June 18, 2021: -On Thursday, JPMorgan Chase said it is agreeing to buy British online investment management platform Nutmeg for an undisclosed sum.

The U.S. banking giant said the deal, which is still related to regulatory approval, can complement the plan to launch a standalone digital bank brand in the U.K. this year-end.

With more than £3.5 billion in assets under management, Nutmeg is one of the U.K.’s most prominent Robo advisors. A range of investment accounts is offered by the company, which include ISAs, pensions, and general investment accounts. Rivals are consisting the likes of Wealthsimple, Moneyfarm, and Moneybox.

Last year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that he would be “much more aggressive,” searching for acquisitions to help the vast U.S. bank by assets add capabilities. He may be motivated by rival Morgan Stanley’s deals in recent years, spending $20 billion to snap up E-Trade and Eaton Vance.

Dimon has also discussed girding JPMorgan against fintech players such as PayPal and Big Tech firms, which also include Alphabet.

By striking out a digital-first effort in the U.K., the bank can expand outside the U.S., with an extensive network of physical branches and lead across retail and institutional businesses. Those efforts could be applied beyond the U.K. eventually, the bank previously said.

“We are building Chase in the U.K. from scratch using the latest technology and putting the customer’s experience at the heart of our offering, principles that Nutmeg shares with us,” Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO of the international consumer JPMorgan, said in the statement.

“We look forward to positioning their award-winning products alongside our own and continuing to support their innovative work in retail wealth management.”

The deal comes months after the two companies announced a partnership that allowed the fintech firm to offer ETFs created with help from JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets.

Nutmeg CEO Neil Alexander said customers should “expect the same level of transparency, convenience, and service that helped make us a leading digital wealth manager in the U.K.”

JPMorgan Securities took action as JPMorgan’s financial advisor for the transaction, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer served as legal counsel. Arma Partners advised Nutmeg as financial advisor and Taylor Wessing as legal counsel.