Interview of Victor Cianni CIO of Alpian

What can you tell us about yourself?

I’m Victor, 42, and I’ve been the Chief Investment Officer at Alpian since its creation.

I’ve been active in the investment world for almost 20 years now, and my passion for it is just as strong as the day I discovered it. A fun fact about me: I don’t come from a traditional finance background. Before entering the field, I worked as a bioinformatician in cancer research. Today, together with my team, I’m responsible for managing the money of thousands of individuals. I hope this shows that the world of investing is open to anyone who’s genuinely interested, no matter where they start!

What is Alpian?

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Alpian

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Alpian is a premium digital bank, aiming to help affluent people with their money without paying the outrageous costs of traditional private banks.

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Alpian is a Swiss‑licensed digital bank that launched in 2022.

Today, we look after more than 40,000 clients across all 26 cantons. Our offering is simple: we provide all the key services you’d expect from a bank, including access to real advisors, directly from your phone. One of our biggest strengths is wealth management. While most digital solutions out there are built for “do‑it‑yourself” investors, we also support clients whose needs go a bit further than everyday banking.

For example, someone might say: “I’ve come into some money — whether it’s an inheritance, savings I’ve built over the years, or even a part of my 3rd pillar that I’ve just cashed out — and I want it to work for something meaningful. Maybe it’s a long‑term goal, a dream I’ve been putting off, or the future of my children. Where do I start?”. That’s exactly these kinds of questions we’re here to help with.

How does Alpian invest for its customers?

Our portfolios are built around timeless principles found across many schools of investing today, including frugalists: a long‑term approach, diversification, simplicity, and the avoidance of fancy products or unnecessary costs. All to ensure optimal long‑term financial outcomes.

On top of this, we add what we believe truly matters: the ability to tailor portfolios to client needs — not because “personalization” is trendy, but because one‑size‑fits‑all can be risky — and a degree of active management, as even timeless principles can be tested at times. Today, this philosophy is implemented through the two investment solutions we offer: discretionary and advisory portfolios.

What can vary between different investors?

Our basic investment plans come in different flavors: Swiss, Global, ESG, and Global + Crypto.

So even investors at the beginning of their investment journey still have meaningful options. When it comes to our premium mandates, we enter the world of optimization. We aim to find the right mix of assets that best meets each client’s objectives, whether they are risk‑averse, wish to exclude certain asset classes, or seek to maximize their impact. And we have as many portfolios as we have clients.

What makes Alpian different?

I think it really comes down to our positioning. Today, Swiss investors often face binary choices in many areas: low‑cost and standardized vs. expensive and ultra-personalized, or purely DIY vs. fully delegated.

We’ve always aimed for the middle ground. We offer personalized solutions and a level of service comparable to traditional (or even private) banks, but at roughly 40% lower cost. And relative to robo‑advisors, our pricing carries only a modest premium (about 0.25% p.a.) while still giving clients something many value: direct access to dedicated investment professionals and control over their investments.

Do these differences negate the extra fees for the investor?

Each individual values control and human interaction differently, but there is one thing we can objectively measure: performance. Surprisingly, this topic has often become secondary to fees in today’s debates, and few providers communicate openly about it.

We’ve chosen to be fully transparent, and we benchmark our portfolios through Performance Watcher, an independent network. Since inception, we have delivered returns above those of our peers in most strategies. For example, over the past three years, our balanced strategy delivered a return of 21.38%, compared with 16.98% for the average of our peers. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, but we seem to have partially negated the extra fees so far.

Are there any conflicts of interest?

No. Our clients pay a fee for wealth management or investment advice. We do not receive retrocessions, and we’re not incentivized to promote products clients don’t need, as we are not compensated based on product volume or turnover.

What about crypto?

We don’t offer direct access to cryptocurrencies, but we carefully select financial securities (ETPs) that provide convenient exposure to them.

Clients who want some exposure to digital assets can find these products in both our advisory and delegated mandates. It’s not very well known, but we were among the first, if not the first, asset managers in Switzerland to offer investment plans that include crypto alongside traditional asset classes. We’ve found that the two can coexist perfectly well in a portfolio, and investors shouldn’t have to choose sides. And our proposition has been widely adopted.

And private equity?

We don’t offer private equity at this stage. While we’re actively looking for solutions, we want to stay true to our investment philosophy: offering products that truly serve our clients’ interests, are well managed, and come at a fair price. Private equity products that check all these boxes and are accessible to retail investors are… let’s say, pretty rare.

Where do you see AI playing a role in investing?

We’re in the process of rolling out our first AI features in the app to help clients analyze their spending. And we already have future use cases planned for investments. Overall, the direction we’re taking is clear: we want AI tools that help our clients make informed financial decisions, not tools designed to boost our margins.

As for AI in investing more broadly, I think it has a lot of potential, and as a tech enthusiast, I’m following closely what’s possible. I’m also fairly convinced that financial markets will remain one of the toughest challenges for AI.

What are you looking for in the future of investing?

Regardless of the era we live in, I believe investing should ultimately help us achieve our financial goals. As long as the future of investing continues to do that, I’m on board, whatever shape it takes. But I do feel that AI will accelerate a trend that was already underway: making investing more accessible, more fun, and more relevant to a broader audience.

As a CIO, what advice would you have for investors?

If I could go back and give my younger self advice, it would be this: worry less about wealth in general. As long as you take chances, you understand why they could work, and gradually steer clear of situations that make decision-making difficult for you, you’ll be fine. The world turns because people invest, and as a species we’ve done a reasonably good job of it. If you can be as good as the average investor, that’s already a genuinely good outcome.

Anything you would like to add?

Maybe just a quick word of gratitude. I really appreciate what you’re doing with the Swiss Poor, which I’ve been following for quite some time now, and your mission to empower people financially. Keep it up!

Baptiste: Thanks a lot to Victor for answering all my questions!

It is quite interesting to learn directly from a CIO involved in the investment strategy for wealth management at Alpian. Even though we do not rely on the same investing strategies, it is interesting to learn about what they do at Alpian.

If you are looking for a digital wealth management solution with access to real advisors or are looking for a bank account with excellent conditions, you can check out our Alpian review to learn more.

What do you think about Alpian? Do you have any more questions for Victor? What would you like to see in the future of Alpian?