The firms are teaming up to build a platform which is aimed at EAMs – a sector now going through major change because of a number of new Swiss regulations.

Swissquote, the online banking firm, is partnering with wealthtech solution provider Etops to launch a jointly developed platform for external asset managers. This “Asset Manager” offering taps into the EAM sector's need to fit with sweeping new Swiss regulations. 

The platform pulls together solutions by aggregating the required data from various sources. 

The firms are already working to expand the newly-launched platform. Later in 2023, it will support electronic onboarding of asset management clients as well as direct trade entries with order status notification, Etops said in a statement. 

An integrated marketplace designed as an open ecosystem is also planned as a means of linking providers of financial products and services in Switzerland to external asset managers and family offices, the firm continued.

The new information and conduct requirements under the Financial Services Act (FinSA), which came into force in Switzerland just over a year ago, have put the country’s EAM sector under a spotlight (see stories here and here). To reflect the sector's rise, this news service introduced a new EAM awards programme more than a year ago.

Initial experience has shown that compliance and assessing documentation poses a challenge for small and medium-sized asset managers, Etops said. Many existing software solutions are too broad in scope and thus expensive. This is where Swissquote’s new all-in-one platform comes in, the firm said.

“With Asset Master, we are offering our customers an all-in-one solution that allows them to focus on their core business, namely advising their clients and managing client assets,” Anthony Gimigliano, head of institutional business at Swissquote, said.