Cult Wines, a global fine wine portfolio management and investment company transforming the fine wine industry, today unveiled a new platform that redefines how consumers invest in wine. Responding to significant market growth over the last 18 months which has seen Cult Wines' assets under management increase to CAN$330m, the company has created greater accessibility to the asset class, introduced elevated experiences and significantly invested in sophisticated data science and proprietary technology to provide an offering unlike anything on the market today.

Changing the face of wine investment forever, the Cult Wine Investment platform turns the traditional investment playbook on its head by emphasising enjoyment and discovery of wine while making investing in it even simpler and more accessible than ever before. With just four simple steps, anyone from experienced investors to wine lovers to novice investors can build a customised portfolio of investment grade wine and start enjoying enriched benefits immediately. Significantly lowering the investment threshold, clients can now build a rewarding wine portfolio starting from $12.5k.

The Cult Wines Americas team benefits from the leadership of CEO Atul Tiwari, former CEO of Vanguard Canada, where along with his team, he led the business in growth from $3 billion in assets to over $30 billion. He is joined by Vanguard's former Head of Marketing Carrie Tuck, who serves as CMO of Cult Wines Americas.

"Historically, the wine investment category has been perceived as only for the wealthy, or those with considerable wine knowledge. We know that is not the case and are enabling more people to invest effectively while maintaining the client service, impeccable standards, and returns for which we are known," said Tiwari. "Equally important is the investment we have made in developing technology that gives our team of experts unrivalled tools to complement their market expertise."

Leveraging over ten years of consistent performance and returns for clients in 80 countries, the company has built a superior platform that provides better functionality, an intuitive user experience and impactful investment data and insights. Seamlessly paired with a team led by Chartered Financial Analysts® and WSET Level 3 holders, the company delivers best in class management that sets a new industry standard.

"We looked at what we had done previously and explored optimising user experience and how we build, balance and allocate portfolios using proprietary tools and modelling to seek the highest yields possible for our clients," stated Corey Parkinson, Global Head of Product. "Every aspect of the platform, from digital onboarding, automated portfolio generation and our client portal have been re-imagined using a best practice tech stack and data science approach. These tools enable our team to maximise their insights and experience to deliver an unparalleled customer experience."

New tools include Vintel, a proprietary tool for automatically evaluating, analysing, allocating wines, generating and actively managing portfolios. Clients will benefit from digital onboarding and a web app where they can track their portfolio, see curated offers specific to them, receive buy and sell recommendations from the Cult Wines Investment Committee, liaise with their relationship manager, deposit funds, set up regularly monthly deposits and explore a programme of events and experiences around wine.

As a key component of the new platform, the Customer Experience programme for Cult Wine Investment has been dialled up to bring passion and wine exploration to the forefront.

"Many producers are reviewing their business models in light of new technologies, global reach and a customer first approach," noted Patrick Thornton-Smith, Chief Experience Officer. "Cult Wines is mirroring these practices in our approach to contribute to the continued evolution of the fine wine industry as well as broaden the audience around the world. We aim to actively increase the opportunity to experience the world's finest leading wine brands in a tangible way. Wine is inherently enjoyable, investing in it should be too."

Leveraging the network of relationships and community established over the years, clients will benefit from access to private vintage releases, experiences with renowned chefs and bespoke trips to prestigious estates among other money-can't-buy benefits. A core component of the CX programme will be introducing clients to producer's unique histories, terroirs, and values.

"At Cult Wines, we passionately believe that an investment in wine benefits you more richly than traditional – or even other alternative – investments. We know our customers love wine, so it was a natural extension to take our community on a journey of wine discovery, connecting them with like-minded wine enthusiasts and providing a plenitude of exclusive experiences," continued Tiwari.

As part of the new platform, the company has introduced four account types – Cru Classe, Premier Cru, Grand Cru and Cult Cru – that provide clients with the benefits of bespoke services, exclusive offers and a world of wine discovery, with industry low fees for fully managed accounts. Opening the door to more investors, the Cru Classe account begins with a CAN$12.5K investment and unique to Cult Wines, features the world's first automated and customised account with live allocation. The portfolio is built in real time according to risk appetite and investment horizon, with clients able to view the wines in their portfolio before confirming, after which the wines are immediately allocated.

"We believe the key to the success of our new platform will be the unique blend of wine knowledge, the expert guidance of our relationship managers, the powerful technology underpinning the portfolio, and the human expertise from our investment committee and portfolio managers," noted Tiwari. "Together with our superior Customer Experience programme that leverages our relationships and draws on our shared values between wine estates and producers, we have a truly unmatched and game changing proposition."