ACCLAIM

RECOGNISING LEADERS AC ROSS THE GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY THROUGH THE WealthBriefing AWARDS PROGRAMME

The Tenth Annual WealthBriefing Swiss Awards Winners 2023

February 2023

Foreword

TOM BURROUGHES Group Editor, WealthBriefing

The latest annual Swiss Awards are held to recognise achievements of top-notch practitioners in the Alpine state. With the world remaining a volatile place and economic and financial markets in ferment, the need for clear and calm advice has never been more important.

Home to many of the world’s most renowned banks and technology firms, Switzerland has been guarding and investing clients’ money successfully for centuries. Maintaining standards requires constant effort - these awards salute the work that gets done.

The organisers of this news service’s awards programme know how much those who take part value them. They are valuable for firms and people as marketing tools and ways to construct brands. WealthBriefing takes great pride in how this programme also gives the editorial and commercial teams a chance to build on existing relationships and forge new connections.

As editor, I am delighted that we have been able to track the work done in the Swiss wealth management sector, and I look forward to doing so in future.

Overview Of The Swiss Wealth Management Sector

Switzerland is the world’s single-largest offshore centre, even though rival hubs are trying to win a piece of the pie. A report by Boston Consulting Group last year predicted that Hong Kong will overtake the Alpine state in 2023 – although the pandemic-driven restrictions in the Asian centre might mean that won’t yet come to pass.

According to Deloitte in 2021, Switzerland is home to $2.6 trillion of offshore assets, Switzerland is the largest booking centre. (The country also was also top in Deloitte’s competitiveness rankings in that report.)

More than a decade has flown by from when Switzerland inked a sweeping set of agreements with the US to regularise bank accounts which, combined with other moves, spelled the effective end internationally of bank secrecy.

Switzerland’s financial sector, rather like its luxury wristwatch sector in the 70s, has reinvented itself – the country is a hub for digital assets, fintech firms and innovative asset managers. It also continues to exploit its standing for political neutrality and stability, a high quality of life and educational rigour. In compliance terms it’s not a soft touch: in 2022 Switzerland endorsed EU sanctions against Russia – an unprecedented move.

Some of its banks have been through tough times, such as Credit Suisse, but this is a country with a record of bouncing back from adversity.