A New Model for Wealth Banking
Project Arnaud is led by Jason Bates, co-founder of Monzo and Starling, David M Brear, Group CEO of 11:FS, and Max Koretskiy, co-founder of Swiss wealth manager Blackshield Capital. Together, the team is betting on a next-generation, digital-first wealth solution designed for the financially ambitious and digitally native elite.
“The likes of Monzo and Starling are light-years ahead for basic retail banking but when high net worth individuals graduate to the organisations looking to serve them, they are often full of hidden fees, archaic account opening and reporting that looks as if it was faxed in from the 1990s. Project Arnaud aims to change all that,” said David Brear.
Solving Wealth Management’s Digital Lag
The founders argue that traditional private banks have failed to match the expectations of today’s wealthy, particularly millennials and Gen Z inheriting unprecedented levels of wealth. Instead of streamlined experiences, clients face outdated processes, slow portfolio management, and fragmented accounts.
“A wealthy client recently told me he can order a Tesla in three clicks on his phone, but when he wants to adjust his investment portfolio, it takes three weeks of phone calls, emails, and scanned forms. That’s the gap between what modern life looks like and what wealth services still deliver,” Brear added.
Financial Clarity Across Borders
For co-founder Jason Bates, the challenge isn’t just digital convenience, but also clarity in managing multiple global accounts.
“Above all, there’s a need for financial clarity. People are opening four or five bank accounts in different jurisdictions, with different currencies, and having to manage that all themselves. All of those things should be able to be delivered by one provider, sharing access, having some automation, helping you just manage it all. The mass market is doing that with two or three bank accounts. We can do something so much better,” Bates said.
Seizing a Multi-Trillion Dollar Opportunity
The founders highlight the sheer scale of the opportunity. Globally, the wealth management industry oversees more than $255 trillion in assets. In the UK alone, it’s over £1.3 trillion, with an estimated £5.5 trillion set to transfer between generations across the UK and EU by 2030.
“The largest wealth transfer in history is colliding with rising client expectations, shaped by consumer tech. Over £1 trillion will change hands over the 2020s in the UK alone, resulting in a five times increase of wealth held by millennials. The next generation of wealth owners are digitally native and they’re going to demand the very best in banking and wealth management,” said Max Koretskiy.
Backing and Future Plans
Currently operating under 11:FS Holdings Limited, the group has already earmarked £50 million to bring Project Arnaud to market, with a fresh investment round on the horizon. Details of the first public launch are expected later this year.
