Carl Hazeley, CEO, Finimize

Today we're meeting Carl Hazeley, CEO at Finimize. They specialise in empowering retail investors with concise insights from world-class analysts and supporting financial institutions in engaging modern investors.

Over to you Carl - my questions are in bold:

Who are you and what's your background?

I'm Carl Hazeley, Chief Executive Officer at Finimize. My journey into finance began somewhat non-traditionally - I actually started with a background in genetics during my undergraduate studies and initially considered becoming a doctor.

The 2008 global financial crisis sparked my interest in finance when I was at university. While everyone around me was discussing the "credit crunch" and reading the Financial Times, I found myself fascinated by how this financial world was impacting everyday lives despite being something many people - myself included - didn't fully understand. Coming from a scientific background, I was intrigued by the methodical approach to finance, but also puzzled by how professionals could analyse the same data yet arrive at different conclusions.

This curiosity led me to intern in the civil service, where I witnessed firsthand how financial policy decisions affected businesses and communities. My professional journey then took me to Goldman Sachs, where I worked in equity research covering European internet companies. I developed a unique edge by understanding emerging digital businesses before they went public, establishing myself as someone who could spot trends ahead of the curve.

I joined Finimize because I was drawn to its mission of democratising financial information and empowering everyday investors - something that resonated with my own journey of learning about finance from outside the traditional pathways.

What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

I'm the Chief Executive Officer at Finimize. In this role, my general responsibilities include setting the strategic direction for the company, overseeing our growth across both our B2C and B2B offerings, and ensuring we deliver on our mission to empower retail investors with world-class financial insights.

On a daily basis, I work closely with our analysts and editorial teams to maintain the high quality of our financial insights while ensuring they remain accessible to our community of retail investors. A significant portion of my role involves guiding our product innovation, particularly as we integrate AI capabilities to help us become more efficient and create more value for our users. I also maintain oversight of our Finimize for Business division, which supports financial institutions in engaging modern investors.

Additionally, I regularly analyse market trends and investor sentiment through our Modern Investor Pulse survey data, which helps inform both our content strategy and product development. I also represent Finimize at industry events and in the media to advocate for greater financial literacy and transparency in the investment world.

Can you give us an overview of your business?

Finimize empowers retail investors with concise insights from world-class analysts. With over one million subscribers to our newsletter and mobile app, we've built one of the largest retail investor communities globally.

Our approach produces institutional-grade analysis that's accessible and digestible, and therefore that helps everyday investors make smarter financial decisions. Our Daily Newsletter offers jargon-free analysis of the biggest financial news stories of the day, for free.

Our Pro subscription - accessible via web or our mobile app - gives investors access to deeper analysis of market movements, investment opportunities, and economic trends. We've reimagined traditional financial research by doing the same level of analysis you'd get from major institutions, but delivering it in a format people actually want to read or listen to.

What makes us unique is our focus on empowering individuals to become their own financial advisors. Unlike traditional financial media that often caters to professional investors, industry experts, or focuses on sensationalist headlines, we provide actionable insights that help our community understand the "why" behind market movements and make more informed investment decisions.

In addition to our direct-to-consumer offering, Finimize for Business has supported over 350 financial institutions in engaging modern investors and creating content that drives engagement, revenue, and retention. Through our network of partners, Finimize content reaches over 40 million individual investors worldwide.

Tell us how you are funded?

We were acquired by Aberdeen, a wealth and investments group in 2021, and this strategic partnership has provided us with the resources to scale our mission of democratising financial information while maintaining our unique voice and approach.

Despite being part of a larger organisation, we maintain the agility and innovation mindset of our startup roots, which allows us to continue disrupting traditional financial information services with our accessible, high-quality content.

What's the origin story? Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?

While I didn't start Finimize, I joined because I was convinced it needed to exist. What resonated with me most was Finimize's mission to democratise financial knowledge and empower individuals to make smarter investment decisions. The problem we're solving is fundamental: financial information has historically been the preserve of the select few.

When I was first learning about finance during the 2008 crisis, I had to piece together information from borrowed Financial Times newspapers and conversations with friends in banking. That shouldn't be how people learn about something as important as finance. You don't go to the cinema without checking Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB. You don't go on holiday without checking Trip Advisor. And those are tiny little things in your life. But when it comes to money, unless you're already "in the know", there was nowhere that would break it down for you.

In the investment world, traditional research reports are broken - they're far too long, dense, and often read more like legal documents than useful guidance. We've fixed this by creating content that delivers the same level of analysis but in a format people actually want to consume. The success of our approach is evident in our data: users who try our research during a free trial are 2.5 times more likely to become paying subscribers because the quality and accessibility of our insights demonstrate clear value.

At its core, Finimize exists to give people the tools to become their own financial advisors, eliminating the knowledge gap that has traditionally kept many people out of investing or led them to make uninformed decisions. We believe everyone deserves access to professional-grade financial insights, not just those who already have wealth or industry connections.

Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?

Our business serves two customer segments with tailored offerings: The Finimize app, website, and newsletter is for retail investors looking to make more informed financial decisions at all stages of their financial or investment journey. We've built a community of over one million subscribers globally, with over 70,000 members attending our events annually.

These customers range from beginner investors to sophisticated individuals who appreciate our no-jargon approach to complex financial topics. We also work with over 350 financial institutions in engaging modern investors and creating content that drives engagement, revenue, and retention.

