Frequently Asked Questions – Alphawave

At its core, Alphawave is not a traditional investment firm but a systematic market participant that identifies market inefficiencies, provides liquidity, and generates statistical advantages from them. We view quantitative investing as a high-performance technology discipline within financial markets: our models continuously analyze market data and consistently execute predefined, statistically validated rules in real market conditions.

Our approach is not based on forecasts or intuition but on a scientifically developed infrastructure. The systems behind the “Absolute Return I” strategy have been developed and validated over eight years to ensure precise and reproducible execution in live trading. With Alphawave Finance GmbH as the issuer, we provide investors with structured access to this technological value creation through fixed-income products.

We explain the underlying architecture, methodology and key performance indicators in detail in our latest company presentation, which is available for download, as well as in podcast form on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Amazon Music. It is well worth listening to. You can find our video “8 Years of R&D and Now Ready for Scaling” here; it provides a concise overview of our approach, development and current setup:

Alphawave is led by FinTech expert Jan-Patrick Krüger. As CEO of both Alphawave GmbH and Alphawave Finance GmbH, he is responsible for the group’s strategic direction and technological foundation.

With more than twelve years of experience researching and developing algorithmic trading systems, he is driving the vision of harnessing high-end technology to improve the efficiency of systematic investment strategies in the capital markets. Jan-Patrick Krüger is known for his analytical, data-driven management style and has guided the company from its very first line of code to its current stage of operational scaling. He is supported by an interdisciplinary team of experts in quantitative engineering, software development, and financial mathematics.

Due to the shared name, clear differentiation is important: the Alphawave Group based in Düsseldorf is a specialized FinTech company for algorithmic trading strategies. There are no business, legal, or personnel connections with the following companies:

• Alphawave Semi (Alphawave IP Group): A British publicly listed semiconductor company focused on high-speed connectivity. While that group develops hardware for AI infrastructure, Alphawave GmbH focuses exclusively on software architecture for financial markets.
• Alphawave SA (alphawave-sa.ch): A Swiss-based company operating in the field of radio-frequency safety, including EMF measurements and radiation protection.
• Alphawave Global: An investment group (originally from South Africa) primarily focused on venture capital and technology investments.

Alphawave GmbH and Alphawave Finance GmbH, the issuer of the bonds, together form an independent German corporate group. Our exclusive focus is on quantitative trading and technology-driven value creation in the derivatives markets.

The name “Alphawave” combines the financial concept of “alpha,” which describes excess returns generated above the market, with the “wave” as a symbol of market dynamics and cycles. In neuroscience, alpha waves also represent a state of focused calmness and heightened concentration. This combination reflects the company’s core identity: applying highly precise, scientifically grounded methods to systematically and consistently generate excess returns in dynamic market environments.

Alphawave was founded in 2016 with the establishment of Alphawave GmbH and has been continuously developed ever since. Both Alphawave GmbH and Alphawave Finance GmbH are registered as German companies in the commercial register. The group follows a consistently transparent approach and aims to make complex quantitative trading strategies understandable for investors while not only meeting regulatory requirements but visibly exceeding them. A key pillar of this commitment is its exceptionally transparent Investor Relations section, where prospectuses, audit reports, key financial figures, and other relevant information are provided comprehensively and kept up to date. Since 2024, Alphawave has operated profitably and confirmed this trajectory in the 2025 financial year (net profit: approximately €0.3 million in 2024 and approximately €1.1 million in 2025).

The credibility of the Alphawave Group is built on three core pillars:

1. Regulatory Transparency (EU Standard)
Alphawave Finance GmbH publishes official securities prospectuses that have been approved by Luxembourg’s financial regulator (CSSF) and notified for public distribution in Germany (BaFin) and Austria (FMA). As a result, our bond issuances are subject to strict European transparency and disclosure requirements and are continuously overseen by the competent supervisory authorities under the European prospectus passport framework.

