Wealth management platform Performativ has raised $14mn (£10.37mn) as it targets expansion with its front-to-back wealth management operating system.
The Series A funding round, led by Deutsche Börse Group, closed yesterday (April 28).
Performativ, which is headquartered in Copenhagen, said the investment marks a strategic step in strengthening its position in the enterprise segment.
According to the firm, the expansion includes supporting more complex data structures, higher volumes, and increasingly sophisticated reporting and compliance requirements.
Albert Geisler Fox, chief executive of Performativ, said: “Over the past six years, we have established ourselves as the leading platform for small and midsized wealth managers across Europe by modernising legacy operations with AI-native workflows.
“With this investment, we will cement our position within the enterprise segment, bringing our technology to visionary private banks and ambitious large-scale wealth management providers.”
Founded in 2020, Performativ said it has sought to combat ‘operational debt’ in the wealth management industry through a single platform covering portfolio management, performance and attribution analysis, risk analytics, compliance, reporting, multi-custodian data aggregation and trading.
Floris Onvlee, executive director at Rabo Investments, who also participated in the funding round, said: “AI-driven technology is enabling private banks and wealth managers to move away from legacy systems towards better client experiences.
“Performativ has established itself as a leading European player, with a strong foothold in the Netherlands. We are excited to support the company in its next growth phase.”
Speaking to FT Adviser, Geisler Fox was asked about whether a unified operating system and automated manual workflows translate into improved client outcomes or higher margins for firms.
He said: “Both. They are not separable.”
He argued that margin expansion follows the same mechanism: lower cost per AUM unit leads to higher profit per client, which then makes investment in new client offerings and innovation at firms possible.
He said the shift in the past 18 months is at the top of the market.
“Private banks and large wealth managers are no longer asking whether to modernise. They are asking how fast they can do it without breaking the run-the-bank workload.
“Deutsche Börse Group leading the Series A reflects that segment moving.”
Meanwhile, Christian Kromann, executive board member at Deutsche Börse Group, said: “We are excited to invest in Performativ.
“By doing so, we as Deutsche Börse Group are further strengthening our Investment Management Solutions proposition as we continue to build out our comprehensive ecosystem for the buy side.
“We are thrilled to continue to lead the transformation across the investment management industry.”
UK market
Geisler Fox also said the UK market, where the firm is already active, was a priority for Performativ.
The firm said the Series A would accelerate its build-out of the team across both local engineering and commercial hires in its London office.
Geisler Fox said the UK market differs from continental Europe in three respects.
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The discretionary adviser channel is more mature and more consolidated, with networks and consolidators driving most platform decisions.
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Recent regulatory changes have raised the bar on demonstrable client outcomes.
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The UK has a deeper bench of legacy platforms, meaning the appetite to replace operational debt is more concrete.
However, he concluded that the thesis for the UK was the same as in Europe: “The incumbent platforms were built for a different decade.
“For many firms, the cost of standing still is beginning to outweigh the cost of replacement. We are building for the firms that have already reached that conclusion.”
hereward.mills@ft.com
