Envestor

What Envestor does

Envestor GmbH is a Frankfurt-based, privately held German financial services firm founded in 2015 and licensed as a Finanzanlagenvermittler under §34f Abs. 1 GewO. It operates a digital advisory and fund-distribution platform targeting German retail investors who are overpaying for fund investments at traditional banks and Sparkassen. The company offers three core product lines: envestor Cashback, which refunds 100% of embedded distribution commissions (Vertriebsfolgeprovisionen) on actively managed funds minus a 0.19% quarterly service fee; envestor ETF Robo-Advisor, which provides themed, semi-annually rebalanced ETF portfolios (Wachstum, Nachhaltigkeit, Inflation, Dividende) at 0.19% p.a. service fee on top of 0.15% depot admin and ETF TER; and envestor Portfolioberatung, a sales-assisted advisory service at 0.5-1.0% p.a. of managed assets with quarterly termination. Assets are custodied at established EU depot banks (FIL Fondsbank/FFB, FNZ, Morgenstern, Fondsdepot Bank, Comdirect, DAB), and the platform provides access to over 10,000 funds and ETFs.

Envestor's technology stack is built on third-party infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms: WordPress for the public site, DomainFactory for hosting, Wordfence for security, Cookiebot for consent, Brevo/Sendinblue for the weekly Sonntags newsletter, and Cituro for appointment booking. The core logic — cashback calculation, ETF portfolio allocation, and automated rebalancing — is described as in-house business logic. The platform supports self-service registration and depot opening at app.envestor.de with electronic PostID identification. All revenue is recurring and AUM-based, derived from service fees on the three product tiers plus VAT; no issuance surcharges are charged across the lineup.

The company is founder/management-owned, with three identified shareholders — Ali Masarwah (CEO, former chief editor of morningstar.de), Steffen Gruschka (CFO and Portfolio Manager, formerly at DWS and Pyfore Capital), and Tim Schnarr (advisor on digitalization). There is no disclosed institutional investment, no external funding rounds, and no M&A history. Marketing is content-led: a research blog, weekly newsletter, and substantial earned media coverage in Handelsblatt, Der Spiegel, FAZ, SZ, WirtschaftsWoche, and Manager Magazin, anchored by the public profile of CEO Masarwah. Geographic scope is single-country (Germany), with no disclosed international expansion.

Name

Envestor

Legal name

Envestor GmbH

Website

https://envestor.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Envestor GmbH is a Frankfurt-based, privately held German financial advisory platform serving retail investors with three AUM-fee products: Cashback fund-cost rebates, an ETF Robo-Advisor, and full Portfolioberatung, distributed via depot-bank partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory & Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fee-Based Advisory (FSAEAAAM)

Keywords

• Investment advisory services
• ETF portfolio management
• Fund distribution
• Wealth management advisory
• Financial advisory Germany

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Service Fee - envestor Cashback: Customers who self-invest in actively managed funds receive quarterly refunds of all distribution commissions (Vertriebsfolgeprovisionen) embedded in fund ongoing charges. Envestor retains a service fee of 0.19% per quarter of the fund portfolio value (plus VAT). No issuance surcharge is charged. Revenue is recurring, based on assets under management.
2. Service Fee - envestor ETF Robo-Advisor: Self-directed investors access diversified ETF portfolios. Envestor charges 0.19% per year (plus VAT) on top of ETF ongoing costs (0.15% admin + ETF TER). Total cost ranges 0.45-0.66% annually. Revenue is recurring based on managed assets.
3. Service Fee - envestor Portfolioberatung: Full financial advisory with personalized portfolio construction. Fee ranges 0.5-1.0% per year of managed assets (plus VAT). All distribution commissions from funds are passed through to clients without retention. Revenue is recurring based on assets under advisory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Envestor is a German financial advisory firm offering three recurring fee-based services to retail investors: (1) envestor Cashback, which refunds distribution commissions on actively managed funds minus a 0.19% quarterly service fee; (2) envestor ETF Robo-Advisor, which provides automated, diversified ETF portfolios with semi-annual rebalancing and risk-tiered allocations; and (3) envestor Portfolioberatung, which delivers personalized financial advisory and ongoing portfolio management for fees of 0.5–1.0% of assets annually. All services operate with zero issuance surcharges and custody through partner EU depot banks such as FFB.

