Aarau-based startup findependent has become the first pure ETF asset manager to receive approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as a custodian bank.

Clients will now be able to hold accounts and securities portfolios directly with findependent. This change allows for faster processing of transactions in the app. It also gives clients access to an expanded range of services.

The company plans to launch Pillar 3a investment solutions in the second half of the year.

Since its launch in February 2021, findependent has grown to serve more than 25,000 investors. The company has shown that digital asset management can be straightforward, cost-effective, and accessible.

The company regularly exceeds its growth targets and is among the fastest-growing digital asset managers in Switzerland.

“Our clients will no longer need an external custodian bank,”

said Matthias Bryner, founder and CEO of findependent.

“This approval is the key for us to develop findependent faster and more flexibly.”

findependent will continue to work with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg as a long-standing partner in the background.

New clients will receive their accounts and custody directly, while existing client relationships will transition over the coming months.

The company fulfils the same requirements for capital, liquidity, and cybersecurity as a bank, in its role as a custodian securities-dealing bank.

Deposit insurance continues to protect account balances, representing 1% of invested amounts, and clients retain sole ownership of their ETF holdings as separate assets.

“We will continue to make no compromises when it comes to security,”

Bryner said.

Featured image credit: findependent