Harvest acquires Firstance: A milestone for European WealthTech

Nine months after acquiring Fincite in Germany, HARVEST FURTHER STRENGTHENS ITS PAN-EUROPEAN FOOTPRINT WITH THE ACQUISITION OF FIRSTANCE, AN ITALIAN WEALTHTECH PLAYER focused on life insurance distribution around Europe.

This strategic alliance is the latest step in an ambitious project to reinvent the customer experience and build a European leader in WealthTech that is innovative, agile and resolutely focused on the needs of wealth advisors and their customers.

HARVEST is a well-established European software vendor specialising in the advisory workflows of the wealth management sector. The group provides software solutions and integrated platforms to facilitate wealth planning, customer relationship management, investment strategy management, data management, and digital distribution of financial products.

FIRSTANCE has established itself in the Italian wealth market thanks to its cutting-edge subscription and policy management platform for insurers and distributors, putting people at the heart of digitalisation and simplifying access to personalised and transparent investment services. The group now covers more than 30 jurisdictions in Europe through seven local offices.

Photo (from left to right): Quentin Michon, CFO Harvest; Sonia Fendler, Deputy Managing Director Harvest France; Yannick Raynard, CTO Harvest; Virginie Fauvel, CEO Harvest; Alix de Carné, CHRO Harvest; Massimiliano Merlo, CEO Firstance; Vincent Lascoux, COO Harvest; Ralf Heim, Founder & Co-CEO Fincite; Delphine Asseraf, Deputy CEO Harvest.

FIRSTANCE's expertise and offering in the life insurance market perfectly complement HARVEST's offering, strengthening their joint position as trusted partners to financial players across Europe.

"Following the acquisition of Fincite in March 2025, which opened up the German market for us, Firstance enables us to strengthen our position in Italy and Europe with 30 jurisdictions covered," explains Virginie Fauvel, CEO of Harvest. "The arrival of Firstance in our group is a tremendous opportunity, not only to accelerate our European growth, but also to combine our human and technological strengths. More than ever, Harvest has the opportunity to become the leading independent wealth management software publisher in Europe".

This acquisition marks a key step in the creation of a unified, innovative European group that is attuned to the expectations of wealth and finance professionals. By placing innovation and customer relationship management at the heart of their approach, HARVEST and FIRSTANCE are committed to working together to meet the challenges of tomorrow's financial sector.

HARVEST remains fully committed to its customers in France, with the same teams, high value-added solutions and a high level of support and service. The integration of FIRSTANCE enriches the group's offering, bringing complementary and innovative expertise that directly benefits French wealth and finance professionals.

For Massimiliano Merlo, CEO of Firstance, "We are very pleased to join Harvest Group. This transaction represents a key milestone for Firstance and will allow us to further expand our presence in France and across Europe, accelerating our growth journey and strengthening our market positioning as a technology vendor.
I would like to thank all my colleagues at Firstance and investors at Nextalia who have stood by the company for many years and who, through their commitment, professionalism and strong team spirit, have played a decisive role in its development and success.           
I would also like to thank Virginie Fauvel and Delphine Asseraf for their trust and for believing in our project, opening a new phase of development and shared value creation".

About Harvest  

Harvest is a long-standing leader in European WealthTech, specialising in software dedicated to the wealth management and finance professions.

Harvest designs high value-added digital solutions for wealth adivsors and provides reliable, structured data that is essential for informed decision-making in wealth management and finance. As a data expert, the group enables the automated construction of high-performance, personalised portfolios in line with the objectives and constraints of end clients.

With more than 4,600 corporate clients, Harvest offers a wide range of software and services that are highly regarded by professionals seeking to develop sophisticated, differentiated and sustainable advisory services.

For more information: Harvest 

About FIRSTANCE

Firstance is the leading provider of digital distribution platforms in the private insurance market, automating investment processes by leveraging proprietary technology, data and analytics.  With over €43 billion assets managed by the platform, Firstance is the undisputed leader in private insurance distribution in Europe.

Founded in 2010 as First Advisory, Firstance has experienced significant growth in recent years. Today, Firstance’s FA Suite connects banks, institutional intermediaries, family offices, trusts, and asset managers all over Europe to more than 30 leading international insurance companies.

For more information: Firstance