Avanza acquires Sigmastocks and takes a step towards offering digital discretionary portfolio management
The acquisition of Sigmastocks is part of delivering on Avanza’s strategic priorities and targets for 2030, announced in October, and enables further growth within Private Banking.
Avanza and Sigmastocks’ owners have entered into an agreement whereby Avanza is acquiring Sigmastocks in its entirety for a price of SEK 21.1 million. The acquisition is conditional upon an ownership assessment by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and is expected to close in May 2025.
“Our aim is to become market leading in Private Banking. One way to get there is to challenge and compete for the SEK 1,000 billion in traditional discretionary portfolio management. Building a digital discretionary portfolio management solution from scratch is time consuming. Through the acquisition, we get access to a technical platform that we will further develop, and over time also plan to adapt to suit other customer segments,” says Gustaf Unger, CEO of Avanza.
The acquisition enables Avanza to further develop Sigmastocks’ current solution and offer digital discretionary portfolio management to its over 35,000 Private Banking clients as soon as 2025. These clients will then have access to automatic equity investments in personalised portfolios at low fees. As a customer, you choose your own risk level and whether you want to exclude specific sectors.
Sigmastocks currently has approximately SEK 0.5 billion in assets under management and around 7,000 clients. Costs associated with the acquisition are comprised within the previously announced average annual cost increase of 8% until the end of 2030 and where the cost growth will be higher at the beginning of the period. There is strong growth potential in Private Banking, but the acquisition’s initial impact on earnings will be limited.
“We have a digital offering in Private Banking that stands out, and attractive prices. We also have the highest recommendation rate among our customers, while many are requesting better support to start saving and build portfolios that they feel comfortable with. Through the acquisition of Sigmastocks, we quickly access an advanced and scalable technology that can handle a vast number of individual equity portfolios,” concludes Gustaf Unger.
For further information please contact:
Gustaf Unger, CEO Avanza
+46 72-142 96 53
gustaf.unger@avanza.se
Avanza is a digital platform for savings and investments, founded in 1999. The Parent Company, Avanza Bank Holding AB (publ), is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Avanza’s customer promise is that you as a customer will have more left in your own pocket than with any other bank or pension company. Services include savings in shares, funds and savings accounts as well as mortgages and a strong pension offering. Avanza has over 2 million customers with over SEK 900 billion in total savings capital. This is equivalent to 7.5 per cent of the Swedish savings market. Avanza is the largest Swedish bank in terms of number of transactions on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. For the last 15 years, Avanza has won SKI’s (Swedish Quality Index) award for “Year’s Most Satisfied Savings Customers”. For more information visit: avanza.se/ir
Sigmastocks was started in 2014 and since 2021 offers a digital discretionary portfolio management service based on quantitative so-called factor investing, where factors such as cash flow and profit margin are weighted against each other. The target portfolio consists of 40 stocks in Sweden, Europe and the U.S. As a customer, you can also make your own choices in terms of geographic distribution and sustainability, for instance. The company is based in Gothenburg, and has authorisation for discretionary portfolio management and investment advice.