2. Audited Operational Performance
The performance of our business model is documented through independent audit reports. The trading returns achieved by Alphawave GmbH for the 2024 (12.09%) and 2025 (20.48%) financial years were reviewed and certified by an independent auditor specializing in financial services and asset management. Across the full 20-month evaluation period, this corresponds to an average annual return of 19.54%. This is further supported by the fact that Alphawave has been operating profitably since 2024, generating positive net earnings of approximately €0.3 million in 2024 and approximately €1.1 million in 2025.

3. Automated Precision
We provide liquidity to the market in a controlled manner and minimize operational risk through the targeted use of technology. All orders are executed via our proprietary software, which we co-developed, according to clearly defined rules. Extensive backtesting and robustness analyses ensure that our models perform reliably across different market conditions and can consistently exploit pricing inefficiencies.

The fact that Alphawave has been operating profitably since 2024 and that all interest payments to investors have been made in full and on time without exception underscores the financial integrity and reliability of the corporate group.

The mention in the Stiftung Warentest (Finanztest) warning list is primarily based on a formal risk classification of young FinTech companies and criticism of the lengthy development phase. We take a more differentiated view.

• Research & Development as a Safety Feature:
  The criticism is directed, among other things, at the multi-year research and development phase that was financed through bond issuances. From our perspective, this is precisely a sign of responsibility: building a highly complex, fully automated infrastructure cannot be accomplished in just a few days. We deliberately chose an extensive development period to create a software architecture that is robust, technologically mature, and scientifically validated. It is unfortunate that public discussions often focus on the financing of the research while largely overlooking the outcome of these investments—the trading platform that is now successfully deployed in live production.
• Facts Instead of Generalized Judgments:
  The actual performance of our technology was not examined as part of the warning. Neither the computational performance validated by Heriot-Watt University nor the audited live trading results were taken into account. Our invitation to conduct a more comprehensive review of our systems has also not yet been accepted. A technically sound assessment should also have included a comparison of our extensive backtests with the live trading data from recent years to evaluate the robustness of the models under real market conditions. According to our analysis, the calculations published by Stiftung Warentest regarding the required rate of return, as well as the underlying assumptions, contain significant errors. Despite repeated notifications from our side, these issues have not yet been corrected.
• Structural Risk:
  The warning also emphasizes the “risk of total loss.” This is a standardized classification that applies to virtually all subordinated or unsecured corporate bonds, not just those in the FinTech sector, and initially exists regardless of the issuer’s actual business performance or trading results. In our view, a sound risk assessment should take into account the live trading results achieved to date, the gradual expansion of business volume, the plausibility of future financing and scaling opportunities, a comparison of backtests with actual market data, and the company’s profitability in recent years—just as is provided for in established valuation standards, such as the IDW principles for business valuation. In our opinion, institutions evaluating corporate bonds should rely on these well-established methodological standards and transparently justify their assessments on that basis.

Conclusion: Alphawave is committed to facts. We respond to generalized warnings with maximum transparency, audited live trading returns (12.09% in 2024 and 20.48% in 2025), published annual financial statements and additional financial metrics, as well as a technological foundation that matured over many years before entering large-scale deployment. We continue to explicitly invite Stiftung Warentest to engage in a detailed technical dialogue and to conduct a comprehensive review of our systems and key performance figures. For full transparency, we have published the complete email correspondence in our Investor Relations section for anyone interested.

How Does Alphawave Respond to the Warnings Issued by Stiftung Warentest?

Stiftung Warentest has published two articles warning against investing in bonds issued by the Alphawave Group. We take such statements seriously and have responded in detail to the points raised. In our responses, we explain the role of our multi-year research and development phase, the performance of our technology, as well as the live trading results and profits achieved to date.

