Marc Buerki: «Our Initial Goal Was 100 Million in Assets»

People are trading less at the moment, according to Marc Buerki. The chief executive officer of Swissquote isn’t overly worried about the slowdown because the Asian market remains promising, he said in an interview with finews.tv.

Twenty years ago, Swissquote was the only pure online bank in Switzerland. The pioneer has come a long way since those days. Co-founder and CEO Marc Buerki and his company remained at the forefront of financial technology: Swissquote clients today are able to trade with cryptocurrencies, a service that has been available to them for more than two years.

Buerki himself is an avid user of the service, he admitted in an interview with finews.tv: «I own the five cryptocurrencies we are offering to trade on our platform.»

The trading of cryptocurrencies isn’t a major source of business for Swissquote yet. About 3 percent of its revenues are generated through the cryptocurrency trading.

At the same time, clients are trading less in traditional securities as prices have become elevated. They are still active, but less than they used to, Buerki added.

Asian Expansion on Track

The Gland-based company has opted to expand its business to Asia to generate growth. It has opened a branch in Singapore, having already been active in Hong Kong. Swissquote recently received a license to provide services to wealth managers, family offices and brokerages from the authorities in Singapore.

The goal for 2019 was to acquire assets of 100 million Swiss francs ($101 million), a goal that the company has already achieved, Buerki said.

Swissquote has a brand partnership with Manchester United, despite the fact that Buerki himself isn’t a great fan of the sport. But the strength of Manchester United’s brand in Asia will help the Swiss firm establish itself in the growth region, the CEO said.

European Growth Envisaged

Swissquote remains an active player in Europe as well, with the integration of Internaxx, a Luxembourg-based bank, going according to plan. The acquisition will help Swissquote establish a stronger foothold in the EU, a bid that the company will pursue in 2020.

Buerki has also recently increased the number of people on the board of Swissquote to eight, looking to establish a pool of potential successors once he decides to retire.