Upvest and BlackRock team up to address surge in European retail investment
Upvest has become a forerunner in providing low-friction investment infrastructure. Its API facilitates fractional investments across asset classes, including ETFs, stocks, and mutual funds, allowing investors to start with as little as €1. The technology is scalable, inviting both emerging fintechs and established financial institutions to benefit from reduced transaction costs and streamlined operations.
Berlin-based fintech firm Upvest is partnering with asset management titan BlackRock. Together, the firms aim to make investing more accessible to millions of Europeans. The partnership is sealed with a €30 million funding round in which BlackRock participated, along with existing Upvest investors.
The collaboration brings together BlackRock’s extensive asset management expertise with Upvest’s revolutionary API-based investment infrastructure. The joint venture aims to expedite the development of modern, user-friendly investment experiences, which wealth managers, banks, and fintechs can deploy within months, not years.
Upvest API features fractional trading across ETFs, stocks, and mutual funds
“BlackRock’s partnership with Upvest will drive innovation in how Europeans access markets and make it cheaper and simpler to start investing,” said Timo Toenges, Head of iShares EMEA Digital Wealth business at BlackRock.
The European landscape has seen a surge in first-time investors flocking to digital platforms. These platforms primarily offer low-cost, transparent products like ETFs. Estimates project the number of ETF savings plans across Europe to burgeon from 4.9 million in 2021 to about 20 million by 2026.
“One of the world’s leading providers of investments meets leading European investment infrastructure,” commented Martin Kassing, Co-founder and CEO at Upvest. “We feel the urge to provide a better investment infrastructure to companies facilitating easy and affordable investment experiences.”
Upvest has become a forerunner in providing low-friction investment infrastructure. Its API facilitates fractional investments across asset classes, including ETFs, stocks, and mutual funds, allowing investors to start with as little as €1. The technology is scalable, inviting both emerging fintechs and established financial institutions to benefit from reduced transaction costs and streamlined operations.
The partnership is poised to reshape the investment landscape by setting new standards for how investments can be made more accessible. While Upvest already counts some of Europe’s largest fintechs among its clients, the endorsement and financial backing from BlackRock undoubtedly elevate its potential to a new level.
By synergizing BlackRock’s established presence in asset management and ETFs with Upvest’s cutting-edge technology, the alliance aims to meet the demands of a new generation of investors seeking transparent, low-cost, and easily comprehensible investment opportunities.
Plum deployed Upvest’s API
Last month, smart money app Plum deployed Upvest’s API to expand its array of investment options for European Union (EU) customers.
With the integration of Upvest’s investment API, Plum will gain the capability to provide direct and fractional investments in EUR-nominated Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and stocks to users in all nine of its EU markets, including France, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, and Greece.
The selection of Upvest as Plum’s pan-European partner underscores its growing presence in the fintech landscape, positioning itself as the preferred choice for companies seeking to extend their reach within the European market.