Our clients include investment platforms, wealth managers, banks, and financial advisors who use our content and technology to better serve their own customers.

Our revenue model is multi-faceted:

1. Consumer subscriptions: We offer Finimize Pro subscriptions, providing access to our analysis beyond news, including our deep dive research reports.
2. B2B services: Financial institutions licence our content, which they can customise and distribute to their own clients. These relationships are particularly valuable as through our network of partners,

Finimize content reaches over 40 million individual investors worldwide. Institutions also work with Finimize to raise awareness and consideration for their brands and offerings.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?

I'd eliminate demographics-based marketing and service design in financial services. The industry continues to operate on outdated assumptions - that young people have no money to invest, or that older individuals have their financial affairs perfectly sorted.

My experience at Finimize has shown this approach misses the mark. What truly indicates a person's financial needs is their information-seeking behaviour. When someone actively consumes content about property markets, budgeting strategies, or how central bank decisions affect personal finances, they're signaling readiness for relevant financial products - regardless of whether they're 25 or 65. This behavioural approach to understanding customers isn't just more accurate, it's more equitable.

At Finimize, we've seen firsthand how the knowledge gap in finance disproportionately affects certain communities. Moving away from demographic assumptions toward content consumption patterns as indicators would democratise financial services and create products that genuinely meet people where they are in their financial journey, not where their birth year suggests they should be.

What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?

The current economic environment - characterised by heightened uncertainty, market volatility, and potential supply-side disruptions from tariff policies - bears striking similarities to what we witnessed during the early pandemic.

At Finimize, we've observed a critical lesson from that period: quality content becomes an essential lifeline for retail investors during turbulence. The financial institutions that will thrive in this environment aren't necessarily those with the most sophisticated products, but those who can effectively communicate with modern investors in formats they actually want to consume. They'll earn lasting loyalty by providing a calm, authoritative voice that helps separate the signal from noise.

For C-suite leaders in financial services, the message is clear: don't underestimate the strategic importance of content in building relationships with today's self-directed investors. The voice they trust during uncertainty is the one they'll remember long after market volatility subsides.

Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?

I rely on a mix of traditional and specialised sources to stay informed. For broad market insights, I turn to the Financial Times, and the expert guests who join the likes of CNBC and Bloomberg. For fintech-specific developments, I find Sifted valuable. Their focus on European startups and emerging technologies is useful for spotting trends before they become mainstream.

Beyond these, I maintain a network of founders, business leaders, and industry insiders - and regularly attend industry events that often provide insights you won't find on any terminal or publication.

Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?

I don't spend a lot of time on LinkedIn specifically, but there are several individuals whose perspectives I find valuable in general:

• Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank - Her journey from traditional banking to founding one of the UK's most successful challenger banks offers unique insights into both worlds. She's particularly thoughtful about the intersection of technology and financial inclusion.
• Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase - His perspectives on financial innovation and economic trends are consistently insightful… As are his views on management and leadership. His views are well worth keeping up to date with for understanding the financial and macro landscape.
• Perhaps obvious, cliche… but Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letters are a must-read. Berkshire Hathaway aside, they tend to spark my curiosity and ideas and I'd recommend them to anyone. The 1989 letter about EBITDA is one I return to regularly.

What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?

Obviously, the Finimize app is my daily go-to for investment insights and financial news. Our mobile app brings all our analyst-driven content into one sleek interface, helping our community cut through market noise with jargon-free explanations and actionable takeaways. As there are more and more demands on my time, I find the curation, and how quickly and easy it is to read and listen to even more valuable than before.

Beyond Finimize, I think YNAB - You Need A Budget is a fantastic tool. It's easy to set up, helps instil discipline without being condescending, and gives you a clear view of your spending and flexibility within your preset constraints.

What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?

I'm really excited by our early-stage Do Your Own Research tool, still in alpha development and testing. We're taking the oft-used retail investor disclaimer and helping people act on it.

Finimize Pro members can use our AI-enabled tool to generate a research report on a company of their choosing. It'll help investors quickly figure out whether an opportunity they might've heard about is worth further investigation, already well-understood by the market, or all hype and no fundamentals.

Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?

I believe we're at an inflection point where several major trends are converging to reshape financial services:

First, AI will fundamentally transform how people discover, learn about, and interact with financial products. This is creating a massive opportunity for financial institutions to build meaningful services that leverage AI to help users become more efficient with their finances. The winners in this space won't just use AI for operational improvements, but will create truly personalised financial guidance at scale.

Second, we'll see the continued rise of the empowered retail investor. The pandemic accelerated this trend, bringing millions of new participants into the markets. These investors are increasingly sophisticated and self-directed, demanding institutional-quality insights delivered in accessible formats. The days of the passive retail customer are over, replaced by engaged investors who expect transparency and value from financial providers.

Finally, content will cement its position as a strategic necessity, not a marketing afterthought. During periods of economic uncertainty - like the one we're currently experiencing - investors gravitate toward trusted voices. Financial institutions that can cut through the noise with clear, actionable insights will build loyalty that transcends market cycles.

The common thread connecting these trends is a fundamental shift in power toward the end user. The successful fintech companies and financial institutions of tomorrow will be those that embrace this reality and build their services around empowering individuals with the tools and information they need to control their financial futures.

Thank you very much, Carl!

Read more about Carl on LinkedIn and find out more about Finimize at finimize.com.