Exclusive FNG… FNG has learned that longtime Saxo Bank executive Claus Nielsen has become Chairman of the Board of Copenhagen-based startup Pluto.
Claus Nielsen served as Head of Markets at Saxo Bank Retail FX and CFDs for 15 years, from 2003-2018, and was also a member of Saxo’s Executive Management Group. Since leaving Saxo, he has been involved, mainly as an external investor and advisor, in a number of startups based in Denmark.
Pluto was founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs trader Joakim Bruchmann. The company was originally known as StockTalk before being renamed Pluto (on the pluto.markets website). Earlier this year, the company raised $2.6 million in venture capital, from a number of investors, including Berlin-based tech investor Magnetic, a number of local unicorn founders (Pleo, Synthesia, Zendesk, Sitecore), Y-Combinator, Nordic Makers and several angel investors. .
Pluto plans to officially launch in July 2024 as an app-based retail investment and savings app.
Claus Nielsen posted the following note on social media about his new relationship with Pluto:
With 15 years of experience leading the purchasing department at Saxo Bank and following the evolution of the FinTech sector, I am convinced that now is the time to advance the investment in the next paradigm. This entails fixing inefficient legacy infrastructures, releasing a wider range of resources, making it cheaper and creating a superior user experience.
But disrupting a capital-intensive and highly regulated industry is nearly impossible. Many startups have tried to build a new application on the same old piece of infrastructure. This doesn’t work. To be truly disruptive, one must build a bank from scratch.
The Pluto team is doing just that, which reminds me of the early days at Saxo Bank. It’s taken the team almost three years so far and it will take a few more, but it’s the only viable way forward and the team has proven time and time again that they have what it takes to succeed.
With a small team, they received massive regulatory approval, raised $3.5 million from Y-Combinator and other top investors, and assembled a world-class team for the mission.
I’m excited to be a part of the journey to create better investment experiences for everyone.