Empowering a New Era of Financial Independence and Inspiring the Next Generation of Investors through Easy Investment Planning & Wealth Management: Merlin Investor

The Silicon Review

“Through easy and innovative tools designed for the new generations, we aim to create a financially educated society capable of forging and capturing its own financial freedom thanks to conscious investing.”

Merlin Investor stands at the forefront of Fintech innovation, pioneering a mission to democratize financial inclusion and investment planning towards conscious investing. Their cutting-edge software is tailored for market insights, investment planning, performance analysis, and portfolio tracking, serving every type of retail investor. The company’s white label solution revolutionizes Financial Institutions’ digital platforms, beckoning the new generation of retail investors by offering a comprehensive investment experience beyond mere trade execution. At the core of their ethos lies the conviction that financial freedom should be accessible to all.

Guido Petrelli, CEO of Merlin Investor, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review about how his company is leveraging individuals with the right tools to shape their investment strategies, enabling them to understand risks seize control of their financial destinies with unparalleled confidence and empowerment.

Interview Highlights

Please tell us about the circumstances or events that led to the founding of Merlin Investor.

I was just 16 years old when I opened my first brokerage account. Over time, I decided to rely on financial advisors to handle my investments. However, one day I realized that I was making more money, or losing less, when I invested by myself. I found it frustrating to pay “professional people” to handle my money and not perform as well. I knew that with my academic background in Economics and Finance, developing a diversified and balanced investment strategy was crucial for success. I recognized that the key didn’t just lie in the tools used for trading, but in the execution of a well thought investment strategy.

Determined to take control, I decided to stop relying on financial advisors. Despite having the knowledge, I found myself spending a considerable amount of time creating complex spreadsheets to develop strategies, analyze risks, and evaluate performance. This led me to question the existence of a simpler, quicker solution that could be accessible to anyone.

To my surprise, when I searched the market, I couldn’t find anything close to what I had in mind. In an era where there is an app for almost everything in life, the absence of a tool for proper market insights, investment planning, and portfolio tracking was apparent. Despite the exponential increase in retail investors thanks to the widespread adoption of trading platforms, I noticed a gap in the availability of a comprehensive tool designed to enhance the trading experience.

Believing that many other retail investors faced the same problem, I took it upon myself to build the product I envisioned. Thus, Merlin Investor was born with a mission to democratize financial education and investment planning, aiming to guide individuals toward conscious investing.

Q. Setbacks are a part of every growing business. Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped Merlin Investor grow through the years?

I believe that starting a company it’s all about getting started because if you knew all the challenges and roadblocks waiting ahead, any rational and sane person would likely give up. Instead, you need to prioritize a clear vision and measurable objectives. Then, you go with the flow and trust your problem-solving instinct as the guiding light to get you through. The reason is simple: you cannot predict in detail all the problems you’ll face, and therefore, you cannot prepare for the solutions in advance. So, it’s better to accept this reality and, every time you encounter a problem, look for a case-by-case solution that shouldn’t compromise the vision and product, as they are the main two pillars upon which to build your success.

Challenges differ based on the stage of the company and the context in which you operate, so they’ll be with you along the entire journey, no matter how many problems you’ve already solved. I still remember at the beginning of our journey; it wasn’t easy to design the product just like I envisioned it. The challenge was to transform something like investment planning and risk management, a topic deemed difficult and mastered only by experts, into a sort of game where young investors could easily understand how to analyze and balance their portfolios while enjoying studying the markets through their preferred sources of information and crafting their own investment strategies.

We had several internal debates about what was technologically feasible and what product strategy we should have followed by looking at the competitive landscape. As a leader, I learned to let go of non-core technicalities that were probably going to deliver more headaches than benefits. Still I didn’t compromise on those features that, apparently feasible or not, I considered to be differentiating and essential to making the product unique and successful. Of course, I could do so because I knew the high value and experience of our team, and therefore, with the right push, they could realize a product far exceeding my expectations, as much as they did in the end.

Another challenge was making our corporate clients see the same trends and future we see for retail investing. In other words, making banks accept a new reality where their clients want to gain a high degree of independence and expect their banks to shift from the role of financial advisor to that of a technology provider. Banks have never been known as first innovators and fast adopters; they tend to minimize risks, thinking that if it worked until now, it’ll still work in the future. Instead, due to the current demographic, geopolitical, and technological transformation, it’s one of the main industries that must embrace quick digital transformation to avoid losing the competitive edge they’ve built over the years, especially with numerous Neobanks targeting the new generations. The sooner they let go of their old habits, the sooner they’ll prepare for the generational change that is reinventing the banking industry as we knew it. What we learned is that they all have different priorities and speeds of adoption that are difficult to affect. So, we focused on highlighting how the context they operate in is changing, how we believe the future will look like, and how our product can help them navigate the shift while providing higher value to their customers. Then, we stood still, waiting for them to accept the new scenario and for their pipeline to start confronting the problem we solve. We were surprised to see how many that were not interested before then approached us again when the right time came and they could see the value of our solution.

