Two Swiss financial start-ups are merging: Etops is taking over Evolute. They aim to create a wealth management ecosystem.
Etops, a service and software supplier specialized in private banks, is purchasing Evolute, which makes portfolio management systems, the two said in a statement on Thursday. Etops will take over all outstanding Evolute shares and subsequently fully integrate the fintech. Neither firm disclosed financial details of the transaction.
The move joins complementary strengths and will help build an open ecosystem for wealth managers, the two firms said. Etops founder and CEO Pius Stucki (pictured above) said an ecosystem which partners all components of the value chain in an intelligent way «promises efficiency gains, creates sustainable competitive advantages, and thus lifts revenue potential.»
Evolute CEO Stays On Board
The two firms will employ 85 people in Switzerland, Slovakia, and the Ukraine. Evolute CEO Myriam Reinle (pictured below) will oversee the integration and subsequently take over marketing, sales, and business development at Etops.
The takeover comes several weeks after Evolute, majority-owned by Leonteq co-founder Michael Hartweg, unveiled a new strategy and set up a marketplace for financial products and services. The start-up's core business until now had been software for portfolio management systems used by independent asset managers – the market for which is hotly-contested, and carries thin margins.
Paying Start-Up Dues
It also comes two years after Evolute was forced to backtrack and unwind its takeover of Swiss Comply, a compliance consulting service. Stucki also paid his dues, after carving Etops out of fellow fintech Nectar last year.
An information technologist, Stucki no longer wanted to focus Nectar on portfolio and investment management, which the start-up wanted to target using artificial intelligence solutions. Nectar bossMichael Appenzeller has kept his cards close to his vest about the plans since the split.
