Investify and Aixigo team up with Sparda banks

One of the many local Robo Advisors that never really took off is Investify. Although the German-Luxembourg fintech company always performs very well in comparative tests. However, that did not lead to a significant inflow of end customer money. 

“No statements” about the assets under management in the B2C sector, said managing director Harald Brock – industry experts doubt that the $118.6 million (€100 million) mark has already been broken. So last year followed what had to follow, namely the pivot. In other words, the pivot of the business model. Investify, the “Robo Advisor”, became Investify, the “Software and Regulatory Provider for Financials and Non-Financials.”

An act of desperation? Apparently not! Recently, Investify already attracted attention with two smaller B2B mandates. As a technology supplier, the startup is behind the new robotic solution of the financial portal Biallo as well as the digital asset management of the International Bankhaus Bodensee. 

Read more about the collaboration between Investify and Aixigo, and be the first to find the most important financial headlines of the day with the Born2Invest mobile app.

These two rather microscopic collaborations are now followed by the first really exciting deal 

As Finanz-Szene.de found out in advance, a far-reaching cooperation between Investify and a second B2B Fintech (namely Aixigo from Aachen) with the core banking specialist Sopra Financial Technology (SFT) is to be announced this week. The accompanying announcement states that the consortium of Investify and Aixigo will equip SFT with “sales and processing lines for investment advice,” with “end-to-end solutions for asset management” as well as with special applications, for example on the subject of Riester. This may sound a bit cryptic. But it becomes immediately understandable, if one recalls who is behind said Sopra Financial Technology.

Nuremberg-based Sopra Financial Technology is the old SDV-IT, the former central IT service provider of the Sparda banks. It is well known that the Sparda sector was broken in 2018/2019: Several large Sparda banks switched their IT to the cooperative Fiducia & GAD, while the remaining seven Sparda banks (these were Augsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Munich, Nuremberg, Eastern Bavaria and West) brought the old SDV-IT into a 49-51 joint venture with the French technology giant Sopra Steria. “For Sopra Steria, this cooperation offers excellent opportunities to expand our business in Germany and thus in an important, currently still very fragmented European core market. It is our declared goal to gain additional institutions from the German banking sector as customers with a modern and attractive range of products and services,” said Sopra Germany manager Eric Guyot at the time.

B2B collaborations can reach a larger number of end customers than B2C marketing

Indeed, SFT is currently in the process of fundamentally modernizing the core banking system for the aforementioned Sparda banks. However, what Sopra technology is still missing, according to industry experts, is a module for digital investment solutions. And this is exactly what Investify/Aixigo is now coming up with. First of all, only for the seven Sparda banks mentioned. However, if one takes what Guyot said last year seriously, the Sopra/Sparda system will soon be promoted beyond the Sparda group.

From Investify/Aixigo’s point of view, this sounds lucrative. After all, B2B collaborations can reach many more end customers than the tedious and expensive B2C marketing. However, there is also one truth to the story: if the Fintech robots do not reach the end customer directly, and not even indirectly via the banks, but only very indirectly via the core bank providers of banks, then their own share of the value creation necessarily remains manageable. Whether and how this pays off remains to be seen. For now, however, the pivot of Investify seems to have been successful. The own B2C offer still exists. But rather as a showcase.

__

(Featured image by Craig Cooper via Unsplash)

DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Born2Invest, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.

First published in finanz-szene.de, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Born2Invest assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Born2Invest is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us.