Q. As a leading Fintech company, what are Merlin Investor’s key focus areas?

Our goal is to provide anyone, regardless of their level of financial knowledge or experience, with the necessary tools to educate themselves and independently build their own financial future. As a result, our focus areas center around personal finance, with the ultimate mission of helping the new generations learn, prioritize, and master budgeting, savings, and investing, enabling them to become their own financial advisors.

I believe that by balancing and managing these three magical forces, anyone can achieve financial independence in the long run without blindly entrusting their future to so-called experts. Therefore, through easy and innovative tools designed for the new generations, we aim to create a financially educated society capable of forging and capturing its own financial freedom.

It’s not that we are inventing budgeting, savings, or investing; what we are doing is making them easily accessible and understandable to the masses thanks to technological solutions. The older generations grew up accepting the idea that financial planning and investing should be exclusively managed by an expert because going alone would result in losing money. However, the stark truth is that no one has a crystal ball, especially nowadays with all the macroeconomic uncertainties we all face. Therefore, taking an informed chance and staying in control by claiming the driver’s seat is a better approach than letting someone else drive with no guarantee they won’t lead you to a crash.

Anything going against old habits and aligning with educating the new generations while spreading financial literacy for conscious and proper financial progress is the focus area we battle in at Merlin Investor.

Q. How does Merlin Investor democratize financial inclusion and investment strategies towards conscious investing?

We observed that the new generation of retail investors faced fragmented access to financial information and lacked preparation for investment planning and management. Recognizing the need for education, we also understood that young generations prefer engagement over lectures and enjoy learning through interaction with technological devices.

Combining these insights, we identified the need for a product that empowered rather than advised, guided rather than taught. It was crucial for this product to complement the trading capabilities offered by various platforms, prioritizing retail investors and their beliefs over the financial products pushed by banks.

In our focus on providing access and aggregating financial information, we acknowledged that approximately 70% of Gen Z and Millennial retail investors rely on social networks to decide on asset purchases. Therefore, in addition to more traditional sources like market news and technical indicators, we made it possible to easily navigate social platforms like X, YouTube, and Reddit directly from the Merlin platform.

Simultaneously, while designing the “Strategies Playground” to enhance investment planning and risk management, we were clear that we needed to avoid building another sophisticated and complex product tailored only for experts. Instead, our goal was to create a platform that both beginners and young investors could understand and master as they embarked on their investment journey, aligning with their unique learning curve.

Q. What can you tell us about your white label solution? How does it help financial institutions supercharge their digital platforms?

Especially in times of high inflation and geopolitical uncertainties, such as the ones we are currently experiencing, investing becomes an essential aspect for those who aspire to improve and maintain their current lifestyle and habits. With the new generations seeking financial independence, aspiring to confidently master and stay in control of their finances, financial institutions must adapt their offerings in terms of investing and wealth management services. Many attempted to emulate the offerings of trading platforms from Neobanks, but the results often fell short in terms of digital content and user experience.

While these institutions primarily focused on the execution itself due to its direct remunerative nature, they lagged behind in terms of financial education and investment planning—crucial elements for building long-term positive results. This is where Merlin Investor steps in, going beyond the mere execution of trades by offering an innovative, comprehensive, and conscious investment experience, all in one place, specifically designed for the new generation of retail investors.

Our focus encompasses market insights, strategy management, performance tracking, and analysis, complementing the trading capabilities already offered by numerous banks. This combination results in a one-of-a-kind, complete, and conscious investing experience for everyone.

In this way, banks can differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage by educating and supporting new investors. More confident and conscious investors tend to deposit and trade more, leading to increased interest and commission income for banks. Recognizing the unique characteristics of every customer, geography, and target base, we have designed our white-label solution as a highly customizable platform capable of accommodating each client’s specific needs—be it appearance, functionalities, or content—providing a tailored made experience for all.

Q. Tell us about the Merlin Investor team. What value do they bring to the company?

There is no question that building a Fintech company requires a cross-functional and experienced team with a wide set of skills and competencies, all united by the mission and vision the company embraces. As a non-technical founder without coding knowledge, my contribution was to bring forth the problem I experienced and the solution I envisioned. Translating this into an innovative technological platform that actually works and serves its purpose was only possible due to our product and development team. They embraced the challenge and worked hard to bring it to fruition. Another common trait among all team members, regardless of their department, is a deep interest and passion for the financial industry, along with a dedication to shaping personal finance and retail investing.

Q. What new endeavors is Merlin Investor currently undertaking?

We are currently working on expanding into new markets while continuing to enhance our technology with innovative features and additional content. Our goal is to persist in serving the new generations with the tools necessary to build financial consciousness and achieve economic freedom. This will be possible through strategic collaborations with reputable financial institutions capable of deploying our technology to the masses across multiple regions.

With a clear vision and strategy in place, we aim to position Merlin Investor among the leaders in financial education, personal finance, and investing-related technologies for the banking industry. Currently, we are executing our plan to continue we are growing and I am confident we are heading in the right direction.

About | Guido Petrelli

Guido Petrelli is the Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Merlin Investor. Before starting Merlin, for almost 15 years Guido served as the CFO and COO of a multinational automotive company with a primary focus on scaling operations globally.