You Can Find the Original Articles Here:

• Caution Regarding Alphawave GmbH
• Alphawave: A House of Cards

In their feedback, investors primarily highlight the reliability and transparent communication of the Alphawave Group. They particularly emphasize the consistency of Alphawave Finance GmbH, which has made every interest payment on its bond products in full, on time, and according to schedule since issuance. Investors also value the direct access to detailed performance updates and the professional support provided by our team. For an authentic and unfiltered overview of investor experiences and the latest reviews, please visit our official ProvenExpert profile.

Yes, Alphawave’s technological foundation and validation processes have been confirmed several times from both a scientific and operational perspective. The performance of our backtesting engine and the underlying software architecture were reviewed as part of a scientific opinion by Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Loidl, Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and rated as market-leading in processing speed, with up to 14 million ticks per second.

At an operational level, our strategies are based on simulations using historical data going back to 2008 in order to ensure statistical robustness across different market phases. The adjacent chart compares these simulated annual returns with the audited results from live trading: the dark bars show backtest performance since 2008, while the light bars show the auditor-certified returns of 12.09% from May 2024 and 20.48% in 2025, corresponding to an average annual return of 19.54% across the full 20-month evaluation period.

The economic substance of this development is supported by published annual financial statements, additional financial metrics of the group, and the consistent, on-time interest payments made by Alphawave Finance GmbH to its investors.

As with any investment in corporate bonds within the FinTech sector, the Alphawave Bond involves specific risks, which are communicated to investors transparently. The primary risk is issuer risk: if Alphawave Finance GmbH becomes insolvent, investors may suffer a partial or total loss of their invested capital as well as any accrued interest claims.

Because the capital is also used to scale algorithmic trading strategies, there is an operational trading risk. Although the strategies have been validated using historical data and are protected by strict stop-loss mechanisms, exceptional market turbulence or technological disruptions may affect performance. In addition, because the bond is not exchange-traded, its liquidity (resaleability) during the term is limited.

A complete and detailed presentation of all risk factors can be found in the official securities prospectus approved by BaFin. Reading this prospectus is strongly recommended before making any investment decision. The prospectus for this product is available in full for download in the product section of this page.

Quantitative strategies come in many forms, ranging from trend-following models and arbitrage approaches to mean-reversion strategies. Our focus is on short-term, statistically measurable price fluctuations.

Financial markets move every day. Prices often overshoot to the upside or downside and temporarily deviate from their statistical equilibrium. This is exactly where our quantitative approach comes into play: our models continuously analyze market data and identify when prices diverge significantly from their typical patterns. Through broad diversification across numerous positions and strict risk management, the strategy aims to generate stable return profiles that are as independent as possible from traditional market cycles while limiting larger losses.

The following chart illustrates how our mean reversion approach is designed to benefit from excessively high or excessively low price levels by anticipating a return to their statistical equilibrium.

Alphawave’s business model is based on systematic proprietary trading in global derivatives markets. Our algorithms, developed over many years, identify these market deviations and execute predefined trading strategies in a fully automated manner. All orders are processed through our proprietary software infrastructure, leaving no room for emotions or spontaneous decisions. Risk is tightly controlled through clearly defined parameters such as position sizing, loss limits, and diversification.

Returns are generated exclusively from trading performance by systematically exploiting these statistical inefficiencies. Through Alphawave Finance GmbH, the group also raises capital by issuing fixed-income bonds to responsibly scale proven strategies—particularly the “Absolute Return I” strategy—and efficiently leverage its technological expertise. Quantitative and systematic trading approaches are well established worldwide and now account for a significant share of global exchange trading.

Investors who invest in the bonds issued by Alphawave Finance GmbH do not invest directly in individual trading strategies, but in the issuer, which in turn invests in Alphawave GmbH, the company operating the trading business. Alphawave trades on its own account and uses the capital raised to implement its quantitative strategies, in particular the “Absolute Return I” strategy, in derivatives markets.

