Who is behind BankeronWheels.com?
We are an experienced team of Investment Professionals (and Cyclists) located across Europe and Asia. We believe in making investing more honest, transparent and accessible.
We have a core team of Investment Analysts, but also Consulting Expertise and a dedicated Investment Research Review Panel to ensure the highest quality of our resources.
IN A NUTSHELL
- The website was founded in 2020 by Raph. Francesca helps Raph with the daily operations. The variety of opinions is ensured through our contributors including Ahmed, Kathrin and Romain.
- The team’s quality and values are what sets us apart from financial media.
- On top of decades of experience working for some of the most prestigious financial institutions, we have formed an Investment Research Review Panel.
- Our Investment Research Review Panel members have decades of experience in Portfolio Management, Trading or analysis of complex Financial Products.
- We reach out to them to challenge us on select articles and tools to ensure the highest quality of analysis.
Here is the full analysis
TEAM BANKERONWHEELS
The website was founded by Raph Antoine, a Portfolio Manager and Institutional Advisor. Raph brings first-hand experience from some of the most prestigious names in the financial industry in London and Paris, where he grew up. He managed multi-billion Global Public and Private Fixed Income Portfolios, Equities and was leading Special Situation projects in multiple jurisdictions, including during the Global Financial Crisis and the European Debt Crisis.
In 2019, Raph left the City of London to cycle the world. Raph crossed 20,000+ km in a touring and bikepacking mode, including Tibet, Japan or Tasmania. Due to the hospitality he witnessed, he felt a strong need to pay it forward. While his initial goal was to give back through other endeavors, the lockdown in Morocco and an interesting discovery forced him to reconsider the way of contributing by founding this website. It began as a cycling and investing blog, hence its catchy name.
Raph holds an MSc in Financial Engineering and has obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst Charter (CFA) and as well as other relevant certificates from local regulators. He speaks French, English and Polish, is brushing up his German and currently learning Japanese.
Francesca worked as strategic consultant in leading consulting firms, and later in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. She is in charge of the charities and other ways of contributing to society, travel and personal finance sections and overall strategy.
Francesca grew up in Northern Italy, and lived across several Asian and European countries, including China and the U.K. Francesca loves Yoga, Swimming, Travelling and has a strong interest in sustainability and social issues. She speaks Italian, English and Spanish and is working on her Portuguese and French. Francesca is currently travelling across Asia and restarted cycling when visiting Vietnam.
TEAM Bankeronwheels - Contributors
Ahmed, a CFA level 3 candidate, is a finance professional with extensive experience in Wholesale Banking, focusing amongst others on Project Finance and Transaction Banking. Given the growth of UCITS ETFs outside of Europe, Ahmed brings a view of an Asian Investor that invests through European Products. In addition to being passionate about Passive Investment Strategies, Ahmed also understands the risks and opportunities of the Web 3 space.
He believes the Godfather to be the greatest movie ever made, Pink Floyd to be the best band ever and Lionel Messi as the GOAT in football. Husband to a beautiful wife who happens to be the mother of three dragons (not Emilia Clarke). Ahmed lives in South Asia. He is an avid cyclist, thanks to his eldest.
Kathrin is an independent teacher and writer with a keen interest in Personal Finance topics. As a self-employed, she quickly realised that she had to take her financial future into her own hands, so she studied how to save, invest, and plan for Early Retirement. Kathrin joined Bankeronwheels.com to bring a new perspective as she started her portfolio from scratch in her early twenties and understands the challenges people face when first starting out.
Kathrin currently lives in London but grew up on the continent and also takes a view of a European reader. Kathrin gets around on her foldable and electric GoCycle GX bike.
Romain is a former banker and strategy consultant. Romain is a CFA Charterholder and a Professional Risk Manager (PRM). Having a strong interest in both Personal Finance and Lifestyle Design, he started researching Financial Independence topics a couple of years ago, and his path naturally led him to Bankeronwheels.com. Romain joined the team to share his perspective and experience, aiming to ultimately empower Bankeronwheels.com readers to make more informed Life and Financial decisions.
A modern-day explorer, Romain currently spends most of his time around the beautiful worlds of music and philosophy. During the weekend, he explores the countryside of his native Belgium on a Scott Speedster Gravel.
Investment Research Review Panel

Thorsten Palinkas
Thorsten is a Portfolio Manager and Senior Executive Advisor with over 20 year of experience managing Public and Private Fixed Income, Alternative Investments and Real Estate and Aviation Assets. In his prior roles at Tier 1 US, European and Japanese Investment Banks, Thorsten oversaw teams and managed up to $30bn portfolios, including very successful Long/Short Funds.
More recently, Thorsten was a Senior Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, advising large Financial Institutions, Central Banks and Financial Regulators. Thorsten graduated from Hochschule Fuer Wirtschaft und Umwelt in Nuertingen. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Thorsten grew up in Germany, but spent most of his career between London and Singapore, where he currently lives.