Berlin, 05.04.2023
UnitPlus has won several new investors from the top management of the German banking scene. Among others, the former CEO of Commerzbank, Martin Zielke, and the former co-owner of Berenberg Bank, Claus Budelmann, are among the supporters. Investors from the startup world, such as the serial founder of Helpling and Planetly, Benedikt Franke, and Exxeta Ventures and Material Ventures, are also getting on board. In addition, existing investors such as Brigitte Zypries, Katrin Stark, Patrick Hennig, and Philipp Berger are reinvesting. The seven-figure sum will be used for further product development, the IT platform, and growth.
Kerstin Schneider, a co-founder of UnitPlus, said, “Thanks to the strength and confidence of the investor base consisting of top management from major banks and successful startups, we will bring the Neo Asset Management category better to the general public.”
“We believe this is more important than ever, especially in the changing interest rate environment,” adds co-founder Fabian Mohr. After all, banks only pass on some of the European Central Bank’s interest rate hikes to their customers in the form of interest, but all savers are affected by high inflation rates. At the same time, most people do not invest in the capital market and have most of their liquidity in low- or even non-interest-bearing accounts.
In a further step, UnitPlus launched the FlexPlus product at the beginning of the year, which consists of short-dated European government bonds. In addition to the existing, increasingly long-term oriented portfolios, the FinTech thus offers a European alternative to overnight money, therefore, integrating government bonds into international payment transactions for the first time. In this way, savers optimally participate in the changing interest rate environment in a comparatively low-risk manner and still have the flexibility to pay worldwide with the invested money.
Neo Asset Management aims to build a technically state-of-the-art and pan-European platform for short- and long-term capital market investments that, compared to traditional asset management and investment solutions, can be integrated into everyday life to a much greater extent and optimally adapts to changing life circumstances.
Martin Zielke: “As a former banker, I know how valuable savings deposits can be for banks. But the banks only minimally pass on the resulting returns to savers. UnitPlus turns this way of thinking around and wants to encourage more savers to invest sensibly and flexibly with its globally innovative product.”
Brigitte Zypries: “From the beginning, I was convinced that UnitPlus gives everyone in Germany the opportunity to save with a focus on returns and still be flexible.”
Material Ventures: “We see a lot of innovation in UnitPlus. The current asset management industry is based on analog distribution channels, a weak investor experience, and little customer centricity. UnitPlus will change that with a strong product and technology focus.”
About UnitPlus
Berlin-based FinTech startup UnitPlus was founded in early 2021 by founders Fabian Mohr, Kerstin Schneider, and Sébastien Segue in Berlin. The CEO, Fabian Mohr, worked at Flossbach von Storch as an equity analyst before founding UnitPlus. The CFO, Kerstin Schneider, spent seven years in management consulting for financial services, most recently as a manager at zeb. Sébastien Segue (CTO) has been a backend engineer for over 15 years and was most recently a senior executive at Klarna.