Profits are generated by identifying and systematically exploiting statistical pricing inefficiencies using our fully automated high-performance technology. As we operate exclusively in intraday trading and do not hold positions overnight, the deployed trading capital is protected from unpredictable market movements outside trading hours.

Investors are entitled to fixed interest payments under the bond terms. They participate in the company’s earning power rather than in the daily fluctuations of individual trading strategies. Alphawave generates the required returns through the technological value created by its trading infrastructure while retaining additional profits within the company, which has operated profitably since the launch of live trading in 2024.

Our exclusive focus on intraday trading is a core pillar of our risk management strategy. By consistently closing all positions before the market closes, we eliminate overnight risk. This protects our capital from unpredictable price gaps that may occur outside regular trading hours due to geopolitical events, overnight news, or other unexpected developments.

Rather than speculating on long-term market trends, we identify and systematically exploit statistical inefficiencies that occur primarily during periods of increased volatility. This approach enables more precise statistical probability calculations while ensuring that we maintain control over risk in every market environment. We also benefit from the high liquidity and rich flow of market data during core trading hours, allowing our models to operate on the broadest possible data set.

The “Absolute Return I” strategy is Alphawave GmbH’s central proprietary trading strategy. It is a systematic, quantitative approach designed to generate positive returns independently of general market developments, such as falling equity markets. The strategy focuses exclusively on intraday trading in highly liquid global derivatives markets, thereby consistently excluding overnight market risks.

The strategy is based on mathematical models that identify statistical inefficiencies and execute them fully automatically. Every trading decision is validated by our backtesting engine using a data history of more than 18 years.

Strict algorithmic risk management with automated stop-loss mechanisms ensures that capital preservation remains the top priority while aiming for above-average risk-adjusted performance.

Risk management at Alphawave is built directly into the system and is fully automated across multiple levels. Its most important pillar is exclusive intraday trading: because no positions are held overnight, the portfolio remains protected from unpredictable price gaps that may occur outside regular market hours.

At the transaction level, every trade is protected by a strict algorithmic stop-loss mechanism that limits losses immediately and without human hesitation. All trading decisions are based on mathematical models that have been validated over many years through backtesting and additional robustness analyses, making them largely independent of human emotion.

The accompanying chart illustrates the distribution of our winning and losing trades:

The chart demonstrates that losses are consistently kept small while profitable trades generate disproportionately larger gains. This pattern is the result of systematically evaluating statistical probabilities and reflects internationally recognized best practices in quantitative trading.

Our strategy combines three characteristics that rarely come together in this form: it is largely uncorrelated with traditional stock and ETF investments, it has delivered strong performance over many years, and it effectively limits temporary declines in invested capital. The first chart illustrates the consistency of monthly and annual returns across different market environments, while the second chart documents the strategy’s limited interim drawdowns.

We test the resilience of our strategy through extensive robustness analyses. To do this, we repeatedly reconstruct market behavior in simulations, alter the sequence of transactions, and run thousands of alternative scenarios using Monte Carlo analyses. The chart shown illustrates one of these analyses: even under highly pessimistic assumptions, the strategy remains clearly profitable across all simulated scenarios.

Of course, past performance and simulation results are no guarantee of future outcomes. What matters is that we do not rely on individual opinions or forecasts, but instead identify recurring market inefficiencies every day and exploit them systematically. We rely on a high-performance technological infrastructure whose strength lies in data-driven analysis and clearly defined model assumptions.

Our models are designed to be market-neutral, meaning they aim to operate as independently as possible from overall market sentiment. Rather than relying on the direction of equity, bond, or economic cycles, we focus on short-term price movements and statistically identifiable pricing inefficiencies. Based on this approach, we combine short-term long and short positions that largely offset one another and are entered at statistically probable price extremes. This creates an additional layer of diversification for traditional stock or bond portfolios, with returns that exhibit only limited correlation with broad market indices.

