FNZ to carry out a Section 166 review of its UK business.
FNZ UK says the review concluded in April 2025 and the associated voluntary requirement has been lifted.
What Founders and Investors Can Learn from FNZ
FNZ shows that scale and profit are different things: it holds US$2.5 trillion in client assets yet reported a pre-tax loss of about US$1.36 billion for 2025.
We think four lessons stand out:
- Asset-based fees cut both ways: FNZ itself says the model shares growth and risk with clients.
- Check which revenue figure you are reading: Published reports for 2025 differ by more than US$500 million.
- Capital structure is part of the model: Whether FNZ’s raises were fair is now before the courts.
- Focus is a choice: FNZ is selling its bank to concentrate on the platform.
These lessons will be tested over the next chapter, as FNZ appoints a permanent chief executive, works through the employee claim and completes the sale of FNZ Bank, expected in the second half of 2027.
Until profit catches up with scale, FNZ remains a story of size still looking for margin.
FAQs
1. What does FNZ do?
FNZ builds and runs wealth management platforms for banks, insurers, wealth managers and asset managers. It describes its offer as an end-to-end platform combining technology with business and investment operations. Its website lists wealth management platforms, adviser tools, asset management distribution, and trade and post-trade securities services.
2. Who owns FNZ?
Institutional investors control FNZ, led by Canada’s La Caisse, its largest shareholder. CPP Investments, Generation Investment Management and Motive Partners also joined the September 2026 raise. Employee shareholders hold a minority and are suing over dilution. We found no verified ownership percentages.
3. How much is FNZ worth?
FNZ’s last stated valuation is more than US$20 billion, from its February 2022 raise. We found no newer valuation, so treat that figure as dated. Employee shareholders have argued their equity could be wiped out below US$8.3 billion in a sale or IPO, an argument from their side and no guide to value.
Sources: FNZ statements and announcements (June 2024, August 2025, September 2026), FNZ UK, Advent, Investment News NZ, The Globe and Mail, Money Management, FinTech Futures, FinTech Global, Wealth Briefing, BusinessDesk, Citywire, WealthManagement.com and Preqin. Financial figures are reported second-hand from FNZ’s filed accounts and reflect the most recent available data at 23 October 2026.
The EP+ Editorial Desk covers UK startups, founder stories, and venture capital. All editorial content is independently produced and human-reviewed before publication.
