Press article
investify TECH expands platform for new customer groups – compliance an important building block
Published: 17.12.2024 | By investify
In the past few years, investify TECH has made a name for itself with its wealth management platform. With more than 50 employees, the company meanwhile provides support to many renowned institutions in digitalising their securities business. What’s more: The platform approach allows for swift and safe connection of new customers and for easy migration of large customer portfolios. Furthermore, investify TECH concurrently provides (regulated) processes or licences and ensures compliance at all times. And it can do this because the company itself is strictly regulated.
The most recent example is the insurance group SIGNAL IDUNA, which will continue to provide its twelve million customers with further offerings in the investment business. “With investify TECH we are able to offer our customers new digital perspectives and reinforce our promise to provide individual solutions in all questions concerning retirement planning”, says Martin Berger, Chief Financial Officer at SIGNAL IDUNA. “We offer SIGNAL IDUNA added value in the entire investment business – from the distribution of funds as well as fixed-term and money market accounts all the way to capital-forming benefits. We also provide the necessary regulated and unregulated processes – that is absolutely unique”, comments Dr Harald Brock, Managing Director of investify TECH. “The SIGNAL IDUNA example shows in an impressive way how our platform can also be used for very large distribution units with complex tasks and legacy structures”, emphasises Ansgar Wigger, also Managing Director of investify TECH.
Platform approach allows for connecting a wide range of customers
The major advantage of the platform structure is that companies with very different requirements can gain access to it, and thus have a very high launch point once the project begins. investify TECH individualises the while-label platform for a wide range of requirements and adjusts the system accordingly. Does the customer want everything to be done digitally or is hybrid customer service preferred, i.e. an approach including both digital and real advisors? No problem at all for the investify TECH platform. Both the customers and the advisors see all applications in the institution’s familiar design.
“Our platform is thus the first choice for many different companies”, says Brock. “In the last two years, we have connected a wide variety of banks, from the traditional private bank M.M. Warburg & CO all the way to the ECB-regulated LBBW Group. Our system is now also being used in the savings bank and cooperative sector. With Dr. Jens Ehrhardt/DJE Kapital AG a large asset manager has now joined the ranks, and several independent asset managers like the Hamburg-based HAC or Rhein Asset Management are also using the application, as does the broker pool Fonds Finanz. Our cooperation with the Triodos Bank also enabled us to further develop our expertise in the sustainability sector.”
As different as the individual partner companies are, as common is the philosophy behind it all. “It’s important that each and every one does what he does best”, adds Brock. The asset manager, the bank or the broker pool take care of customer service, distribution and asset management, while investify TECH provides the technology and, where necessary, regulatory services, thus relieving the B2B partner in the long term. “Concentrating on one’s core competences is becoming increasingly important in the digital and regulated world”, comments Brock.
Smooth tech makes for safe and prompt implementation
“Our goal must be to move away from endless IT projects that everybody in the financial sector knows”, says Wigger. “Nobody likes doing them – neither the contractor nor we as service providers.” Only a platform approach allows banks and asset managers to achieve digitalised asset management within a reasonable time frame with reliable execution and a small project team. “We refer to this as ‘Smooth Tech’. In this regard, a timeline of three months is no exception”, Wigger continues. This is also confirmed by Dr Christian Jasperneite, CIO of the private bank M.M. Warburg & CO, which changed over to investify TECH in 2023: “We were 100% on schedule from the very first to the very last day – and we were on a tight schedule. And that is something I’ve rarely experienced!”.
Using the platform is beneficial to all parties involved. Not least when legal or regulatory amendments or changing industry standards are involved. These innovations are automatically integrated into the platform without the financial service provider having to take care of it himself or pay more for the service.
DNA of cooperation partner shines through
For DJE, one of the largest independent asset managers, the close collaboration, the platform’s flexibility and the wealth of experience from numerous projects are particularly important. Chairman Thorsten Schrieber comments on the collaboration with investify TECH: “Both parties stand for innovation. With our joint expertise, we will provide efficient and future-oriented solutions for our distribution partners.”
“We believe it is important that both the investors and the advisors experience the asset manager’s DNA. To achieve this, our platform works invisibly in the background”, explains Brock. Depending on the customer’s wishes, the platform takes over various tasks, from onboarding and legitimisation all the way to advisor and customer portals including apps, back office and regulatory affairs, wealth engine including portfolio management system, custodian bank connection and smart automated customer reporting.
“The process of enhancing our technology and regulatory platform with the DNA of a cooperation partner is exciting every time. Our partners, along with the design of the portfolios, the look and feel of the wealth management and the values are unique every single time – and that is precisely what has to be taken into account in a digitalised world”, Brock says convinced.
Compliance as an important building block of the platform
Outsourcing processes and tasks that are related to compliance to the platform is a great advantage, especially for small and medium-sized companies. Regulatory affairs represent an enormous cost factor, and one that can be used to profile oneself with one’s customers. “So it makes twice as much sense to have out platform take over these tasks”, says Constanze Maldener, Chief Compliance Officer of investify TECH. Another advantage is that the platform always takes the latest regulatory requirements into account and implements them. “This means that our B2B partners no longer have to worry about this; everything is provided automatically and cost-effectively”, explains Maldener.
