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Over the past few decades, the private banking industry has primarily catered to the needs of baby boomer and Generation X clients looking for savings account management and retirement planning solutions.
However, the demographic has shifted in recent years, with millennials projected to inherit $68 trillion by 2030, growing their wealth 5X. This transformation in generational wealth comes with an entirely new set of needs for wealthy clients. Millennials want products with an effortless, and fully digital experience, leading many to move away from private banks in favour of digital solutions and commission-free trading platforms. Even Swiss private banks have struggled through this transition, especially those without a user-friendly app.
After several years managing a boutique asset management group with over US $500 million in AUM, long-time friends and business partners Azamat Sultanov and Firdavs Shakhidi recognised a gap in the market. There was currently no product that satisfied payments, FX and transfers needs like a private bank, with the digital experience of a challenger. They started Fortu Wealth with a new vision for the private banking industry, in which digital wallets could work seamlessly alongside traditional bank accounts, and affluent clients had access to all the services they needed, with a dedicated account manager they could reach out to any hour of the day, all from their device.
So, they recruited a highly qualified team, with decades of experience in the financial services and tech industries, to take the concept forward. Within the first few months of 2020, the Fortu team developed and launched the very first beta version of their mobile app and a desktop version of the application that provided essential features. Since then, they’ve been actively beta testing and gathering feedback to improve the product and conform to the needs of their extensive, wealthy client-base.
Fortu aims to provide two core accounts all hosted within one app – a UK digital account, and a Swiss private banking group account. They also intend to provide clients with a full-service multi-asset investment platform that enables AI-driven curated investment portfolio management. Fortu is working to provide more accessible banking services by introducing APIs, while aiming to enable frictionless banking and cashless banking options in the future. They’re also using AI to automate processes previously manual, paper-reliant processes to allow a refocus of efforts on developing their technology and providing attentive customer support to their clients.
The solution is designed to help millennials develop an investment plan with inherited wealth (in cash or assets) that is tailored to their specific needs. Fortu is applying technology to the age-old private banking space to build a trusted offering for affluent individuals that aligns with their values.Fortu has raised over £370,000 from nearly 400 investors. To find out more about the investment opportunity, visit the pitch.
