Active Niche Funds

What Active Niche Funds does

Active Niche Funds SA is a Swiss boutique asset management firm headquartered in Lausanne, founded in 2007 by brothers Pascal and Philippe Rochat. The firm specialises in thematic and quantitative investment strategies, currently running eight investment funds split across two main pillars: thematic funds covering solar energy, recycling, critical raw materials, and metals (including Active Solar, Active Recycling, Rare Earth Elements, and Metals Exploration); and quantitative funds employing proprietary systematic techniques based on volatility, low-volatility, momentum, and behavioural finance principles (including Master Volatility, Quantis Low Volatility, Quantis Dynamic Equity, and Behaviour European Equities).

Revenue is generated through management fees charged on assets under management across the fund suite. Funds are structured as UCITS Luxembourg vehicles, Swiss contractual funds, and Luxembourg SIFs, and are distributed to qualified investors through the firm's own offices in Lausanne and Nyon supplemented by regional channel partners — Selinca for Spain and Intervalor for the Nordics. The firm holds a FINMA license for collective investment scheme management, employs approximately 13 people, and is fully owned by its partners with no external institutional shareholders. In 2023, Active Niche Funds merged with Dolefin SA, expanding raw-materials and metals expertise through partners Urs Gmür and Stefan Steinemann. AUM and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Active Niche Funds

Legal name

Active Niche Funds SA

Website

https://www.activenf.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Active Niche Funds SA is a Swiss boutique asset manager founded in 2007, running eight thematic and quantitative funds across solar energy, recycling, raw materials, and systematic strategies for qualified investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asset Management (Thematic and Quantitative Investment Funds)

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (525910), Open-End Investment Funds (52591)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector & Thematic Mutual Funds (FSAAAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Equity Mutual Funds (Active) (FSAAAEAA)

Keywords

• Thematic investment funds
• Quantitative asset management
• UCITS fund management
• Solar energy equity fund
• Behavioural finance funds

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Active Niche Funds generates revenue through management fees charged on assets under management across its thematic and quantitative fund suite. Fees are collected from UCITS funds (Active Solar, Active Recycling, Quantis funds, Behaviour European Equities), Swiss contractual funds (Rare Earth Elements, Metals Exploration), and Luxembourg SIF (Master Volatility).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Active Niche Funds S.A. is a Swiss boutique asset manager that manages eight regulated investment funds divided between thematic equity funds (solar energy, recycling, critical raw materials, monetary and industrial metals) and quantitative funds (volatility, low-volatility, momentum and behavioural finance). Funds are structured as UCITS Luxembourg, Swiss contractual or Luxembourg SIF vehicles and are distributed to qualified investors across European markets. The firm charges management fees on assets under management under FINMA authorisation.

Product overview

Active Niche Funds is a Swiss asset management company specializing in two fund strategies: thematic funds and quantitative funds. The product portfolio consists of eight distinct funds: four thematic funds (Active Solar, Active Recycling, Rare Earth Elements Fund, Metals Exploration Fund) focusing on specialized sectors such as solar energy, recycling, critical raw materials, and monetary/industrial metals; and four quantitative funds (Master Volatility, Quantis Low Volatility, Quantis Dynamic Equity, Behaviour European Equities) employing innovative quantitative and behavioural finance investment strategies. The company was founded in 2007 and merged with Dolefin SA in 2023, holding a FINMA license for managing collective investment schemes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Active Solar: Long-only fund focused on the worldwide solar energy sector, launched September 15, 2008. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund with daily NAV in USD, EUR, CHF, GBP and SEK.
• Active Recycling
• Rare Earth Elements Fund
• Metals Exploration Fund
• Master Volatility
• Quantis Low Volatility
• Quantis Dynamic Equity
• Behaviour European Equities

