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Western EuropeAugust 1 2012

Switzerland loosens grip on the wealth management sector

A stagnant home market and declining prospects in western Europe have encouraged Swiss wealth managers to expand in emerging markets. But the strategy for success is not always straightforward, and now a number of regional players have come to the fore looking to challenge Swiss dominance in this field.
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Switzerland loosens grip on the wealth management sector

That Switzerland's asset and wealth management sector's home market is failing to rouse itself from its current state of slumber has been a worry for the country's firms for some time. And the plight of the Swiss market received fresh confirmation in June 2012, in a report from private banking and asset management group LGT.

LGT found that, as the euro crisis rolls on and the accompanying uncertainty about the future of the global economy endures, Switzerland's wealthy, "remain highly risk-averse and fearful of inflation, sovereign debt defaults and the unstable financial system". As a result, 58% of wealth management clients in Switzerland have lost their confidence in the country's asset management system and a significant proportion are anxious about inflation, according to the report. Clients have resorted to cash, gold and the domestic market, and are shunning above-average levels of diversification.

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