Hi, I'm Michael Serres
I spent close to two decades in financial services at BlackRock, HSBC, and Manulife—on digital strategy, analytics, CRM, and operations. I've been on both sides: business and technology. Today I run a productized agency for AI transformation while building ingvest and the Sovereign Wealth Stack.
"The client should own their financial destiny, not rent it from an intermediary."
Asset managers and banks want to deliver wealth management for clients; that goal is real. In practice you're limited to the product sets they have on the shelf, and you end up with multiple relationships that fragment your money and make it harder to manage. I left to build a platform where wealth management serves clients first—with ownership, transparency, and alignment built in.
The problem
Wealth management as goal vs. as engine
Don't confuse any single firm with wealth management. Asset managers and banks all want to deliver wealth management for clients—that's the goal they talk about and often believe in. But it's also the way they start the conversation, sell products, and build relationships for fees. So wealth management is both the outcome they aim for and the engine that drives distribution and revenue.
At BlackRock I worked on the BlackRock Plan—a sophisticated tool that helped investors build strategies. It worked; the tech and the intent were real. The limitation is structural: when the business model is products and relationship-based fees, every recommendation passes through a filter—"Does this help the firm's business?"—so true client-outcome optimization can't be the only design. We're building where wealth management can be delivered without that engine: a platform that has nothing to sell except the client's success.
The vision
The Sovereign Wealth Stack
A platform where:
- You own your assets (self-custody, not intermediary custody)
- AI works for you (not for product manufacturers)
- Fees are transparent (explicit, minimal, justified)
- Recommendations are auditable (open logic, no black boxes)
- Sovereignty is architectural (not a marketing claim)
Think of it as the wealth management system the industry would build if the only goal were client outcome excellence.
Timing
Why now
Three forces are converging to make this possible.
1. AI can execute institutional-grade strategies
Modern AI can provide analysis that was Fortune 500-only a few years ago. Portfolio optimization, tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing, risk assessment—all executable with AI in service of the client, without the conflicts of human intermediaries.
2. Tokenization is bringing real assets on-chain
Ondo Finance (tokenized US Treasuries), Backed Finance (tokenized bonds), Franklin Templeton's on-chain fund—real-world assets are moving to blockchain. The rails for self-custody wealth management are being built right now.
3. The trust gap is widening
People want control (self-custody), transparency (auditable algorithms), and alignment (platforms that profit from their success, not their fees). The window to build sovereign, client-first wealth management is open.
Background
Where I've been
Financial services, digital strategy, analytics, CRM, and operations—on both business and technology sides. Since 2018 I've focused on modern tech: web, cloud, data, analytics, algorithmic trading, and AI. I've shipped business intelligence tools, award-winning dashboards, and mobile apps for clients like the Seychelles Fishing Authority.
Director, APAC Digital Marketing; VP Digital Marketing & CRM. Digital strategy, web, campaigns, analytics, relationship marketing.
CRM & MI Program Manager. Global CRM rollout, reporting tools, sales management information.
MD, Head of APAC Digital. Digital strategy, analytics, campaigns, lead gen, relationship marketing across the region.
BSc Mathematics and Computer Science, University of East Anglia. French Baccalaureate (Maths), Lycée Stendhal Milan. Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish.
My approach
Practical over perfect
- 1
Practical over perfect
We focus on what actually moves the needle—tools that solve one problem well. Start with the biggest pain point and deliver that first.
- 2
Honest about fit
We're not here to oversell. Our reputation depends on delivering value, not quick sales.
- 3
You own everything
Your data, your code, your systems. We deliver and hand over. No lock-in—sovereignty is architectural, not a marketing claim.
Roadmap
The journey ahead
- Phase 1 (Now): AI automation consulting—funding the vision and learning what people need from AI systems.
- Phase 2 (Months 3–12): Bot trading community—building with crypto-native users who understand self-custody; validating tools with the right audience first.
- Phase 3 (Year 2+): The full Sovereign Wealth Stack—multi-asset portfolios, automated DCA, self-custody, AI execution, zero conflicts.
I'm building in public. Every step documented.
"Wealth management isn't about managing products. It's about empowering humans to build sovereign, multi-generational prosperity. And that can only be built by platforms that have nothing to sell except the client's success."
The Sovereign Wealth Stack isn't just a product. It's a proof of concept that wealth management can be built for clients, not extractors—that AI can empower individuals, not just institutions—and that sovereignty is an architecture, not a buzzword.