zCapital AG

What zCapital AG does

zCapital AG is an independent Swiss asset manager founded in 2008 and headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, specializing exclusively in Swiss equities. The firm operates three actively managed investment funds under an umbrella structure — the zCapital Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund (Swiss Nebenwerte), the zCapital Swiss Dividend Fund, and the zCapital Swiss ESG Fund launched in January 2021. All three are FINMA-supervised "Securities funds" registered for distribution to private and institutional investors in Switzerland and (since 2021) in Germany via BaFin registration. The firm employs a team of approximately nine professionals, conducts more than 600 direct contacts with Swiss-listed company management annually, and applies a fundamentals-driven investment process rather than a quantitative or systematic one.

The company's revenue model rests on recurring management fees charged on assets under management, which reached approximately CHF 1.7 billion at the time of the January 2021 ESG fund launch, versus CHF 600 million in 2014 when shareholder services and corporate governance analytics were spun into a separate entity, zRating AG. Distribution combines direct investor relations through the corporate website, monthly zNews newsletters and blog content (powered by Mailchimp on the marketing side), and earned media coverage in The Market NZZ, SRF Bilanz, Finanz & Wirtschaft, and Handelszeitung. Public-facing leadership consists of CEO and fund manager Hilmar Langensand, Chairman Dr. Dieter C. Hauser, and board members Carmen Alvarez and Marko Röder, with the firm operating without a parent company and holding no patents or proprietary technology beyond standard portfolio management infrastructure.

Name

zCapital AG

Legal name

zCapital AG

Website

https://zcapital.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

zCapital AG is an independent, FINMA-supervised Swiss asset manager founded in 2008 that operates three actively managed equity funds (Small & Mid Cap, Dividend, ESG) focused exclusively on Swiss equities, serving institutional and private investors in Switzerland and Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Fund Management: Management fees charged on assets under management across three Swiss equity funds: Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund, Swiss Dividend Fund, and Swiss ESG Fund.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

zCapital AG is an independent, FINMA-regulated asset manager specializing exclusively in Swiss equities. It manages three active investment funds — the Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund, Swiss Dividend Fund, and Swiss ESG Fund — under a single umbrella structure, applying fundamental analysis supported by over 600 annual management contacts with Swiss-listed companies. The funds are distributed to private and institutional investors in Switzerland and Germany (the ESG Fund and all other funds are BaFin-registered).

Product overview

zCapital AG is an independent asset manager specializing exclusively in Swiss equities. The company operates three equity funds under an umbrella structure: the zCapital Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund (investing in Swiss small and mid-cap stocks), the zCapital Swiss Dividend Fund (focused on dividend-paying Swiss stocks), and the zCapital Swiss ESG Fund (investing in sustainable Swiss stocks integrating ESG criteria). All three funds are FINMA-supervised securities funds registered for distribution to private and institutional investors in Switzerland and Germany. The company has approximately nine employees and manages over CHF 1.7 billion in assets under management. The funds are distributed directly through the company's website and through financial intermediaries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• zCapital Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund: Equity fund investing in leading Swiss small and mid cap stocks.
• zCapital Swiss Dividend Fund
• zCapital Swiss ESG Fund

Products and services

• zCapital Swiss Small & Mid Cap Fund Actively managed equity fund investing in leading Swiss small and mid-cap stocks for institutional and private investors in Switzerland and Germany.
• zCapital Swiss Dividend Fund Actively managed equity fund investing in dividend-strong Swiss stocks to deliver regular income alongside capital appreciation, for institutional and private investors.
• zCapital Swiss ESG Fund Sustainable Swiss equity fund integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into fundamental financial analysis, with a concentrated portfolio of approximately 30 companies for institutional and private investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72% performance over 5 years (until end of 2014), exceeding SPI Extra Benchmark by 15%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BaFin (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority)coreOthers · 1 April 2021The zCapital Swiss ESG Fund has been registered with BaFin (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) for distribution to private and institutional investors in Germany. All zCapital funds are authorized for distribution in Germany.
• myclimatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2021In collaboration with myclimate, zCapital plants 100 trees annually for every million francs of assets in the zCapital Swiss ESG Fund. The project combines nature and climate protection with creation of new income sources for small farmers. myclimate also certified zCapital as a carbon-neutral company.
• zRating AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2014Separation of shareholder services and corporate governance analyses (zRating) from asset management. zRating AG handles shareholder services and corporate governance analyses while zCapital AG focuses exclusively on asset management.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UBP Asset Management: Union Bancaire Privée, a Geneva-based Swiss private bank with sizeable active asset management operations including equity and sustainable strategies. Overlaps with zCapital in active Swiss equity and ESG investing but at institutional scale.
• Pictet Asset Management: Geneva-based global asset management arm of Pictet Group, one of the largest Swiss asset managers. Overlaps with zCapital in Swiss equity offerings but operates at vastly larger scale across multiple asset classes and geographies.
• J. Safra Sarasin Asset Management: Basel-headquartered Swiss private banking group with significant asset management operations including sustainability-focused funds. Comparable to zCapital in Swiss institutional and ESG-focused offerings but operates within a larger banking group.
• Lombard Odier Asset Management: Geneva-based Swiss private bank with established asset management arm serving institutional and private clients globally. Comparable to zCapital as a Swiss-domiciled active asset manager with sustainability strategies but at materially larger scale.
• Swisscanto Invest by Zuercher Kantonalbank: Asset management arm of Zuercher Kantonalbank, one of Switzerland's largest institutional asset managers. Directly competes with zCapital in Swiss equity fund offerings but at much larger scale with broader product range.

Direct peers

• Mirabaud Asset Management: Geneva-based Swiss boutique asset manager offering active equity and fixed income strategies. Comparable to zCapital as an independent Swiss-headquartered boutique competing for institutional and private wealth clients with active management capabilities.
• ETHENEA Independent Investors: Independent European asset manager with German-Luxembourg base running active equity and multi-asset funds. Comparable to zCapital as an independent boutique competitor serving German-speaking European investors with actively managed funds and similar size profile.
• GAM Holding: Swiss-listed boutique asset manager specializing in active investment strategies across equities and fixed income. Comparable to zCapital as a Zurich-based boutique competitor serving Swiss and European clients with actively managed funds.
• Bellevue Asset Management: Swiss-domiciled boutique asset manager specializing in equities, with notable focus on small/mid-cap and healthcare strategies. Directly comparable to zCapital as an independent, publicly listed Swiss boutique competing for the same pool of investors seeking concentrated Swiss and European equity exposure.
• Vontobel Asset Management: Swiss asset management arm of Bank Vontobel, offering actively managed equity funds including Swiss equity strategies. Comparable as a Swiss-headquartered competitor targeting institutional and private investors with active equity products in the Swiss market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about zCapital AG