Aion Bank acquires robo-advisor ETFmatic
Aion Bank, a full-service digital bank based in Brussels, has acquired ETFmatic, a London-based robo-advisor and Aion’s partner since last year.
The deal has been approved by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). ETFmatic’s proprietary investment platform and management team will be integrated into Aion’s operations.
However, ETFmatic will retain its existing brand in all markets the company is currently operating, and existing clients’ investments will continue business as usual. Aion also plans to further expand ETFmatic’s partner solution across Europe, offering the platform as white-label service.
Warburg Pincus-backed Aion acquires ETFmatic
“We were impressed with ETFmatic’s team and technology, and importantly, the company shares our mission to provide consumers with a fully transparent experience, removing the hidden fees and commissions most banks and asset managers charge,” states Wojciech Sobieraj, CEO of Aion.
The portfolio management capabilities of ETFmatic are key to the bank’s expansion plans across Europe, he adds. The bank is coming to Poland later this year.
Backed by global private equity (PE) firm Warburg Pincus, Aion offers a broad range of banking services on a subscription-only basis. These include multi-currency accounts, currency exchanges at interbanking exchange rates, international transfers, savings accounts, loans, financial advice, and exchange traded funds (ETF) asset management – all for a fixed monthly fee.
Aion’s app determines the user’s risk appetite based on a questionnaire that includes components of behavioural economics. It then recommends a portfolio built by ETFmatic that matches the member’s risk profile. The portfolios are then automatically managed and rebalanced to stay aligned with the person’s risk preferences.
“This user-friendly, technology-enabled approach to portfolio management services gives easy access for anyone to start investing,” the bank says.
In addition to ETFs from large providers like BlackRock and Vanguard, there are also “progressive” strategy portfolios that focus on digitisation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare and clean energy themes.
Johan Hellman, CEO of ETFmatic, says he “was drawn to Aion’s vision to provide consumers with the best in banking and financial products without the unnecessary fees and cross-sell that dominate our industry”.
He adds: “ETFs have seen significant growth during the pandemic, and I anticipate investors will continue to look to ETFs as we see market recovery in the quarters to come.”
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