The move by the Swiss bank is another case of such firms teaming up with fintech platforms aiming to widen access to alternative investments such as private equity, credit, infrastructure and property.

Private banking house Bordier & Cie has struck a partnership with private investments markets platform Moonfare to boost its private equity offering for private clients.

The partnership will give Bordier & Cie’s private clients access to Moonfare’s top tier performing funds, widening the Swiss bank’s offering of leading private and venture capital funds, via the equity fintech’s "easy-to-use" platform.

This is another example of how ‘alternative investments’ such as private equity and hedge funds are being made available to private banks and wealth managers via platforms such as Moonfare and iCapital, among others. iCapital has scored loads of partnerships with firms, as this publication has reported in recent weeks and months. Another firm operating in the alternative platform space is CAIS, which like iCapital is also based in the US. (See a recent interview here.)

The move by Bordier & Cie, follows its announcement of an innovative cryptocurrency partnership with Sygnum Bank earlier this year, makes it the first bank in Switzerland to partner with Moonfare, which recently raised $125 million from US-based Insight Partners.

The Geneva-based private housing bank, founded in 1844, is the first in Switzerland to sign a partnership with Moonfare in a deal which will enable its clients, both large and small, to access a broader choice of top-tier and hard-to-access private equity funds, the bank said late last week.

“My partners and I share the strong conviction that the private equity asset class has a home in long-term investment portfolios of private clients. To expand Bordier & Cie’s unique offering in the asset class is a strategic priority for our bank and we are delighted to sign this partnership with Moonfare,” Christian Skaanild, Bordier & Cie managing partner, said. “In only a short time, Moonfare has become the leading platform for individual investors in the private equity sector. Bordier & Cie provides its clients with impartial advice in building a diversified private equity portfolio, so that they may enjoy superior risk-adjusted returns from top performing funds.” 

“This partnership is another milestone for our growth strategy in Switzerland, which is one of Moonfare’s fastest developing markets accounting for over 10 per cent of our global AUM,” Moonfare founder and chief executive officer Dr Steffen Pauls, said.

The private equity asset class has seen tremendous growth in recent years. With assets under management of over $4 trillion, private equity today is no longer a niche asset class reserved only for institutional investors. Last month, this publication reported an annual survey of the global sector which showed no let-up in the appetite for private equity deals, with ESG and special purpose acquisition companies playing a greater role. The latest survey of private equity deal-making from global law firm Dechert shows that a record $1.17 trillion in deals were struck between January and September 2021, outperforming all full-year results since 2015.

Bordier & Cie is an independent private bank established as an unlimited liability partnership in 1844 in Geneva. Since then, the bank has grown into an international banking group owned and managed by the fifth generation of the same family.

Moonfare credits its recent growth with the broad asset class coverage it offers. Its clients include established private banks, family offices and wealth managers who have invested more than €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) to date through its platform. The firm has offered 42 private markets funds from top general partners worldwide focusing on private equity buyouts, technology, and real asset categories like infrastructure. Based in Berlin, Moonfare operates in 13 countries across Europe and Asia and has offices in Hong Kong, London, and Luxembourg.

Earlier this year, Fidelity International partnered with Moonfare to add to its alternative assets capabilities with an agreement focusing on institutional and wholesale clients.