FiCAS is a Swiss-based crypto investment management boutique led by experienced portfolio managers and quant strategists, with expertise in both cryptofinance and traditional finance.

The firm recently structured the Bitcoin Capital Active ETP — the world’s first actively-managed exchange traded product (ETP) featuring cryptocurrencies as underlying assets and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX).

FiCAS’ discretionary cryptocurrency investment strategy combines fundamental and technical analysis and makes use of proprietary algorithms and quant signals.

Prior to incorporating FiCAS in 2019, its founder, Ali Mizani Oskui, managed a cryptocurrency portfolio which achieved 110% excess return over a passive Bitcoin holding strategy over the period October 2015 to January 2018). The performance was audited by a ‘Big Four’ consultancy firm).

Thought leader
Ali Mizani Oskui is the founder of FiCAS AG, the Swiss-based crypto investment management boutique. Ali has over 20 years of experience in trading and investment management, with a specialised focus on the cryptocurrency markets, Ali has an exceptional track record in managing one of the most lucrative cryptocurrency asset portfolios worldwide that has delivered exceptional market performance. Ali’s trading performance has been audited by a ‘Big Four’ consultancy firm, showing that Ali’s fund outperformed Bitcoin holding strategy returns by over 100% from October 2015 to January 2018, when Bitcoin price reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000. Prior to founding FiCAS, Ali was CEO and Founder of CITEX, an IT and software company based in Tehran, Iran. Ali holds an MBA from the University of Tehran, Iran and a BSc. in Software Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran.

Q&A with Ali Mizani Oskui

How is DLT and Blockchain reshaping wealth and asset management? Where is the industry today and how do you foresee things changing in the future?

Where is the market today?
The current size of the DLT-based wealth management market is currently limited by two factors.

• Regulatory barrier - The first challenge is regulatory in nature. Wealth & Asset management is a highly regulated industry. DLT-based assets are mostly being developed outside the regulatory perimeter. Both industries need now to converge. DLT-based assets need to increase their compliance degree to rules regulating traditional financial products. At the same time, regulators need to show pragmatism and flexibility in implementing the fundamental financial regulation principles.
• User’s experience - The second challenge is financial engineering in nature. DLT-based financial products need to become much more user friendly, including in terms of accessibility.

These factors constitute the key challenges that the wealth & asset management industry needs to overcome to grow the DLT-based wealth & asset management market.

Why should wealth managers get up-to-speed on Blockchain & DLT technology?
Continuous monetary stimulus by central banks since 2008 has brought about a market environment characterized by historically low interest rates and historically high global equity markets. In this context, investors have developed a real desire to diversify into alternative asset classes. The momentum is remarkable. Boston Consulting Group Asset Management 2019 Report anticipates the success of Alpha asset investment boutiques and the continuation of strong performance of Alternative asset classes. This observation carries over DLT-based assets. Numerous economic research papers, most recently Bitwise’s Case for Bitcoin in an Institutional Portfolio (May 2020), consistently show that adding Bitcoin to portfolios enhances the cumulative and risk-adjusted returns. From 2018 to 2019 the crypto hedge fund industry experienced 100% growth of AuM (Crypto Hedge Funds Report, PWC, 2020) and Forbes predicts (January 2020) increased adoption of cryptocurrencies by institutional investors. Thus, the reason why wealth managers should get up to speed with DLT-based products is existential in nature: the need to find compelling investment cases to clients fundamentally frustrated by the current prospects of traditional financial markets.

For the avoidance of doubt, the solutions here are not mutually exclusive. The only solution is a portfolio approach and the opportunity here is to add diversification to the portfolios with a limited exposure to an asset class which could materially increase the overall returns.

How do you foresee the role of Blockchain & DLT in the next wave of transformation in asset & wealth management?
As noted above, in the face of a favorable demand, DLT-based assets need to overcome regulatory and user experience challenges to contribute to the growth of the wealth management industry. Regulators and financiers need to therefore act together innovatively and pragmatically and we see increasing signs of progress of this in some jurisdictions, such as in Switzerland. Switzerland, has welcomed since 2013 in a pragmatic way DLT-based businesses and has built out expertise and developed regulatory certainty at an early stage. As a consequence, Switzerland now hosts the first fully regulated banks authorized to handle DLT-based products and services and Switzerland’ SIX Swiss Exchange offers 145 listed crypto products, including tracker certificate, mini future long and short, reverse convertibles and ETPs.

What solution(s) does your company offer that wealth and asset management firms should consider?
FiCAS is a specialized crypto asset investment firm committed to delivering “better-than-market” performance, through actively managed crypto investments. Its flagship product - Bitcoin Capital Active ETP, or BTCA (ISIN CH0548689600) - is the world’s first actively managed Exchange Traded Product featuring cryptocurrencies as the underlying asset class. The investment product allows retail and institutional investors in Switzerland and, after approval of the prospectus in the EU, across selected EU jurisdictions, to invest in digital assets as safely and as easily as buying ordinary shares. Its investment objective is to increase the NAV by trading Bitcoin against carefully selected altcoins (top 15 coins) and moving to fiat when this is deemed the best option. The allocation is discretionary and based on in-depth investment research, technical and fundamental analysis, proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence applications.

Benefits
BTCA provides investors access to a diversified, discretionary managed and liquid crypto portfolio. BTCA is actively risk managed and operates in a regulated and secure environment. The issuer’s default risk is mitigated through full collateralization. FiCAS AG makes use of six custodians and limits the exposure to exchanges to the minimum required in order to achieve optimal risk management. BTCA offers access to a unique trading strategy based on the approach pursued by FiCAS’ founder, Ali Mizani, who outperformed Bitcoin by over 100% during 2015-18. Trading operations are underpinned by an experienced team in traditional and cryptofinance, featuring unrivalled analytic and research crypto capabilities.

Beside the advantages of actively managing investments like in a traditional portfolio management discretionary mandate, BTCA has unique accessibility by being listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, tradable by retail, professional and institutional investors through banks & brokers.

BTCA was rolled out on SIX Swiss Exchange on 28 July 2020. FiCAS intends to issue further products in the future following market sentiments and demands. It also intends to expand the jurisdictions in which its products are listed and traded.

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