Z22 Technologies
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ETH Zürich · HSG Spin-off · FINMA-regulated

Systematic investing.
Swiss precision.

An independent, founder-owned Swiss quant asset manager for entrepreneurs, family offices and the wealth managers who serve them. We invest our own capital in the very same strategies - and behind every algorithm, you reach a person.

How we work → Explore strategies
0% Founder-owned & independent
Co-invested Founders in the same strategies
FINMA Regulated asset manager
ETH & HSG Official spin-off labels
USD 100M+ Assets under management
2019 Track record since
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Why Z22

Most wealth is managed by judgment - and judgment is human. It drifts with the headlines and the mood of the day. We made a deliberate choice: take emotion out of the process, and put the person back into the relationship.

/01

A system decides. Not a mood

Discretionary management runs on conviction, and conviction shifts with every cycle. Our rules-based process behaves identically in a calm market and in a crisis - no overrides, no narrative, no second-guessing. It is the discipline you would demand of yourself, enforced by design.

/02

Engineered for every market, not one

Most portfolios rest on a single assumption - that bonds rise when equities fall. 2022 showed how fragile that is, as both fell together. We combine genuinely uncorrelated return sources, so your capital holds when it matters most, rather than simply tracking a benchmark down.

/03

We sit in the same boat

We are 100% founder-owned, and we invest our own capital in the very strategies we offer. No outside shareholders, no product shelf to push - when our clients do well, so do we. And in a world of impersonal email and AI-generated content, every relationship is guided personally by a real person, from the first conversation onward.

A traditional discretionary mandate
The Z22 way
Decisions driven by human judgment - and emotion
A rules-based system that behaves identically in calm and in crisis
Built around a 60/40 default and a benchmark
All-weather, drawing on genuinely uncorrelated return sources
Often tied to a bank or a product shelf
100% founder-owned, our own capital invested alongside yours
Sales-driven by distribution targets, not client needs
Advice-led: we start with your needs, not our products
A personal relationship, or a disciplined process - rarely both
Both: institutional discipline, delivered with personal guidance
01

About Z22 Technologies

Built on a Swiss Academic Foundation

ETH Zürich
Spin-off label
Federal Inst. of Technology
HSG St. Gallen
Spin-off label
University of St. Gallen

Two of Switzerland's leading institutions stand behind how we were built.

Z22 is an officially recognised spin-off of ETH Zürich and the University of St. Gallen (HSG) - and a manager of collective assets regulated by FINMA. The company remains 100% owned by its two founders, Philipp Baumann and Armin Herbsthofer, who invest their own capital alongside their clients. No outside shareholders or overcomplicated ownership or management structures steer the investment process.

FINMA Licence

FINMA-authorised · Manager of collective assets

Z22 holds one of Switzerland's demanding financial-market licences: we are authorised and directly, prudentially supervised by FINMA as a manager of collective assets (Verwalter von Kollektivvermögen).

The licence requires, among other things, an appropriate organisation, minimum capital and collateral, dedicated portfolio management and risk management, and the guarantee of irreproachable business conduct and the necessary expertise of those in charge (Art. 7 ff. FINIG). Only a small number of managers of collective assets exist in Switzerland - and fewer still combine this standing with genuine expertise across both classic assets and digital assets. That combination is at the core of what we do.

Learn more about the licence (FINMA) →

Business Partners

For our strategies we draw on best-in-class partners across the globe - from the world's leading banks to the most liquid crypto venues, from classic custodians to digital-asset specialists.

Product partners UBS · Leonteq · Liechtensteinische Landesbank · LGT · Bank Frick
Brokers Interactive Brokers · OKX · Binance · Deribit · Coinbase · Kraken
Compliance, Risk & Legal SwissComply · Niederer Kraft & Frey (NKF) · Ogier · Ombudsstelle für Finanzdienstleister (OFD)
Fund vehicles Z22 SICAV (Liechtenstein) · Z22 SPC (Cayman)
Audit Grant Thornton · Baker Tilly
Fund services NAV Consulting · IFM Independent Fund Management · Hawksford · Harney Fiduciary

What defines us

/01
Aligned & independent

Wholly founder-owned, with our own capital in the same strategies. The same interests as our clients, free from external agendas.

/02
Fully systematic

A rules-based quant process with no discretionary overrides. Algorithms control the essential decisions.

/03
Academic heritage

Awarded the spin-off label by both ETH Zürich and HSG - research-grade methods, applied to markets.

/04
FINMA regulated

Supervised as a manager of collective assets by the Swiss Financial Market Authority.

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How we work with you

Choosing the right strategy is not a transaction. In a world of impersonal email, call centres and AI, we still start with a conversation - and with your needs, not our products.

/01
A personal conversation

You speak directly with the people who build and run the strategies. No forms, no call centre, no hand-off, no waiting.

/02
An honest needs assessment

Before any product, we clarify your objectives, constraints and risk - and tell you openly whether, and where, we are the right fit.