Alphawave’s technological advantage is primarily reflected in the exceptional processing power and precision of our backtesting engine. While conventional systems on the market typically process only between 0.5 and 1 million market data events (“ticks”) per second, our infrastructure achieves speeds of up to 14 million ticks per second. This advantage has been scientifically validated in a “Scientific Opinion” by Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Loidl (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh), who classified it as market-leading.

This extraordinary computing power enables us to simulate trading strategies over a period of more than 18 years with a level of detail that is effectively beyond the reach of competing systems. Thanks to eight years of in-house software development, our architecture has been specifically optimized for computationally intensive backtesting. This allows us to robustly simulate significantly more complex strategies with greater model depth, reduce the risk of errors, and substantially improve the stability of the “Absolute Return I” strategy. Our decisions are based on data that is processed faster, analyzed with greater granularity, and validated on a more rigorous scientific basis than the industry standard.

The technological superiority of our backtesting engine is built on its exceptional processing power and scientifically validated precision. While conventional systems typically process between 0.5 and 1 million market data ticks (individual price and order events) per second, the Alphawave infrastructure reaches speeds of up to 14 million ticks per second. This advantage has been validated in a “Scientific Opinion” by Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Loidl (Heriot-Watt University) and recognized as market-leading.

This extraordinary speed enables us to simulate complex trading strategies across more than 18 years of historical market data with the highest level of granularity. This allows us to test the robustness of our models under realistic stress conditions before they are deployed in live trading. As a result, our backtesting engine is the cornerstone of quality assurance: it transforms massive streams of tick data into statistical confidence and provides the foundation for the precise risk management of Alphawave’s trading strategies.

Alphawave uses Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) selectively to enhance the robustness and validity of its trading strategies. Rather than relying on opaque “black box” systems, we employ ML-powered solvers and genetic optimization techniques within our backtesting engine.

In our current setup, AI is primarily used for model and parameter optimization. It helps identify suitable parameter sets and consistently prevents overfitting by distinguishing statistically significant patterns from random market noise. This ensures that our strategies not only deliver robust results on historical data but also maintain a high level of stability under real-world, evolving market conditions.

Looking ahead, Alphawave will gradually expand its use of AI. In the future, AI will play a greater role in the systematic generation and evaluation of new trading ideas, the combination and weighting of different strategies, and the continuous selection of trading models. The goal is not to replace human oversight, but to further refine data-driven decision-making and continuously improve our strategy architecture.

The scientific assessment by Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Loidl (Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh) provides an objective, independent validation of Alphawave’s technological superiority. The study confirms that our computing architecture operates approximately 6.5 times faster than the leading publicly available comparison platform currently used in financial research.

For Alphawave, this expert assessment is important evidence that the performance of its backtesting engine is built on a scientifically grounded high-performance architecture capable of processing market data with exceptional precision compared to industry standards. This processing speed is the technological prerequisite for validating trading strategies over long time horizons with a high level of granularity and reduced statistical bias.

As a result, the “Scientific Opinion” provides institutional partners and investors with an independent, academically grounded assessment of the quality of our infrastructure and reinforces confidence in the technological foundation of our trading models.

Investing in the Alphawave Bond is a straightforward three-step process carried out directly through the issuer:

1. Learn:
   First, you should read the official securities prospectus together with the accompanying fact sheet to gain a comprehensive understanding of the bond’s terms, opportunities, and risks. Both documents are available on the bond’s product page in the “Fixed Income Bond” section.

2. Subscribe:
   You can subscribe either conveniently online using the issuer’s subscription form at zeichnung.alphawave.eu or by completing a traditional subscription form. During this step, you specify your desired investment amount, taking the minimum subscription denomination into account.

3. Complete the Investment:
   Once your subscription has been successfully processed, you will receive a confirmation together with the payment instructions for transferring your investment amount. After payment has been received, the bonds will be credited directly to your personal securities account with your bank or online broker.

You can request the complete subscription documents and additional information about the bonds at any time via our product page or directly here, free of charge and without obligation.

