More than 25 years of Michel Kappen, and the legacy he leaves behind
After more than 25 years, Michel Kappen is stepping back from the day-to-day management of SWI. We look back on his legacy and the course he has set for us.
Stijn de Smit · 25 September 2026 · 4 min read
- Whisky
We would like to share a significant development at Scotch Whisky Investments (SWI) with you. In mutual agreement with the board, Michel Kappen has decided to step down from the day-to-day management of SWI, after a remarkable career spanning more than 25 years.
Michel is far more than the founder of SWI. He is the man who turned whisky into a fully fledged asset class, in the face of considerable scepticism. After leaving Rabobank, he was one of the first people in the world to see what others had missed, and in 2007 he turned that insight into SWI’s very first investment products.
Under his leadership, SWI obtained its licence from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) in 2014 and in the years that followed grew into an established institution, with the acquisition of the world-famous Valentino Zagatti Collection, our own storage facility in Scotland, expansion into several countries and the launch of our own single malt, MO ÒR. Today SWI manages more than €325 million in assets for over 1,600 investors worldwide, and can rightly count itself among the largest whisky investors in the world. In every sense, that is the life’s work of Michel Kappen.
Honorary Ambassador of SWI
How much we owe Michel cannot be captured in a few words. As a token of our gratitude, Michel has been appointed Honorary Ambassador of SWI, a title that does justice to everything he has meant to the organisation. His vision, his courage, his tireless dedication and his entrepreneurial spirit are the foundation of everything SWI is today and everything we stand for.
“I look back with enormous pride on what we have built together. It has been a journey I would never have dared to dream of when I started out in 2002 with nothing more than an idea. I recognise that different leadership qualities are now needed to meet the challenges ahead. I have every confidence that SWI will make its mark on several fronts and, in doing so, strengthen its business model. Scotch single malt whisky is and will remain a unique investment product, and one I very much enjoy advising on. I remain involved with SWI and am ready to share my knowledge and experience wherever it can add value.”
The course ahead
The current board will continue firmly along the course that has been set. For you as an investor, nothing changes. We will keep investing in improving the tradability of your whisky portfolio, further international growth, the continued development of our own brand MO ÒR and the expansion of our warehousing facility.
25 years at a glance
The key milestones of Michel’s journey with SWI, from 2002 to today.
- 2002
The beginning
Michel Kappen leaves Rabobank and starts The Whisky Talker.
- 2006
Whisky as an investment
Michel researches the historical value development of Scotch single malt whisky and discovers remarkable returns.
- 2007
Scotch Whisky Investments
Scotch Whisky Investments launches its first investment products and establishes the World Whisky Index.
- 2014
AFM licence
The AFM approves the application to offer Scotch single malt whisky as an investment product.
- 2015
A unique acquisition
Scotch Whisky International acquires the world-famous Zagatti Collection, including a bottle dating from 1843.
- 2017
Assets under investment
Scotch Whisky International passes the milestone of €50 million in investments.
- 2018
Wealth management
Scotch Whisky International launches its own whisky wealth management product and opens the museum The Unseen Valentino Zagatti Collection.
- 2019
An exclusive club for investors
Scotch Whisky Investments launches the Scotch Whisky Investors Club and passes the milestone of €65 million in investments.
- 2020
Expansion abroad
Scotch Whisky Investments opens international sales offices and passes the milestone of €100 million in investments.
- 2021
International ambition
The SWEX is launched, a platform where investors can invest up to €100,000 themselves. In the same year, the Scottish branch is founded: Scotch Whisky Investments Ltd.
- 2021
Keeper of the Quaich
The Scotch whisky industry honours Michel Kappen with the distinguished title “Keeper of the Quaich” for his contribution to positioning Scotch single malt whisky as an investment product worldwide.
- 2021
Bottle number 1 of the world’s oldest whisky
Scotch Whisky Investments partners with Gordon & MacPhail on the global launch of the oldest whisky ever bottled: The Glenlivet 80 Years Generations.
- 2023
Our own storage
Construction of our own storage facility, bottling plant and bottle store is completed. The warehouse in Glenrothes, Scotland, has room for more than 20,000 casks.
- 2025
The 85-year-old Generations
Together with Gordon & MacPhail, SWI launches the second release in The Generations series. At 85 years old, it is once again the longest-matured single malt whisky in the world.
- Today
From idea to institution
SWI manages more than €325 million in assets for over 1,600 investors worldwide. From an idea on a notepad in 2002 to one of the largest whisky investors in the world. That is the legacy Michel leaves behind.