Products and services

• Active Solar Long-only equity fund focused on the worldwide solar energy sector, investing in companies throughout the photovoltaic value chain with no geographical limitation. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund (Luxembourg Selection Fund – Active Solar) with daily NAV available to qualified investors.
• Active Recycling Long-only equity fund focused on the worldwide recycling industry, investing in companies across ferrous/non-ferrous metals, precious metals, hazardous waste, batteries, electronic waste, plastics, paper and glass. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund with daily NAV.
• Rare Earth Elements Fund Long-only equity fund in the Critical Raw Materials industry, holding a diversified portfolio of listed companies active in mining, refining-processing, manufacturing and trading of critical raw materials for e-mobility, storage, hydrogen and renewable energies. Swiss contractual investment fund with weekly NAV in CHF.
• Metals Exploration Fund Long-only equity fund in the monetary and industrial metal sector, investing in listed companies worldwide active in the exploration and extraction of Gold, Silver, Platinum-Palladium and industrial metals. Swiss contractual investment fund with weekly NAV in CHF.
• Master Volatility Quantitative fund invested in volatility products and options, aiming to profit from overvaluation or undervaluation of implied volatility during market phases and contango of volatility futures contracts. Luxembourg SIF with weekly NAV in USD, EUR and CHF.
• Quantis Low Volatility Quantitative fund exposed to S&P 500 low volatility stocks, investing in 40-50 low volatility stocks with portfolio hedged by S&P 500 futures contracts. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund with daily NAV in USD, EUR and CHF.
• Quantis Dynamic Equity Quantitative long/short fund exposed to S&P 500 companies with strong momentum, combining a long/short strategy using a seasonality indicator with a long-only momentum strategy and CTA short-term strategies for uncorrelated returns. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund with weekly NAV in USD and CHF.
• Behaviour European Equities Behavioural finance fund with exposure to European Blue chip companies, using behavioural parameters to optimise sector selection and the timing of strategic allocation decisions. UCITS Luxembourg mutual fund (Global Managers Platform) with daily NAV in EUR.

Quantifiable outcome

• Active Solar ranked #1 for 3-year return by Portfolio Adviser Magazine (November 2022)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and supporting.

• Dolefin SAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Dolefin SA, co-founded by Urs Gmür and Stefan Steinemann in 2000, merged with Active Niche Funds in 2023. The merger combined Dolefin's expertise in metals and raw materials funds with ANF's solar and quantitative strategies.
• SelincaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 July 2021Active Niche Funds entered the Spanish market through a partnership with Selinca in July 2021 to commercialize their equity funds focused on renewable energies to Spanish investors.
• IntervalorregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2021Active Niche Funds entered the Nordic market through a partnership with Intervalor in June 2021 to distribute their specialized thematic and quantitative funds to Nordic investors.
• Altum Management Company (Luxembourg) SAcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAltum Management Company serves as the Luxembourg management company (ManCo) for ANF's UCITS funds under the Global Managers Platform and Luxembourg Selection Fund structures, providing fund administration and regulatory oversight.
• Caceis (Switzerland)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCaceis Switzerland serves as fund administrator for ANF's Swiss contractual investment funds (Rare Earth Elements Fund, Metals Exploration Fund), providing NAV calculation and official publication services.
• FundinfosupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFundinfo platform publishes NAV, prospectus and official publications for Luxembourg Selection Fund - Active Solar, providing distribution information to investors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• MEAG (Munich ERGO Asset Management): European asset manager with thematic commodities and energy funds, competing in the same Recharge/Master Volatility/natural-resources thematic space at broader scale.
• Ventus Investment Management: Swiss thematic boutique focused on wind energy and renewable transition funds, addressing a similar energy-transition investor segment with comparable fund structure.

Broad incumbents

• Vontobel: Swiss incumbent with thematic and quant product lines (Vontobel Sustainable, Vontobel Quantitative), serving as a broader Swiss asset manager competitor in similar thematic niches.
• Lombard Odier Investment Managers: Swiss private bank with a thematic fund family (LO Funds) including energy transition and circular economy strategies that overlap with ANF's solar and recycling themes.
• Pictet Asset Management: Geneva-based asset manager with a strong thematic franchise (Pictet Quest, Pictet-Thematics) covering clean energy and sustainability, directly overlapping with ANF's solar/recycling/rare earth themes at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Bellevue Asset Management: Swiss boutique asset manager with a thematic/niche medical technology and healthcare focus (BB Adamant, BB Medtech), offering a comparable specialist 'niche' fund proposition and similar AUM scale to Active Niche Funds.
• mtx Alternative Asset Management: Swiss boutique focused on commodities and natural-resources thematic funds, directly comparable to ANF's Rare Earth Elements and Metals Exploration offerings.
• RobecoSAM: Swiss-based thematic/ESG specialist within Robeco, with similar sustainability and clean-energy fund offerings that compete for the same ESG-oriented qualified investors.
• Quaero Capital: Independent Geneva-based boutique specializing in thematic equity funds (energy transition, infrastructure), directly comparable to ANF's narrow thematic focus and small specialist team.
• GAM Investments: Swiss-headquartered boutique asset manager providing specialist thematic and quantitative funds with multiple share classes and regulated structures, comparable to ANF's UCITS and Swiss fund offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/active-niche-funds

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Active Niche Funds