In the latest sign that ‘robo’-advisory in wealth management is here to stay, the world’s largest institutional investment manager has bought into a European firm that specializes in the area.

In a joint statement, Scalable Capital announced the signing of a €30m funding round, led by BlackRock alongside existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and Tengelmann Ventures. This funding round is one of Europe’s largest for a digital investment manager to date, bringing Scalable Capital’s total funding to €41m. BlackRock has taken a significant minority equity stake in Scalable Capital to help them grow their business with financial institutions and corporates.

Patrick Olson, BlackRock’s Chief Operating Officer of EMEA, will join Scalable Capital’s Supervisory Board.

Scalable Capital, based in Munich and London, is one of Europe’s fastest growing digital investment managers. Since its launch just 16 months ago, Scalable Capital has already gathered over €250m of assets from over 6,000 retail clients, and has established a leading proposition with strong demand from financial institutions and corporates.

Olson commented on the rationale of the investment: “The retail distribution landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, as consumers increasingly
engage with their financial investments through technology. This trend is prompting strong demand from European financial institutions – including banks, insurers, wealth managers and advisory firms – for high-quality technology-enabled investment solutions. Our investment in Scalable Capital allows us
to meet these evolving needs of our clients and their customers and to help shape their business models for the future.”