PlatformJul 3 2018

Rothschilds back wealth manager with private investment

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Rothschilds back wealth manager with private investment

An artificial intelligence powered wealth manager, that offers private investors access to exclusive quantitative investment technology, has secured private investment from Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild

The Exo Investing retail digital wealth management platform announced its latest investment today (3 July), which means it has now raised €16.5m (£14.59m) to date.

Exo builds each investor a personal, adjustable portfolio of ETFs based on their own investment preferences.

Each portfolio is then monitored and recalibrated daily to both the individual’s risk appetite and changing market conditions in a bid to manage each client’s long-term risk.

The launch of Exo Investing earlier this year saw retail private investors gain access to AI-powered quantitative investment and risk management technology that has been developed by quantitative investment manager ETS for institutional investors and the wealthy clients of private banks.

Hugo Ferreira, chairman of Exo Investing, said: "Exo Investing is an exciting example of how the latest advances in technology – from artificial intelligence to the growth in computing power available through the cloud – can be utilised to democratise access to the best services available. For years we have wanted to find a way to provide the huge financial advantage that ETS’s systems deliver to a much wider audience, and Exo is just that.

“Now Exo is utilising AI and recent increases in computing power to offer the same portfolio management technologies to a far wider market and at a highly competitive price.  This is a watershed moment for the private investor.”      

Lennart Asshoff, chief executive of Exo Investing said: “Opening the door for thousands of private investors to the important benefits that Quantitative investment science offers is very satisfying having seen what a pivotal difference it can make to investment outcomes during my years working at ETS.

“This level of individually tailored portfolio and risk management has never been available to the retail investor before.  The wider public have never been more reliant on their personal investments for their future financial security and we want to open the door to a new category of investing for as many people as possible,  making truly personalised investing available at scale.”

This latest investment is alongside that from the founders of Madrid-based ETS Asset Management Factory, who supply Exo with its quantitative investing technology and capabilities, and the former heads of the La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild SA, Daniel Treves and Hugo Ferreira, who is also the chairman of Exo Investing.   

Darius McDermott, managing director for Chelsea Financial Services, said: “While I am a big believer in AI something to help many parts of the planet going forward, I am not sold on its ability to help investments yet.

"Smith & Williamson have an AI fund which uses AI to mine date looking for stocks across the world that benefit and use AI. This would be my preferred route into the theme not an ETF.”

aamina.zafar@ft.com