Germany's oldest private bank and Berlin's fintech are cooperating on private equity solutions
The asset class was more successful in 2019 than any other
Hamburg / Berlin. The 430-year-old private bank Berenberg and the digital private equity investment platform Moonfare, founded in 2016, today announced a partnership to give Berenberg customers digital access to first-class private equity funds.
Private equity (PE) has experienced significant growth with assets under management of over $ 4 trillion worldwide in 2019. The asset class encompasses a variety of strategies such as buyout, venture capital and growth and has outperformed other asset classes over the past year. It also helps diversify portfolios. Until recently, due to very high minimum investments and limited access, investments in PE were only available to institutional investors and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) families.
"We are pleased to be able to offer our customers excellent access to this asset class through the cooperation with Moonfare," said Klaus Naeve, Head of Wealth Management Germany at Berenberg. "The selection of private equity offers, combined with low minimum investment amounts for this asset class and fully digital processing, is unique in the European market," says Naeve.
The Berlin-based fin-tech company Moonfare enables qualified individuals to invest directly in selected private equity funds from a minimum investment of € 200,000. Investors get access via a digital platform on which they can invest quickly and easily and in compliance with the regulatory requirements. The investment committee of Moonfare, which consists of experts from the private equity industry, selects first-class funds after an in-depth due diligence. From this selection, Berenberg once again selects the most promising funds from their point of view and offers them to its customers.
Berenberg's wealth management is characterized by personal support for each individual customer. The Berenberg consultants draw on the extensive network of specialists to develop tailor-made solutions for their customers. Berenberg always relies on first-class know-how. The bank, with 120 equity analysts, is one of the largest analysts in Europe, the in-house fund managers have received many awards, and its own competence centers develop specific solutions for entrepreneurs, foundations and family offices.
As part of the partnership with Moonfare, Berenberg advisors can include first-class private equity funds in their portfolio recommendations if they match the client's investment objectives and strategy. Berenberg customers benefit from access to high-yield investments and the additional diversification of another asset class. Both the advisors and their customers have direct access to the digital Berenberg / Moonfare platform, where they can check and subscribe to investment opportunities. The platform is optimized for efficient processes, transparent data access and comprehensive reporting. With the development, the Berenberg / Moonfare platform positions itself as the leading private market offering in German private banking.
“Historically, access to private equity funds was restricted to institutional investors who invested more than ten million euros per fund. By investing 25% or more in alternative investments, this exclusive group has been able to increase its portfolio returns over decades. We are pleased that our partnership will benefit Berenberg clients by combining Berenberg's wealth management expertise and bespoke advice with Moonfares technology and unmatched access to the best over-the-counter investment opportunities, ”said Steffen Pauls, founder and CEO of Moonfare.
About Berenberg
Berenberg was founded in 1590 and is now one of the leading European private banks with its business areas Wealth and Asset Management, Investment Bank and Corporate Banking. The Hamburg-based bank is run by personally liable partners and has a strong presence in the financial centers of Frankfurt, London and New York.
About Moonfare
Moonfare was founded in 2016 and is now active in several European countries and in Asia. The FinTech company offers wealthy private clients, banks and asset managers access to first-class private equity funds at lower minimum amounts and lower fees than previously possible. Investments start from as little as EUR 200,000 in funds that usually have a minimum of several million dollars. Moonfare thus gives banks and asset managers clients access to an outstanding asset class that was formerly reserved for institutional investors