About us

Driving financial progress through cutting-edge technology
We are vestr.

our story

From idea to impact

Having worked in finance ourselves, we recognized the unmet need for digitization and understood the profound impact that this technological change would bring. Today, we are living that change.

2017

vestr gets officially incorporated

2018

first clients go live on the platform

2019

SIX group takes a stake in vestr

2020

platform trading volume surpasses USD 1 billion

2021

vestr serves clients accross Europe

2020
2022

vestr secures CHF 10mn in financing

2023

vestr enters the American and African market

our vision

Shaping the future of asset management

Our mission is to develop groundbreaking technology to propel asset management to the next level.

Disrupt active investment management through technology

We are at the forefront of technological transformation for the finance industry. We redefine standards, accelerate transactions and empower our clients to harness their know-how and resources.

Meet clients’ needs of today and tomorrow

Based on industry experience and technological expertise we guide and support our clients every step of the way. We develop relationships built on mutual trust and collaboration.

Become a one-stop-shop for digital asset management

We believe in the democratization of active investment management. Our goal is to enable and connect all stakeholders in the asset management ecosystem via one digital platform, independent of size and complexity.

Practice transparency for clients and regulators

We work tirelessly to understand our clients’ needs and integrate rules and regulations into our product design and processes, promoting a secure high-performance environment for our users.

vestr – team

Innovation is who
we are.

careers

Join us in shaping the future of asset management

We represent a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds and we are constantly seeking talented minds to join our team. Explore our open roles and join us in revolutionizing Financial Services with technological innovation.

View open roles
Peter Cicman in a conversation at vestr

newsroom

What's up at vestr

Check our blog
Actively Managed Certificates (AMCs) white-paper

White Paper

August 25, 2023

Actively Managed Certificates (AMCs) white-paper
Optimizing Structured Products - Podcast with Volodymyr Gupskyi

Podcast

June 2, 2023

Optimizing Structured Products - Podcast with Volodymyr Gupskyi
Machine Learning techniques to deliver accurate anticipations about financial

Podcast

March 21, 2023

Machine Learning techniques to deliver accurate anticipations about financial
vestr partners with Clarity AI to enable ESG reporting capabilities for active investment managers

Press Release

August 30, 2022

vestr partners with Clarity AI to enable ESG reporting capabilities for active investment managers
The Future of Indexing – Podcast with Victor Gomez

Podcast

March 2, 2022

The Future of Indexing – Podcast with Victor Gomez

Securitized portfolios
at scale

Schedule a call

Mihai Serbanescu

Head of Marketing

He has worked with both large corporations, with Google and Meta amongst them, and start ups and has managed significant marketing campaigns across different geographies.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Marketing and is passionate about creating innovative and engaging marketing campaigns.

Mischa Weise

VP Clients

Former Management Consultant
Broad Coaching and Training Experience

Mischa brings 15 years of management consulting expertise. He has worked with Global 500 clients across multiple industries - such as capital markets, banking and life science - and led global transformations through the full business life cycle. He has coached and managed multiple traditional and Agile teams (SAFe, Kanban, and Scrum).

Mischa is a certified SAFeProgramme Consultant (SPC) and holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zürich.

Pascal Matter

VP Finance

10+ years of professional experience in the financial services industry
Former M&A advisor

Pascal started his career in the M&A team of a Swiss insurance company. There, he had the opportunity to work on exciting and dynamic M&A projects, as well as support strategically important business development initiatives both in Switzerland and abroad. 

Following this, he gained further experience in financial services as an M&A Manager at a Big 4 consulting firm, providing comprehensive buy- and sell-side advisory services throughout the entire transaction life cycle. 

Pascal is a Certified International Investment Analyst / CIIA® and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration

Aron Thor Hjartarson

Head of Product

Senior software engineer
Has a knack for teamwork and getting things done  

Aron has spent more than 7 years in the Swiss IT scene, where he worked with promising award-winning startups as well as leading companies in the financial services industry. Before joining vestr, he worked for Switzerland’s leading core banking solution provider.

