Swiss banking software firm Avaloq is partnering with Blackrock, finews.asia has learned. Together, the companies aim to make their services available to smaller private banks and asset managers.

Avaloq and Blackrock are entering into a strategic partnership, according to a joint announcement Wednesday. Furthermore, Blackrock has acquired a minority stake in Avaloq. Details of the Deal were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Avaloq’s software will dock onto Blackrock’s investment engine Aladdin, with the aim of giving private banks and asset managers access to comprehensive end-to-end technology and investment solutions, it said.

Streamline Processes

Avaloq’s leading core banking is used by institutions with a total of approximately $4 trillion in assets under management and will now be linked to Blackrock's, Aladdin.

«This partnership will help us empower our clients to streamline processes, enhance risk analytics, and make more informed portfolio decisions, ultimately delivering greater value to their clients,» Avaloq's Co-CEO Martin Greweldinger, said. 

Deeply Integrated

With the Avaloq partnership, Blackrock will gain access to the core banking IT system which is widely used in Europe and Asia. At the same time Avaloq can benefit from Blackrock's platform, which collects data from all accessible investments and is used to calculate the risk of around 10 percent of all assets under management in the world. In Switzerland, users include UBS.

«BlackRock and Avaloq joining forces will help clients reduce the complexity and friction inherent in many of today's digital transformations. Our combined offering will make it extremely convenient for clients to implement and adopt Aladdin Wealth’s industry-leading capabilities as it will be deeply integrated with Avaloq’s core banking solutions,» Venu Krishnamurthy, Global Head of Aladdin Wealth, said.

Data Protection

With the new offering, the two partners want to appeal to both new customers and existing users of Aladdin and the Avaloq software, they said. The joint solution, which will be sourced from the data cloud as a pure «software as a service» offering, is currently being implemented into two of Avaloq's customers. 

The combined offer also meets Swiss data protection requirements, the statment said, adding that Aladdin Wealth anonymizes the client portfolios that the technology creates on behalf of third parties.

A Swiss Coup

For Avaloq in particular, the collaboration with the US giant is the first of a new slate of offerings the company is working on under the wing of its parent company NEC.

Avaloq no longer sees itself as a mere software supplier, but increasingly as a coordinating force that orchestrates emerging digital ecosystems in finance.