A Swiss firm has launched a platform geared at private banks, wealth managers and family offices allowing their clients to transact in luxury assets and removing the need for intermediaries.

A Swiss fintech firm has launched a platform for transacting luxury assets such as classic cars and private jets that it says bypasses the middleman and associated fees.

WealthInitiative, which was established in 2015, based from Zurich, has created a platform through which clients’ assets can be traded; it is available as a cloud solution and within an institution’s information technology system. The launch of the platform involves two phases. Initially, the platform is used internally (within a private bank for instance) to create linkages among that bank's own clients. The firm charges a one-off license fee to the institution (not per user) and then a small trailer fee per year. In the second phase of the rollout, the platform is used (for the banks who already are in phase 1) externally so that private banks could trade with each others. An additional yearly fee will be charged per institution if banks were to pick this premium option.

The company said that its platform matches supply and demand, removing the need for intermediaries, accelerating transactions and making them more secure and confidential. The offering is aimed at wealth managers, private banks and family offices.

The firm is using the “blockchain” technology that powers the controversial but influential digital currency system known as Bitcoin, to allow the tracing of ownership and provenance of assets that trade on the WealthInitiative platform.

“I strongly believe that creating synergies among clients is the next growth driver for wealth management institutions. Throughout my experience in private banking and art investment research, I kept on wondering about the lack of tools that would allow private banks to better exploit this untapped potential. WealthInitiative was born out of a desire to fill this gap,” said Douglas Azar, the business's founder.

The company is backed by an international group of private investors based in major financial hubs, it said. This publication is in contact with the firm to elaborate on details, such as its revenue model.