WealthArc is a Fintech startup based in Switzerland that went live this spring with a cloud based offering that looks broad and promising for small wealth managers. For those managing assets in the range of $50mil-$500mil, Wealth Arc is a technology driven design from back office to front office that could enable the asset manager to focus on client relationships rather than finding suitable (cheap and efficient) solutions to risk management, cyber-security, data analytics, etc.
For businesses with 5-50 employees and usually no IT department, Wealth Arc has designed a solution for risk management, data analytics, cyber security and online client communication. Their developers are experienced professionals coming from UBS and JP Morgan bringing market intelligence from the asset mgt space; combined with the founder’s background from the start-up hedge fund industry that is essentially a special case of asset management in a stand alone version.
Their vision is to offer an all-in-one tool to small asset managers that will enable them to run a hybrid business model: technology based, online focused but also with an emphasis on face-to-face contact and the sense of trust derived from personal interaction. They want to position themselves as enablers of robo-advising 4.0 maybe, for small asset managers. At the same time, they are developing and integrating their proprietary artificial intelligence algorithm that will allow their clients to perform customized portfolio optimization and at the same time being automatically compliant and optimal with the regulatory requirements.
WealthArc recently raised 300k from a US VC fund (Novit). They are also a member of Microsoft BizSpark – a special program supporting highly innovative start-ups- focused on machine learning algorithms (with complex big data processing needs).
WealthArc has offices in Zurich and Warsaw, as well as the Washington, D.C. They are already have a few customers and have established partnerships with large players in the custody business, sharing with them APIs.
Is their business model scalable to allow for sustainable profitability? Will their “edge” come from their core product offering (all-in-one tool for small asset managers) or from their under developments AI portfolio online advice?