Harvest Expands European WealthTech Platform With Acquisition of Italy’s Firstance

(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.

(IN BRIEF) Harvest has acquired Italian WealthTech company Firstance, further strengthening its pan-European footprint following its earlier acquisition of Fincite in Germany. The deal enhances Harvest’s capabilities in life insurance distribution and expands its presence to more than 30 European jurisdictions. By combining complementary technologies and expertise, Harvest and Firstance aim to build a leading independent European WealthTech group focused on innovation, customer experience, and the evolving needs of wealth advisors and financial institutions.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 9-Jan-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Harvest has further expanded its pan-European presence with the acquisition of Firstance, an Italian WealthTech specialist focused on life insurance distribution across Europe. The transaction comes nine months after Harvest’s entry into the German market through the acquisition of Fincite and represents another step in Harvest’s strategy to build a leading, independent European WealthTech group.

The acquisition strengthens Harvest’s ambition to reshape the customer experience in wealth management by combining innovative technology, agility, and a strong focus on the needs of wealth advisors and their clients. Harvest is a well-established European software provider specializing in advisory workflows, offering integrated platforms that support wealth planning, customer relationship management, investment strategy design, data management, and the digital distribution of financial products.

Firstance has built a strong position in the Italian wealth market through its advanced subscription and policy management platform for insurers and distributors. Designed to place people at the center of digital transformation, the platform simplifies access to transparent and personalized investment services. Firstance currently operates across more than 30 European jurisdictions through seven local offices, giving the combined group a significantly broader geographic footprint.

The integration of Firstance’s life insurance expertise complements Harvest’s existing capabilities, reinforcing the group’s position as a trusted technology partner for financial institutions, wealth advisors, and insurers throughout Europe. Together, the two companies aim to deliver a unified offering that addresses the evolving requirements of wealth and finance professionals in an increasingly complex regulatory and digital environment.

Virginie Fauvel, Chief Executive Officer of Harvest, said the acquisition represents a major opportunity to accelerate European growth while bringing together strong human and technological capabilities. Following the Fincite acquisition in 2025, she noted that Firstance further strengthens Harvest’s presence in Italy and expands coverage to more than 30 jurisdictions, positioning the group to become Europe’s leading independent wealth management software publisher.

The transaction also marks an important milestone for Firstance. Massimiliano Merlo, Chief Executive Officer of Firstance, said joining Harvest opens a new phase of development for the company, enabling it to expand its presence in France and across Europe while accelerating its growth trajectory. He highlighted the role of Firstance’s teams and long-term investor Nextalia in building the company, and expressed confidence in the shared vision with Harvest’s leadership for future value creation.

Harvest emphasized that it remains fully committed to its customers in France, with continuity of teams, services, and support. The integration of Firstance is expected to enrich Harvest’s product portfolio with complementary, innovative expertise that directly benefits wealth and finance professionals across its core markets.

Together, Harvest and Firstance aim to form a unified European WealthTech group focused on innovation, customer relationship excellence, and scalable digital solutions tailored to the next generation of wealth management and private insurance services.

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

Sophie Grébauval: +33 (0)7 77 83 96 42 | sophie.grebauval@harvest.fr

SOURCE: Montagu Private Equity