Two fast-growing Swiss-based fintechs are merging to gain a bigger piece of the "wealth management value chain.”

Technology provider Etops has agreed to buy Evolute in order to link up middle and backend services for asset and wealth managers so that they can increase digital efficiencies.

The merged company, due to operate under the Etops brand, will combine Etops’ data aggregation and reporting visualisation services with Evolute’s cloud-based CRM and portfolio management software; it will focus on KYC, AML reporting, and other compliance demands.

“New regulatory requirements such as MiFID II and FIDLEG demand integrated solutions and services in wealth management and are speeding up digitisation in this area exponentially,” Etops CEO Pius Stucki said. The takeover should link all partners in the value chain, Stucki added, bringing “improved efficiency, lasting competitive advantages, and increased sales potential.”

Digital services providers have been ramping up their offerings over the last two years in order to help managers meet Switzerland’s Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) - bringing legislation in line with European Union regulations and protecting investors. This publication wrote in November about how domestic regulations are shaking up due diligence reporting for external asset managers.

Zurich-based Evolute’s cloud-based platform is used by external asset managers and multi-family offices to digitise and automate pre- and post-trade transactions. Since its launch in 2016, the firm’s asset management clients have grown to around 3,300 ultra-high net worth and high net worth clients with total assets of over SFr9 billion.

The deal will boost headcount to 85 plus across locations in Switzerland, Slovakia and Ukraine, with Evolute's CEO Myriam Reinle in charge of integrating the businesses. Stucki will take overall management responsibility and Reinle will oversee marketing, sales and business development once the deal completes.

Over 10 years, Etops has gained a client base managing assets upwards of SFr50 billion including Bellevue Asset Management, Entrepreneur Partners, Finaport, Globalance Bank, VT Wealth, as well as market partners such as Allianz, BDO, Leonteq, Société Générale and Bitcoin Suisse.

“Our shared goal of an open ecosystem with an integrated intelligent marketplace and one-stop solutions makes us ideal partners,” Evolute's Reinle said.