Originally from Iceland, Aron began his career working as a researcher in plasma physics before transitioning into software development. As a full stack software engineer, he has been responsible for projects ranging from 3D reconstruction algorithms, to mobile messaging clients, to digital wealth management services. Additionally, he has served as a consultant, and has a knack for coaching people and getting things done.

Aron not only leads our cross-functional product team, but is also a driving force in our day-to-day operations: growing the vestr solution while ensuring a solid delivery process for our clients.

He holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from ETH Zürich.

Thomas Laich

Team Lead Ukraine

Head of Ukraine Office
Senior Software Engineer
Front-End Expert

Tom has been working in the software industry for 10 years. In this time, he has led development teams in Switzerland, Vietnam and Eastern Europe. His experience spans across a number of sectors, including banking, insurance, and public transportation.

Previously, as software development team lead at one of the largest employers in Switzerland, he designed and co-built a new cloud-based intranet platform for >30’000 users.

Tom studied at Télécom ParisTech and ETH Zurich, gaining a master’s degree from ETH (awarded with Distinction) in Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. Furthermore, he holds a CAS from ETH in Computer Science.

Stefan Wagner

VP Business Development

25+ years in the financial services industry
Structured products expert
Former manager of global Delta One Products at leading issuer

Stefan began his career as a derivatives structurer in 1994 and established the European exotic options trading desk of a leading global bank. He ran one of the most active and consistently profitable equity option trading teams globally. Subsequently, Stefan ran the bank’s EMEA structured products business, where he developed a range of investment products and funds. Over $50 billion of these investments were successfully placed with high net worth and institutional clients.

Prior to joining vestr, Stefan established a successful fund, which specialized in derivative and value investing arbitrage strategies. He went onto manage the global Delta One business - including AMCs - at a top Swiss issuer of structured products. 

Dr. Tim Meyer

CTO

Software Development & IT infrastructure
Builder of complex financial platforms and models

After completing his Ph.D. in theoretical physics, Tim started his career within the financial services industry as a consultant for numerous large European banks.

Following his consulting career, Tim pursued two in-house positions at major banks. First, as a quantitative analyst in the structured products division of a top Swiss bank, where he was responsible for building a platform for issuing investment certificates. Later, Tim joined the asset management division of a well-known German bank, where he built credit risk and cash flow models for pricing complex loan portfolios and credit-linked notes.

His quantitative insights and product knowledge form the core of the vestr technology platform.

Peter Cicman

VP Engineering

Broad technology expertise
Motto: “getting the last 20% done.”

Peter draws on twenty years of successful software delivery in the financial, insurance, and technology sectors.

Thanks to his previous role as the Senior Principal Enterprise Architect at an established software consulting firm, Peter knows what it takes to deliver high-quality results. Formerly the Head of Web and Mobile Engineering at a global Swiss bank, Peter is well-equipped to deliver scalable software solutions under tight resource and time constraints.

It is under Peter’s pragmatic and hands-on leadership that the vestr solution is maturing into an industry standard.

Peter holds master’s degrees in Electronics and Telecommunications Technology, and Economics and Management.

Dr. Rico Blaser

CEO

Former senior buy- and sell-side trader
Expert in active investment management

Rico was responsible for a multi-billion proprietary trading book at a top US bank in London and New York. He also traded exotic derivatives at the same institution - sharing responsibility for a complex and highly profitable correlation book.

After his return to Switzerland, Rico joined a Swiss bank, where he advanced to become the deputy head of structured products sales & trading. During his tenure, Rico’s team managed a sizable operation in Actively Managed Certificates with equities, bonds, funds, futures, and options underlyings.

Rico earned quantitative degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Oxford. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Simon Hasenfratz

COO

Math Olympiad medalist
Former cross-asset trader

Before co-founding vestr, Simon worked at a leading Swiss bank, first as a financial engineer, and then as a senior derivatives trader. While there, he gained exposure to asset management, sales, and trading.

Simon studied pure mathematics at King’s College London and ETH Zürich, earning a master’s degree with highest honours and graduating with a perfect GPA.

As a medalist at the Math Olympiad, Simon represented Switzerland in Greece and Mexico.

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