Topic: Yesterday, LAIQON announced to have successfully signed a memorandum of understanding with Union Investment. With that, the cooperation becomes very likely, as it should be seen as the last step before the final signing of the contract.

The objective of the cooperation between Union Investment and LAIQON is the joint launch of a new type of fund-based investment product for customers of the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken. The core of the joint product is an individual fund asset management, based on AI-generated decision parameters of the WealthTech LAIC that is able to consider both – classic and sustainable (ESG-compliant) investments constraints. While LAIQON is providing the technology via its wealth tech LAIC and a fully digital onboarding, Union Investment is providing the distribution channels and the sales power within Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken ecosystem. The joint goal is to attract new customers for individual fund- and AI-based wealth management.

With this cooperation LAIQON would take a big step forward on its “GROWTH 25” growth path. In our view, the signing of the memorandum indicates once again the high quality of the LAIC algorithm that is now attracting even the largest addresses for asset management in Germany. Further, the cooperation is another proof that LAIQONs asset management factory approach with its cloud-based enabler DAP 4.0 as a centerpiece is bearing fruit. As of now, all parties are working out the details of the long-term cooperation contract as well as the product details. We expect the closing of the deal until end of the year (eNuW).

Despite the fact, that is too early to quantify the impact on the numbers, the cooperation – paired with the platform thinking and the customer centricity that are essential components of the strategy GROWTH 25 – should significantly fuel AuM growth within the next years. The AuM guidance of € 8-10bn, implying 15% CAGR22-25e, looks absolutely reasonable, even without considering the likely cooperation with Union Investment.

Therefore, we leave our estimates unchanged for now and reiterate our BUY with an unchanged PT of € 9.50 based on DCF.