The attractive interest paid to investors reflects the fact that they provide capital to Alphawave as a company, which deploys it through its technology-driven proprietary trading infrastructure to generate returns. While traditional investment products are often constrained by high management costs and strong dependence on broader market movements, Alphawave pursues systematic return opportunities through specialised proprietary trading that may exceed the interest payable on its issued bonds.
The “Absolute Return I” approach employed by Alphawave generated a time-weighted return of 12.09% in live trading in 2024 and 20.48% in 2025. Alphawave was already profitable in 2024, achieving net income of approximately €0.3 million, which increased to around €1.1 million in the 2025 financial year.

Our models project a target return of approximately 28% per year based on historical simulations. Thanks to automated processes, a lean cost structure, and the high scalability of our technology-driven approach, Alphawave Finance GmbH is able to pass on a significant portion of these returns to investors in the form of fixed interest payments.

The interest rates also reflect the fact that our trading models are not designed to capitalize on long-term market trends, but rather on the systematic exploitation of statistically validated short-term return opportunities. They are based on a market-neutral, data-driven approach aimed at delivering the most stable investment performance possible.

To invest in the Alphawave Bond, prospective investors must meet a number of formal, financial, and personal requirements:

Formal and Financial Requirements

• Minimum Investment Amount: The subscription must be for at least €5,000 per tranche.
• Denomination: Investment amounts exceeding the minimum investment must be divisible by €1,000 without any remainder.
• Securities Account: A securities account with a retail bank or online bank is required for the settlement and custody of the bonds.
• Accrued Interest: If you subscribe after the interest period has begun (at the start of a quarter), you must pay accrued interest for the current quarter in addition to the nominal amount. This amount is reimbursed with the next quarterly interest payment. The advantage is that your bond starts earning interest immediately instead of waiting until the next interest period.

Eligible Investors and Regions

• Offering Countries: The public offering is available to investors in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
• Target Market: The bond is intended for retail investors, professional clients, and eligible counterparties.
• Exclusion of U.S. Persons: Individuals residing in the United States or qualifying as U.S. Persons under the U.S. Securities Act are not permitted to subscribe to the bond.

Knowledge and Risk Capacity

• Knowledge and Experience: Investors should possess the necessary knowledge and experience to assess the specific opportunities and risks of this FinTech investment.
• Risk Profile: This investment is suitable only for investors who do not require capital protection and are financially able to absorb a partial or complete loss of their invested capital.
• Disclosure Requirement: Every subscription requires the investor to confirm that they have read and understood the complete securities prospectus, including the bond terms and conditions as well as the associated risk factors.

If you meet these requirements, you can subscribe either online via zeichnung.alphawave.eu or by completing a traditional subscription form, which can be sent by post, email, or fax to the Investor Relations department of Alphawave Finance GmbH. You can request the required documents here free of charge and without obligation.

The “Alphawave Fixed Income” Bond is divided into two tranches, giving investors flexibility in terms of investment horizon and expected return. The key difference lies in the investment term and the corresponding interest rate:

• Tranche A (ISIN: DE000A460B32): This tranche has a maturity date of 31 December 2028. It offers a fixed interest rate of 8.00% p.a. and is intended for investors with a medium-term investment horizon.
• Tranche B (ISIN: DE000A460B40): This tranche has a longer maturity, ending on 31 December 2030. In return for the longer investment period, investors benefit from a higher fixed interest rate of 8.50% p.a..

Both tranches provide for quarterly interest payments and are available with a minimum investment of €5,000. The choice between the two therefore depends primarily on how long you wish to commit your capital and which target return best matches your investment objectives.

No, you do not need a special securities account. The Alphawave Bond can be held in any standard securities account with your retail bank or the online broker of your choice. Since the bond has an International Securities Identification Number (ISIN), it is compatible with all standard custody systems in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg.

If you do not yet have a securities account, you can open one with any financial institution to complete your subscription.