Moneyfarm expands into Germany with acquisition of digital wealth manager Vaamo

Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm has expanded into Germany with the acquisition of Vaamo, the UK-based company announced today.

The deal – the value of which was not disclosed – marks Moneyfarm’s entrance into its third European market, after establishing a presence in the UK and Italy.

Vaamo co-founders and chief executives Thomas Bloch and Oliver Vins will join Moneyfarm’s executive committee.

Vins will become Moneyfarm’s head of product and Bloch will lead the German business and Moneyfarm’s European business-to-business (B2B) activities.

Both firms will continue to operate under their own brands while they decide “how the two companies can work together”.

Moneyfarm co-founder and chief executive Giovanni Dapra said: “Vaamo’s strong foothold in the German market and established B2B offering made them an attractive acquisition to further cement our position as a pan-European investment provider.

“Their shared preference for providing regulated investment advice, over an execution-only service, is in line with our investment ethos and was a key consideration in the process.”

Vaamo, which launched in 2014, is Germany’s first independent digital wealth manager, and has partnerships with digital bank N26 and 1822direkt, the online arm of German bank Frankfurter Sparkasse.

Bloch said: “Moneyfarm’s acquisition of Vaamo marks an exciting new phase of growth for both companies, as we look to combine our European experiences to provide more personalised and innovative investment advice solutions internationally.

“We’re looking forward to combining Moneyfarm’s award-winning investment services with Vaamo’s foothold in the German market to accelerate growth and become a pan-European leader.”

The deal is subject to regulatory approval by German authority Bafin.