/03
The right selection

Together we choose the strategy or combination that suits your situation - core, satellite or a tailored blend, and nothing you do not need.

Entrepreneurs & family offices
Capital you have built, protected with discipline

Substantial private wealth deserves more than a benchmark. We pair the discipline of an institutional process with the discretion of a Swiss boutique - and look after you personally, from the first conversation through every review.

Wealth managers & intermediaries
A systematic building block for your client portfolios

Liquid, transparent, systematic strategies you can place as a core or satellite allocation in USD, CHF or EUR. We support your due diligence with full documentation and direct access to the team behind the numbers.

A deliberate choice

We deliberately serve a limited circle of clients we can look after personally.

The first step is simply a conversation - no forms, and no obligation.

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Investment strategies

A platform of liquid, systematic strategies - a diversified core complemented by focused satellite exposures. Filter, then expand any strategy for detail.

Filter

Core solutions

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Z22-DR
Z22 Dynamic Resilience
All-weather base portfolio
USD / CHF / EUR Smart Beta Fund Daily
Why Resilience

From the static 60/40 to a dynamic all-weather portfolio

The classic 60/40 portfolio rests on a single assumption - that bonds rise when equities fall. 2022 showed how fragile that is, when both fell together. Dynamic Resilience instead allocates systematically across six liquid asset classes - equities, government bonds, commodities, gold, bitcoin and cash - through low-cost ETFs, and reweights them continuously by market trend. A genuine all-weather base portfolio: stability first, with additional return opportunities across every market regime.

Request information →
Z22-DO
Z22 Dynamic Opportunity
Market-neutral hedge fund
USD / CHF / EUR Absolute Return Monthly
Why Opportunity

Uncorrelated returns beyond long-only asset classes

Traditional diversification runs out exactly when you need it - in a crisis, correlations converge and everything falls together. Dynamic Opportunity is a systematic, diversified portfolio of liquid alternative and quantitative strategies, engineered to deliver genuinely uncorrelated returns across market cycles. It splits into a directional and a non-directional bucket, with allocations that adapt dynamically to opportunities - institutional-quality alternative return sources, in liquid and transparent form.

Request information →
Z22-IB
Z22 Iron Balls
Bitcoin alpha hedge fund
BTC BTC Yield Fund Monthly
Why Iron Balls

More Bitcoin through trading - dual compounding in USD

A permanent Bitcoin core, made to work harder. Iron Balls holds a constant Bitcoin base and layers systematic overlays on top - trend-following, systematic option selling, cross-exchange arbitrage and volatility harvesting. The trading steadily grows the number of bitcoins held; because investors also participate in Bitcoin's price, the return compounds twice in USD (dual compounding) - more bitcoins, at a potentially higher price. Fully systematic and data-driven, with no discretionary intervention.

Request information →

Satellite solutions

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Z22-SM
Z22 Smart Mirror
US equity with tail-hedge
USD / CHF / EUR Tail-Hedge AMC Daily
Why Smart Mirror

US equities with a built-in tail hedge, not gut feel

Stay invested in the US market - without betting the outcome on your nerves in a crash. Smart Mirror combines a permanent core in S&P 500 ETFs with a systematically implemented tail hedge. When the models detect tail risk, the strategy builds rule-based exposure to VIX futures (via long-VIX ETFs, "Z22 VolaBoost"), typically for a short, defined period. Fully quantitative and rule-based; discretionary intervention is excluded, for consistent, unemotional execution.

Request information →
C22-CS
C22 Crypto Strategy
Crypto trend-following
USD Trend-Following Weekly
Why C22

Trading crypto trends - long and short, beyond buy-and-hold

Crypto returns without a permanent directional bet. C22 is a fully systematic, mid-frequency trend-following strategy across the 25 most liquid cryptocurrencies. Data-driven signals over multiple time horizons capture both up and down trends, expressed through long/short positions in crypto perpetual swaps and short options on Bitcoin. A disciplined risk framework adapts rapidly to changing markets, targeting asymmetric, risk-adjusted returns with low correlation to both traditional assets and the broader crypto market.

Request information →
04

The people behind the algorithms

Philipp Baumann
Philipp Baumann
Founder

MA Business Management,
University of St. Gallen (HSG)

"The costliest decisions in investing are the emotional ones - and I make sure no client of ours ever has to face them alone."

LinkedIn ↗
Armin Herbsthofer
Armin Herbsthofer
Founder

MSc Physics,
ETH Zürich

"I came to markets from physics: like any system, they reward those who model them rigorously and act without emotion."

LinkedIn ↗
Board of Directors & Risk & Compliance
Prof. Dr. Josef Teichmann
Board of Directors
Professor of Financial Mathematics
ETH Zürich
Thomas Hochstrasser
Board of Directors
Partner
Niederer Kraft & Frey
Thomas Hirsiger
Board of Directors
Entrepreneur & owner
Finiens Wealth Management
Severin Lehmann
Compliance & Risk
Director & Account Manager
SwissComply AG
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Frequently asked questions

What is Z22 Technologies?

