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Digital asset manager Clear Minds is the new kid on the block, bidding to break with  banking tradition. The target client for its founder, an ex-UBS banker: overcharged rich investors.

Zurich-based Clear Minds is the latest digital asset manager to muscle onto the Swiss financial services market. It was founded by former UBS fund manager Adrian Schatzmann. Along with him is Juerg Steiger, another ex-UBS manager who has made a name for himself as a fintech coach and strategist. The Clear Minds executive team is completed by Patrick Hansson, who previously worked as a quantitative analyst at Derivative Partners.

Digital, Not Robo Adviser

The Swiss market would now appear well stocked with digital managers and robo advisers, but Clear Minds has found a niche for itself, and one which breaks with two conventions.

Firstly the firm sees itself as a digital adviser and not a robo adviser, an important distinction as Schatzmann explained in an interview with finews.com: «Most Swiss clients want advice. They don’t however want to delegate decisions to an asset manager or robo adviser. At Clear Minds the client negotiates as he would with an advisory bank service, on the basis of a proposal with self responsibility.

Here Comes the Flat Rate

The second break with tradition comes with the fee structure: at Clear Minds the client pays a flat rate of 39 Swiss francs per month, regardless of the size of the investment. «The fees paid make a direct contribution to the long-term asset accumulation,» Schatzmann explained.

This may be one of the oldest investment rules; but there's a clash between the interests of the client and those of the institution. One only thing counts in wealth management: increasing the amount of managed assets. Which in turn leads to a higher fee income, and of course costs for the client.

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