Launched within the fall of 2021, Merlin Investor is on a mission democratize entry to funding methods. The fintech affords some time label, multi-asset, instructional, strategizing and monitoring software that helps buyers accomplish two vital targets: constructing long-term optimistic outcomes and limiting doubtlessly catastrophic losses.
Merlin Investor’s know-how is suitable with all buying and selling platforms. The know-how is appropriate for each retail {and professional} merchants, and is obtainable for each the desktop and cell. Merlin Investor allows customers to retrieve market information and sentiment from a number of sources and apply that information to an enormous vary of tailored funding methods.
With workplaces in each West Palm Seashore, Florida, and Lugano, Switzerland, Merlin Investor made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope earlier this yr. The corporate returned to the Finovate stage in Might for FinovateSpring. We caught up with Merlin Investor founder and CEO Guido Petrelli (pictured) this summer time to study extra in regards to the firm, its mission to democratize entry to funding methods, and what to anticipate from the corporate in 2023 and past.
What downside does Merlin Investor clear up and who does it clear up it for?
Guido Petrelli: Merlin Investor was born as an clever safety and aware information for a extra farsighted administration of investments aimed limiting potential catastrophic losses whereas constructing long run optimistic outcomes. Because of the Merlin platform, retail buyers can educate themselves, examine the markets, and create and monitor their very own funding methods to simply perceive, stability and diversify funding dangers.
In different phrases, we assist and empower a brand new technology to speculate with technique in thoughts. That is the important thing to changing into profitable and is the one issue distinguishing between playing and investing. As we’re on a mission to democratize monetary inclusion and funding planning, our know-how was constructed to permit anybody, regardless the extent of information or expertise, to turn into impartial and the one and solely grasp of their personal monetary future.
How does Merlin Investor clear up this downside higher than different firms?
Petrelli: Within the retail investor house, we see many firms specializing in execution, which means specializing in the act of shopping for and promoting belongings. However executing with out evaluating a number of sources of knowledge first, mixed with the dearth of a diversified and balanced funding technique, can result in uncontrolled and limitless potential losses due to the market’s ups and downs. Whereas it might suggest the likelihood for fast features, it’s really not the norm as wealth is normally constructed over time by managing a positive-sum sport.
That’s why from the very starting Merlin was designed as a complementary product to a buying and selling platform and never instead answer. Merlin Investor addresses the strategic essence of investing whereas the vast majority of the competitors simply focuses on enhancing the buying and selling expertise – which is already nicely supported by a number of monetary establishments in a fairly comparable means.
Who’re Merlin Investor’s major prospects. How do you attain them?
Petrelli: Our major prospects are monetary establishments specializing in educating a brand new technology of retail buyers and providing the likelihood to commerce totally different asset lessons by means of their digital banking platforms. We attend a number of fintech occasions in a number of nations which are attended by monetary establishment decision-makers liable for delivering an revolutionary and digitalized expertise to their purchasers. We additionally analyze the markets to determine these prospect purchasers we imagine to be a match by way of providers and shopper base. Then we search for the individuals specializing in retail digital merchandise and platforms and attain out to them to introduce our firm and know-how. Final, we work to be featured in fintech-specialized magazines having monetary establishments as target market.
Are you able to inform us a couple of favourite implementation or deployment of your know-how?
Petrelli: We provide our know-how as a white-label answer that monetary establishments can simply embed into their very own digital platforms by means of API keys, whereas having the likelihood to customise product’s look and options. As outcome, our product is delivered to the ultimate customers within the financial institution’s title and as a sub-section of the identical app/e-banking they’re already aware of. By our B2B associate’s portal, we grant to monetary establishments the pliability to select from the total Merlin product these asset lessons, sections, options, and contents they intend to combine based mostly on their very own particular wants. On this means, they’ll design a tailor-made answer and expertise for their very own purchasers, whereas sticking to the general construction and design of the banking platform they already supply.
What in your background gave you the arrogance to answer this problem?
Petrelli: In a nutshell, it was the mix of my data round investing and the issue I personally skilled as a retail investor that led to Merlin Investor. In reality, I used to be simply a youngster after I first began to commerce. Then I shortly realized that executing trades “per-se” – which means the straightforward motion of shopping for and promoting belongings – is the much less strategic and related half to attain long run optimistic outcomes. As a substitute, finding out totally different market sources, after which designing a diversified and balanced funding technique, are what make the distinction in the long run. Nonetheless, (obtainable) banking and buying and selling platforms weren’t sufficient to coach me about investing, or to (assist me) design and analyze my very own funding methods.
Consequently, for years I used to be compelled to create time-consuming and unfriendly spreadsheets to the purpose the place I couldn’t settle for it anymore – not in a world like at this time’s the place we now have an app for every part we do! On the similar time with buying and selling platforms booming mainly in every single place, it turned increasingly clear {that a} new technology desires to speculate autonomously and in the proper means. As I couldn’t discover any product available in the market just like the one I envisioned, I made a decision to create it. And that’s how Merlin Investor was born.
Merlin Investor founder and CEO Guido Petrelli demoing the corporate’s know-how at FinovateEurope this yr.
You lately demoed at FinovateSpring and can be demoing your know-how at FinovateFall in September. What brings you again?
Petrelli: This yr I’ve demoed the Merlin platform at FinovateEurope and FinovateSpring, so FinovateFall can be my third look. Thus far the expertise has been nice. We now have been in a position to present our cutting-edge know-how to main monetary establishments in Europe and North America, whereas receiving a lot curiosity and establishing significant connections with decision-makers inside the banking trade. The excessive visibility and key connections with prospect purchasers are the 2 important elements which deliver us again to FinovateFall. The well-organized occasions and the workforce at Finovate are additionally a plus.
What are your targets for Merlin Investor?
Petrelli: Our aim is to be acknowledged by the most important international banks because the revolutionary associate to work with with regards to educating and empowering a brand new technology of retail buyers. We deal with establishing strong and strategic partnerships with a restricted numbers of gamers within the banking trade to attain our mission of democratizing monetary inclusion and strategic planning globally, whereas serving to younger buyers to achieve monetary independence and to turn into the masters of their very own monetary futures.
What can we anticipate from Merlin Investor over the stability of 2023 and into subsequent yr?
Petrelli: We’ll proceed to prioritize steady and endless enchancment of our know-how by trying to improve the expertise we provide both to monetary establishments and to the ultimate customers to whom our product is deployed. We will even proceed to work to spice up our market presence to make the Merlin platform recognized to extra monetary establishments serving retail purchasers in a number of nations. We’ll ultimately focus on scaling the workforce and operations to have the ability to handle expectations. We’ll accomplish all of this with out forgetting our mission to make aware and strategic investing accessible to anybody by means of strategic partnerships with monetary establishments.