Product overview

Envestor is a German financial advisory platform offering three distinct service models: envestor Cashback (refunds fund distribution fees), envestor ETF Robo-Advisor (automated diversified ETF portfolios with themes for growth, sustainability, inflation, and dividend), and envestor Portfolioberatung (full financial advisory with individually managed portfolios). The platform connects to established EU custodian banks and provides access to over 10,000 funds and ETFs, emphasizing 0% initial charges and transparent cost structures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• envestor Cashback: Fund cost rebate service that returns distribution fees (Vertriebsgebühren) to clients, minus a 0.19% service fee plus VAT.
• envestor ETF Robo-Advisor
• envestor Portfolioberatung

Products and services

• envestor Cashback A fund cost-rebate service that refunds 100% of ongoing distribution commissions (Vertriebsfolgeprovisionen) on investors' actively managed fund portfolios, minus a 0.19% quarterly service fee plus VAT. Designed for self-directed German retail investors seeking to reduce the cost of existing fund holdings.
• envestor ETF Robo-Advisor Automated ETF portfolio management offering four themed portfolios (Wachstum/Growth, Nachhaltigkeit/Sustainability, Inflation, Dividende/Dividend) with adjustable equity allocation from 0–100% across six risk stages. Includes semi-annual rebalancing, savings plans (Sparpläne), and lump-sum investments. Total annual cost 0.45–0.66%.
• envestor Portfolioberatung Full-service financial advisory with detailed initial consultation and ongoing management of individually constructed portfolios. Annual fee 0.5–1.0% of managed assets plus VAT, with all fund distribution commissions fully refunded to clients. Contract is indefinitely valid but quarterly cancellable.
• Fonds für Selbstentscheider Active fund investment offering without initial charges (Ausgabeaufschlag) and with 100% of distribution fees returned as cashback. Provides access to over 10,000 funds and ETFs through established EU custodian banks; targets self-directed investors who want to avoid bank issuance surcharges.

Quantifiable outcome

• ETFs at envestor grow a EUR 100,000 portfolio to EUR 280,000-290,000 after 20 years vs. EUR 209,000 with typical bank costs — a EUR 71,000-81,000 advantage.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Growney: Frankfurt-based robo-advisor offering managed ETF portfolios. Smaller-scale emerging player in the same category as envestor ETF Robo-Advisor with comparable cost positioning.
• Trade Republic: Berlin-based neo-broker expanding into savings plans and managed portfolios. Increasingly relevant indirect competitor to envestor ETF Robo-Advisor as it expands from commission-free execution into recurring managed-investment offerings.
• Ginmon: German robo-advisor offering scientific-factor-based ETF portfolios for retail investors. Comparable offering structure to envestor Robo with a distinct quantitative portfolio construction thesis.

Direct peers

• Whitebox: Fee-only financial advisor and digital wealth manager in Germany. Direct peer to envestor on the fee-only advisory thesis, competing for cost-conscious retail investors seeking independent advice without kickbacks.
• Quirion: Germany's first robo-advisor and a recognized fee-only investment advisor. Directly comparable to envestor on the fee-only advisory positioning and ETF-managed portfolio offering for German retail clients.
• Scalable Capital: Munich-based digital wealth manager and robo-advisor offering ETF-managed portfolios and broker execution. Closest direct competitor to Envestor in the German Robo-Advisor category, but operating at significantly larger AUM scale with institutional funding.
• Visualvest: Frankfurt-based robo-advisor (subsidiary of Union Investment) offering automated ETF portfolios to German retail investors. Competes head-on with envestor ETF Robo-Advisor in the same price band and target segment.
• Liqid: Berlin-based digital wealth manager offering personalized, advisor-supported portfolio management for affluent German retail and HNW clients. Direct peer to envestor Portfolioberatung in the higher-fee advisory segment.
• Oskar (formerly Osnabrück): German robo-advisor offering ETF savings plans and managed portfolios targeting cost-conscious retail investors. Competes directly with envestor ETF Robo-Advisor on the same low-cost digital segment.

Broad incumbents

• DWS Group: One of Europe's largest asset managers (Deutsche Bank spin-off) offering retail mutual funds, ETFs (Xtrackers), and advisory services. Broad incumbent whose distribution-fee model and Sparkassen-channel reach represent the dominant incumbent Envestor is positioned against.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Envestor6

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments3 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Envestor