growney Review

Company background

growney GmbH was founded in Berlin in 2014 by Gerald Klein and launched its retail robo-advisory service in May 2016. LAIQON AG, a publicly listed Hamburg-based asset manager overseeing approximately EUR 10 billion, holds a majority stake of roughly 77% in growney; Gerald Klein retains the remainder. As of 2026, growney serves approximately 10,000 investors with an estimated EUR 500 million in assets under management and is one of three robo-advisors recommended by the German consumer finance portal Finanztip. The investment approach is grounded in Markowitz portfolio theory and uses exclusively passive ETFs covering over 5,000 securities across 45+ countries. The product range spans 23 strategies - 10 conventional (grow0 to grow100), 10 sustainable (growgreen variants), and 3 specialty options including the growLife ETF pension insurance.

Fees and pricing

growney charges an annual management fee of 0.68% on assets below EUR 50,000, which drops to 0.38% on assets of EUR 50,000 or more. Underlying ETF costs (TER) add 0.06%-0.22% per year depending on the strategy, bringing the estimated all-in annual cost to approximately 0.80-0.90% for smaller accounts and 0.50% for larger ones. There are no deposit fees, no withdrawal fees, no transaction charges, and no inactivity fees. Savings plans start at EUR 25 per month with no minimum contract term; lump-sum deposits require a minimum of EUR 500. The growLife pension insurance carries a one-time cost of 1.5% of monthly contributions or 0.5% (maximum EUR 500) for lump sums.

Regulation and safety

growney GmbH holds a full financial portfolio management licence from BaFin, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. As a licensed asset manager, growney has no direct access to client funds. Client ETF holdings are classified as special assets (Sondervermogen) and remain the client's property in the event of growney's insolvency. Cash balances are held at Sutor Bank, a BaFin-licensed private bank in Hamburg, covered by statutory deposit insurance up to EUR 100,000 and voluntary protection up to EUR 750,000.

Platform experience

growney operates a web-based platform accessible via desktop and mobile browsers. There is no native iOS or Android app; the web app can be pinned to a mobile home screen. Account opening is fully digital and takes approximately 15-20 minutes. The dashboard shows portfolio performance, asset allocation, and projected returns. Rebalancing is automated annually each December and is also triggered when a strategy drifts more than 10% from its target. A planned migration to the Upvest custody platform will enable instant account opening and real-time updates. Customer support is available by phone, email, and live chat.

Pros and cons

growney's main advantages are its low tiered fee structure, the absence of transaction and ancillary charges, 23 ETF strategies including sustainable options, BaFin regulation with special-asset client protection, tax optimisation and rebalancing included in the management fee, and account types covering individual, joint, and business investors. The main drawbacks are the absence of a dedicated native mobile app, ETF-only portfolios with no access to individual securities, annual rebalancing outside the 10% drift rule, higher all-in costs for accounts under EUR 50,000, and no children's accounts in the current platform.