Z22 Technologies is a Swiss, FINMA-regulated systematic quant asset manager and an official spin-off of ETH Zürich and the University of St. Gallen (HSG). Founded in 2019, we are 100% founder-owned and independent, building all-weather and absolute-return strategies in liquid markets - driven entirely by algorithms, never by discretion.

Is Z22 Technologies regulated?

Yes. Z22 holds a FINMA authorization as a manager of collective assets and is supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Learn more about the licence: FINMA - manager of collective assets.

Who is behind Z22 Technologies?

Z22 was founded by Philipp Baumann (MA Business Management, University of St. Gallen) and Armin Herbsthofer (MSc Physics, ETH Zürich). The Board of Directors comprises Prof. Dr. Josef Teichmann (Financial Mathematics, ETH Zürich), Thomas Hochstrasser (Niederer Kraft & Frey) and Thomas Hirsiger (Finiens Wealth Management). Severin Lehmann (SwissComply AG) heads the firm's Risk & Compliance Management.

Who owns Z22 Technologies?

Z22 is owned 100% by its two founders, Philipp Baumann and Armin Herbsthofer. With no outside shareholders or external dependencies, we focus entirely on our clients and our strategies.

How are your interests aligned with mine?

Z22 is 100% founder-owned, and the founders invest their own capital in the same strategies offered to clients. We sit in the same boat: when clients do well, so do we. No outside shareholders or third-party product agenda steer the process.

What investment strategies does Z22 offer?

Z22 runs a platform of liquid, systematic strategies split into Core and Satellite solutions. Core: Z22 Dynamic Resilience (all-weather base portfolio), Z22 Dynamic Opportunity (market-neutral absolute return) and Z22 Iron Balls (Bitcoin strategy with systematic overlays). Satellite: Z22 Smart Mirror (US equity with a statistical tail hedge) and C22 Crypto Strategy (systematic crypto trend-following).

What does "all-weather" mean at Z22?

Our all-weather approach (Z22 Dynamic Resilience) allocates systematically across several liquid asset classes - equities, government bonds, commodities, gold, Bitcoin and cash - via low-cost ETFs, reweighting them continuously by market trend. The goal is stability first, with added return opportunities across all market phases, rather than relying on a single 60/40 assumption.

Who can invest, and what is the minimum?

Clients invest through their own bank: any standard securities account (Depot) can access our liquid strategies, so there is no separate account to open. Our products are intended exclusively for professional, qualified and institutional investors. Minimums and terms vary by product and are detailed in each factsheet - for specifics, contact sales@z22.ch.

Is there a contract between me and Z22 Technologies?

No, and that is a deliberate advantage for you. You invest through your own bank, so there is no direct contract with Z22, no complex onboarding and no lengthy due diligence, KYC or documentation on our side. You keep your existing banking relationship and decide how much - or how little - to share with us. You also stay fully in control: all our strategies are liquid - the daily ones trade at any time, and our fund vehicles offer weekly or monthly liquidity. There are no multi-year lock-ups, notice periods or complex private-market contract structures. To exit, you simply instruct your own bank to sell - no need to tell us, cancel a contract or observe a notice period; the position is sold at the next dealing date.

Can I access Z22 strategies through my wealth manager?

Yes. Many clients invest through their wealth manager or external asset manager (EAM). We support intermediaries with full documentation and direct access to the team for due diligence, and our strategies can be placed as core or satellite building blocks in USD, CHF or EUR.

How liquid are the strategies?

Liquidity is defined per strategy: Z22 Dynamic Resilience and Z22 Smart Mirror are daily, Z22 Dynamic Opportunity and Z22 Iron Balls are monthly, and C22 Crypto Strategy is weekly.

Is Z22 a wealth manager for private clients?

Z22 is not a classic wealth manager but a FINMA-regulated, quantitative asset manager (manager of collective assets). For high-net-worth private clients and entrepreneurs, however, our strategies play exactly the role many look for in wealth management: a systematically managed core portfolio plus targeted satellite building blocks - transparent, liquid and rule-based instead of gut-driven. You invest directly in the strategies or through your existing wealth manager.

What happens when I get in touch?

You speak directly with the people who run the strategies, not a call centre. We start with a personal needs assessment, tell you honestly whether and where we fit, and only then help you select the right strategy or combination. The first step is a conversation, with no obligation.

Market letter

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Get in touch

Considering an allocation?
Let's talk - personally.

Behind every Z22 strategy is a person you can reach. We keep our client circle deliberately small - if the fit is right, the first step is simply a conversation.

Book a conversation → Send a message Email us
Z22 Technologies AG Alte Steinhauserstrasse 19
CH-6330 Cham
Switzerland
Imprint Data Security
© 2026 Z22 Technologies AG · Marketing material - intended exclusively for professional, qualified and institutional investors. For information purposes only - not investment advice or an offer.