Selma Finance, a Swiss robo-advisor based in Zurich, reached the one-million-euro target of its third crowdinvesting campaign in a single day, even before the public opening on the Republic Europe platform on 4 November 2026, Startupticker.ch reported on 11 November 2026. The fintech also announced the arrival of Bruno Pfister, former group chief executive of Swiss Life, as strategic adviser to develop its pension advice assisted by artificial intelligence (AI), according to finews.ch on 11 November 2026.

One million euros raised before the public opening

The million euros came from pre-registered people alone, Startupticker.ch writes in its dispatch of 11 November 2026. Since then, the campaign has been open to everyone on Republic Europe, the former Seedrs platform, and the counter stood at nearly 1.2 million francs contributed by more than 150 investors.

Two days earlier, on 9 November 2026, moneytoday.ch counted 130 investors and 1.152 million euros. The specialist site stated that the campaign should run until 2 December 2026 and that the initial target could be raised given the oversubscription. Selma does not confirm this increase on its campaign page.

This is crowdfunding, not an institutional round: the last equity round dates back to September 2023, according to Startupticker.ch. The campaign takes the form of a convertible loan, later converted into shares of the company. How the automated management that Selma sells works is detailed in our feature on Swiss robo-advisors.

What the investor is really buying

The participant is not buying shares in Selma Finance AG, the Zurich company. They invest in Selma Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company that owns the Swiss company in full, Selma states on its campaign page dated 19 October 2026. The convertible loan will give shares in this holding company upon a later conversion.

Selma itself lists the risks on this page: partial or total loss of the stake, inability to resell for years, dilution in subsequent rounds, no guaranteed return. The investment is covered neither by a deposit guarantee nor by an investor compensation scheme. Selma describes its page as advertising within the meaning of article 68 of the Financial Services Act (FinSA), and not as a public offer.

The platform is operated by Seedrs Europe Limited under the name Republic Europe and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland. For the 2024 campaign, the Republic Europe page indicated a conversion discount of 15%, a minimum ticket of 250 euros through a nominee and no secondary market. The 2026 terms do not appear on Selma's website: they are reserved for the campaign page, accessible to investors registered on the platform.

Third campaign: the previous figures

Selma already raised funds from its community in 2023 and 2024, moneytoday.ch recalls. The table reproduces the amounts published by the cited sources, without correction.

CampaignTargetAmount raisedInvestorsSource
2023Not publishedAround 1.3 million eurosNot publishedmoneytoday.ch, 9 November 2026
2024 (closed on 28 October 2024)750,000 euros1,915,060 euros according to the Republic Europe page; 1.4 million euros according to moneytoday.ch627Republic Europe; moneytoday.ch
2026 (opened on 4 November 2026)1 million euros1.152 million euros as of 9 November; nearly 1.2 million francs as of 11 November130, then more than 150moneytoday.ch; Startupticker.ch

The gap between the two 2024 figures is not explained by the sources. The Republic Europe page shows funding at 250% of the target; the moneytoday.ch figures are more cautious.

Bruno Pfister, thirty years of banking and insurance

Selma announced on Tuesday 10 November 2026 the arrival of Bruno Pfister as strategic adviser, finews.ch reports. He is to support the expansion of AI-assisted pension advice, for clients preparing for retirement or already retired. finews.ch speaks of a strategic adviser role, without mentioning either an investment or a seat on the board of directors, and without specifying its terms. The site relies on a Selma communication of Tuesday 10 November 2026.

Bruno Pfister started in investment banking at J.P. Morgan, then spent eight years at McKinsey, according to finews.ch. He was chief financial officer of the LGT group, then joined Credit Suisse. Having joined Swiss Life as chief financial officer in 2002, he led the insurer from 2008 to 2014 as group chief executive. He then chaired the boards of directors of Rothschild & Co Bank in Zurich, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Quintet Suisse and the Assura group.

Why Selma is targeting retirement

According to figures cited by Selma and taken up by finews.ch, more than 100,000 people retire each year in Switzerland. Around half withdraw all or part of their pension fund assets as a lump sum, some 17 billion francs a year. On its campaign page, Selma adds that this amount has almost tripled since 2013 and that in 2025, for the first time, 51% of new retirees took their assets as a lump sum, according to the Swisscanto pension fund study 2026.

Selma says it is already benefiting: its segment of retired clients grew by 79% in twelve months, to more than 1,000 clients, according to its campaign page. Startupticker.ch applies this same rate of 79% to the assets under management of retired clients, and not to their number: the two sources do not describe the same quantity. In total, the fintech serves more than 15,000 clients and manages more than 470 million francs. Since the September 2023 round, assets under management have grown by 135%, Startupticker.ch indicates. Selma AI, the company's assistant, has held more than 130,000 advisory conversations since 2024.

The money from the campaign will go to two items, according to Selma: retirement planning in Selma AI, which will bring together pension fund, pillar 3a, AHV/AVS state pension and savings in a single plan, and marketing to reach more retirees, through partnerships and referrals. Chief executive Patrik Schär wants planning that is "understandable, personal and affordable", quoted by moneytoday.ch on 9 November 2026, with a focus on clients aged 55 and over. Selma gives no launch date for this tool.

Selma versus VIAC and True Wealth

With 15,000 clients and 470 million francs, Selma remains far behind its competitors, moneytoday.ch notes: VIAC has around 175,000 active clients for 8.75 billion francs, True Wealth 45,000 clients for 3 billion francs. Selma Finance Oy was incorporated on 28 April 2016, according to the Republic Europe page.

Selma has held an asset manager licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) since 2024. Its management fees range from 0.68% a year below 50,000 francs to 0.42% above 500,000 francs, excluding fund costs, according to its pricing page consulted on 6 November 2026 for our comparison of robo-advisor fees. Selma's pages announce no change in pricing linked to the campaign. The other players in digital wealth management are followed in the wealth management and robo-advisors section.

The same day, Startupticker.ch reported another fast start: AVEA, a Zug-based dietary supplements startup, raised more than 1.3 million francs from more than 200 investors on Conda, also through convertible loans, one week after the public opening.

What we do not know yet

  • The terms of the 2026 convertible loan (discount, valuation, minimum ticket) remain on the campaign page reserved for investors registered with Republic Europe.
  • The final amount of the 2024 campaign differs between the Republic Europe page (1,915,060 euros) and moneytoday.ch (1.4 million euros).
  • The timetable for retirement planning in Selma AI and the terms of Bruno Pfister's mandate are not published.

Sources