In this series, we interview senior executives from leading wealth management firms, solution providers, and WealthTech influencers to learn more about them, their journey, their perspectives on the market, and how they see the future of wealth management.

“Our number one goal is making sure that the Wealth Platform can serve a wide variety of clients, and we go to considerable lengths to tailor it to the specific needs of each of them.”

For this issue of TWMTT, we talked to Ian Keates, CEO at Altoo, as he shares an overview of Altoo´s solution, the company's future plans, and wealth management trends in general…

Nice to meet you, Ian. Can you first perhaps tell us (and our readers) a bit about yourself, your career to date, and your role at Altoo?
I joined the company as a Chief Technology Officer in June 2021. I was appointed Altoo’s Chief Executive Officer in February 2022, and report directly to the Board of Directors of Altoo AG. I became a board member of the OpenWealth Association in 2023.

As the Chief Executive Officer, I am basically responsible for enhancing business performance and reputation through active leadership of corporate activities, bringing together several key areas, including business development, client service, product development, and IT security. 

Prior to joining Altoo, I led large scale operations areas and drove innovation projects for multiple financial institutions in Switzerland and Lichtenstein. 

When not at work, I enjoy spending time with my family exploring Zürich. I am keen photographer and music enthusiast.

Ian, it seems that WealthTech is booming. Wealth managers’ growing demand for innovative technology tools and the push for greater efficiency and an enhanced client experience have been driving the success of many fintech companies. What makes Altoo and its product stand out?
The Altoo Wealth Platform aims to simplify complex wealth by making investments more transparent. Our ability to let institutional and private clients view their performance across different asset classes, concentration in specific asset classes, historical data, and the power to determine portfolio adjustments all in one convenient location is what sets us apart from the competition. Dividend forecasting, which simplifies the process of predicting cash flows and liquidity, is another one of our distinctive capabilities. In the wealth aggregation area, user trust in data is paramount. Our data dashboards have all the necessary features supporting consolidation, analytics, and reporting - within a convenient and trustworthy environment.

Private banks and family offices are used to working with multiple custodians and multi-currency asset classes. A wealthy individual managing his own portfolio, on the other hand, might find it challenging to accurately analyse his real estate holdings, valuable artwork, or crypto assets. Given Altoo’s diverse clientele, how do you ensure that the platform satisfies everyone's needs?
Our number one goal is making sure that the Wealth Platform can serve a wide variety of clients, and we go to considerable lengths to tailor it to the specific needs of each of them. Our own research and analysis allow us to comprehend our customers' unique requirements, and in a collaborative effort with them, we build the overall platform our clients require. Since we are a small, agile FinTech that is independent of banks, we are able to respond quickly to new trends and requests from clients. In fact, we make system updates every two weeks to deliver incremental improvements. Traditional banking platforms typically receive such updates only a few times per year.

Do you follow a specific approach when it comes to your family office clients?
Family offices increasingly depend on digital tools to support long-term asset preservation, so WealthTech solutions like ours play a key role in the ecosystem. Forbes named us one of the best providers of family office software in 2023, and we have always had a strong presence in this sector.

Altoo is based in Switzerland. What are your plans for the local and broader market in the coming months?
Our core aspirations are the same for the Swiss as well as the wider market - to deliver a platform that provides tangible benefits for those managing and monitoring wealth. However, for Switzerland, we are strongly pushing banks and custodians to adopt application programming interfaces (APIs) and specifically the bLink channel, in order to most effectively expand the capabilities of the wider FinTech ecosystem here along the OpenWealth Association.

Drawing upon your extensive knowledge and experience as a seasoned technology leader, what do you see as the primary challenges facing the wealth management business today?
From Altoo’s perspective, I must again mention the importance of adopting the
API standards. Advanced API data connections give third parties like FinTechs access to consistent data necessary for providing reliable, client-centric solutions without having to adapt to each custodian’s specific data format.

On a broader scale, I think it is crucial to invest in new technologies, but the associated costs can be quite discouraging. We are all used to having access to digital tools for free or you pay by giving up your private data – often without realising why or what for. But the fact is that it takes effort to build technology solutions. For wealth managers, investing in technology is investing in data privacy and ultimately client satisfaction, and one should remember 'if you are not paying for the product, you are the product' when considering the data being shared.

Almost every CEO worries about the company's ability to stay in business. To what extent do you believe that technology departments can help make it a success?
To ensure that technology stays up-to-date and continues to add value, it is crucial for technology executives and their teams to constantly evaluate and innovate. This will help with business continuity. Regular assessments of infrastructure and procedures are key for maintaining operations, responding quickly to changes, and pushing development forward during tough times. I can assure you that we at Altoo think this way.

Could you give any concrete examples of technologies or technological approaches that are on the cutting edge of data management?
Using blockchain technology is one innovative way to handle data management. Blockchain ensures transparency, immutability, and mutual confidence between parties by offering a decentralised and secure method of data management and storage. Its efficacy stems from its capacity to use smart contracts to expedite procedures, minimise the chance of data manipulation, and do away with the need for intermediaries. I would also highlight data products that transform unstructured data into consumable formats. These solutions help businesses monetize, share, and use data more strategically, for example to improve client experience and support decision-making.

Can you share a tried-and-true strategy that companies may use to encourage interoperability and drive innovation across various technological systems?
That is a good question and one that is top of mind for lots of CEOs and technology experts today. One effective strategy for organisations to drive innovation is to collaborate with external partners, start-ups, academia, and the wider tech community. This fosters idea exchange, explores diverse industry challenges, and accelerates innovation by leveraging a broad spectrum of expertise and perspectives. Also, again I will come back to the adoption of open standards and APIs that may be used to link various digital platforms and ecosystems so that its players can collaborate, connect quicker, and work together in an efficient manner.

You can listen to more insights on wealth management from Ian Keates in the Altoo Insights Podcast here.