“New generations look at money differently”

“Many Millennials and Generation Z have only ever known low interest rates, that has made them look beyond traditional savings accounts,” says Yorick Naeff, who heads retail investment platform BUX. “We help them to begin building wealth.”

Naeff (41) worked as a consultant in banking before he co-founded BUX in Amsterdam in 2014. The pan-European neo-broker became part of ABN AMRO in 2024. “We serve people who are interested in investing, but never got started as they saw it as complex and expensive,” he explains. “We make it accessible and affordable through an intuitive mobile app.” In the 10 years since BUX began, the company has grown to service more than 500,000 clients across the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria and Ireland. ABN AMRO Ventures was one of the first investors in BUX.

“Millennials and GenZ look at much more than just savings. They are a very large group that can be hard for big banks to reach,” says Naeff. A typical BUX client is a young professional of around 30 years old, and usually male. “Only 1 in 5 BUX clients are women, we want to change that.” The company’s efforts range from hosting regular Women Invest events to using neutral colours in its mobile app.

BUX users who buy individual shares can choose from publicly listed companies in the European Union and the U.S. But most of them stay close to home, says Naeff. “Over half of our customers investing in individual companies pick shares listed on their national stock exchange.”

To diversify, clients can invest in a basket of stocks or bonds through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or track the price of a precious metal, such as gold, using an exchange-traded commodity (ETC). Most new BUX clients opt for a hands-off approach. They invest automatically in pre-defined investment plans related to global themes such as artificial intelligence or renewable energy.

Little by little, the transfer of wealth between generations is also finding its way through the BUX app, Naeff has noticed. “New generations are fully digital and often use Google Pay or Apple Pay, they rely less on bank apps and established wealth managers.” Besides shares in companies already listed on the stock exchange, BUX also helps clients invest in initial public offerings (IPOs). Following the new EU Listing Act, which simplified fundraising rules, BUX struck a deal with capital markets platform PrimaryBid. The arrangement will allow BUX clients to participate in IPOs that have traditionally been reserved for professional investors. Becoming part of ABN AMRO was a big change for a fintech scale-up of 75 employees. “It means a totally different way of working but the collaboration is going very well,” says Naeff. “We will add innovative technology to ABN AMRO’s investment expertise and build new products together, I see many opportunities ahead.”

Besides shares in companies already listed on the stock exchange, BUX also helps clients invest in initial public offerings (IPOs). Following the new EU Listing Act, which simplified fundraising rules, BUX struck a deal with capital markets platform PrimaryBid. The arrangement will allow BUX clients to participate in IPOs that have traditionally been reserved for professional investors.

Becoming part of ABN AMRO was a big change for a fintech scale-up of 75 employees. “It means a totally different way of working but the collaboration is going very well,” says Naeff. “We will add innovative technology to ABN AMRO’s investment expertise and build new products together, I see many opportunities ahead.”