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FNZ Expands Swiss Footprint With Another Acquisition

The organisation has already been adding to its Swiss business lines, and this acquisition continues the process. Financial terms were not disclosed.
FNZ, the global wealth management platform, has acquired New Access, a specialised private banking technology firm primarily active in the markets of Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. The move comes more than a year after FNZ agreed to buy Switzerland-based onboarding tech specialist Appway.
As a result of the transaction – terms of which were not disclosed – FNZ now has more than 200 staff in Switzerland.
Deloitte, FIG Corporate Finance Advisory acted as exclusive financial advisor to FNZ, while CMS acted as legal advisor in support of the transaction, FNZ said in a statement yesterday.
Explaining the reason for the change, FNZ said that its technology helps wealth management firms to deliver personalised services and products rapidly. In Switzerland, the country’s external asset management sector is having to adapt to new regulations from Swiss watchdog FINMA.
“Private banks are under significant pressure to adapt and scale offerings to their existing and new clients but are often constrained by legacy technology, complex delivery models and new regulatory requirements,” FNZ said.
A large player, FNZ administers more than $1.5 trillion in client assets on its platform for more than 20 million clients worldwide. In total, FNZ has more than 4,500 employees in 21 nations. In February this year, FNZ secured $1.4 billion in new equity funding from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Motive Partners. That fundraising valued FNZ, founded in 2003 in New Zealand, at more than $20 billion. In April, FNZ partnered with the trade services provider Clearstream – the post-trade services provider of Deutsche Börse Group.
As for New Access, this 20-year-old firm provides digital solutions for wealth managers and private banks. Services include client lifecycle management, core banking systems, portfolio management and workflow management.