Altoo CEO Ian Keates was interviewed for the “FOKUS Finanzen 2022” magazine published on 30th June 2022 in the well-known Swiss-German newspaper Tages Anzeiger.
Read the full, and very informative, magazine online (in German).
Here is the Altoo interview in English:
“Simplicity for Complex Wealth”
Need to manage your own wealth or those of your family simply and clearly? With the digital platform Altoo, this has been possible since 2017. Ian Keates, CEO of the FinTech, explains how Altoo can present and manage even complex wealth structures in a holistic way.
[Interviewer: Rüdiger Schmidt-Sodingen] Mr. Ian Keates, many people, companies and institutions are currently worried about their money. This makes it all the more important to know how much money or assets is available. A perfect time to use your platform?
[Ian Keates] The use of the Altoo Wealth Platform is not driven by fear, but by the desire to understand how total wealth is composed and whether the allocation is in line with personal goals and strategies, but yes, fear can drive positive behaviours, and we support those who want transparency and a holistic view of their wealth to support their future planning. Hopefully, before a crisis hits.
Altoo stands for “All together”. Not only do you add up assets from different sources, but you also bring together the latest technologies with the hitherto conservative banking and investment business?
We are fortunate to be able to use and deploy technologies much faster than regulated companies that have to follow established processes, systems and rules for many years. In contrast to such companies, we can take on opportunities and new business fields without conflicts of interest or cannibalising existing businesses. Our development processes are designed in such a way that we can take feedback and the needs of our customers and implement them within a very short time. This is where we really value the exchange of ideas and the cooperation with our customers. Banks can’t keep up for various reasons.
Altoo makes knowledge about wealth and assets more transparent, for example in family businesses. Will the platform replace the omniscient asset manager?
No, Altoo replaces neither the asset manager nor the client advisor. The aim is to complement these roles and create a common basis for discussion so that clients and advisors can work together with the same level of information. It is important to note that owners have a complete overview of their wealth via our platform. They decide which data is shared with whom.
In a second step, users should not only see their assets, but also manage them. This also includes being able to collaborate and communicate securely with other stakeholders?
As I said, we are not replacing the advisors, nor are we replacing the banks. The management of assets is still carried out in the traditional places and by the corresponding specialists, but we do offer a secure communication method for the exchange of information and a document repository that allows the parties involved to work efficiently on such strategies and their implementation outside the platform. Implementation and results can then be monitored on the Altoo Wealth Platform.
In family businesses, there are often generational conflicts. Can a platform like Altoo avoid such conflicts and even act as a mediator or saviour?
In our experience, conflicts usually arise due to business strategy or succession planning. Unfortunately, we can’t help much with the first issue (strategy), but all the more with the second. As soon as a family manages its wealth in one place, especially non-bankable asset information such as title deeds, etc., any family discussion about generational change becomes more transparent and easier. Especially when an unexpected event shakes up the family hierarchy the Altoo Wealth Platform can certainly help protect the family from additional turbulence in difficult times.
Banking transactions have always been associated with the desire for discretion. The desire for security also drives the use of Altoo?
Most wealthy people and families are very modest and discreet. Modesty should not be confused with secrecy, but modesty is protected by security. We take security very seriously because it is important to our clients. Without going into details, we use state-of-the-art hardware and technology to ensure that our clients’ data is protected. We win customers because they have confidence in our security measures.
Altoo is also the perfect answer to the business practices of the big banks, which on the one hand want to earn something for themselves with fees and short-term offers, but on the other hand, they want to be there for their clients in a spirit of trust. Is the time for one-sided advice running out?
Altoo Wealth Platform offers a level of transparency that is very much welcomed by our clients. This transparency enables wealth owners to initiate an advisory meeting. By providing up-to-date, relevant information on total assets and enabling analysis of individual banks, investment advisors, costs, portfolios and individual positions, our clients are always well informed. With the help of the Altoo Wealth Platform, they decide for themselves what should be discussed with the asset management company and when.
You are committed to ensuring that the platform can also be used by small investors or “normal” bank clients. Is this a first step towards open banking?
We are constantly examining our target client segments and our strategy. The service we offer requires integration points with the client’s banks and therefore incurs costs at various points in the process chain. Open Banking promises to reduce these costs over time and across different asset classes. However, we are not there yet, which means that production costs factored into pricing may not yet meet the expectations of some segments that are used to downloading apps “for free” onto a mobile phone. Ultimately, our goal is to create “simplicity for complex wealth” and if we can deliver that to anyone with a moderately complex wealth and at the right price, we will.
