A Blog of the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
I was honored to receive the WealthBriefing Award for Outstanding Contribution to Thought Leadership, recognizing my work on the latest ZHAW Swiss Wealth Management Study 2024. This award highlights the study’s impact in providing valuable data and insights into the evolving landscape of Swiss wealth management.
The world of multi-family offices (MFOs) presents attractive opportunities for Swiss wealth management banks. Managing wealth across multiple families and generations requires tailored strategies that go beyond traditional finance. A recent article by Graziela Fortunato et al. highlights the importance of behavioral finance in redefining how wealth managers engage with MFOs, offering Swiss banks a […]
Abseits der grossen Namen wie UBS existiert in der Schweiz eine lebendige und zumeist florierende Branche kleinerer Privatbanken, wie unsere aktuelle Schweizer Private Banking Studie der ZHAW School of Management and Law zeigt. Im Interview mit finews.tv erklärte Christoph Künzle, Dozent für Banking and Finance, die zentralen Ergebnisse und Herausforderungen der Branche.
Our new study features 66 Swiss Private Banks in detail and compares their performance according to 12 well-known and transparent KPIs. This article presents the largest Swiss Private Banks by AUM.
The new “Swiss Wealth Management Study 2024” by Dr. Christoph Künzle, CFA, and Jonas Hefti from the ZHAW School of Management and Law offers a data-rich perspective on Switzerland’s wealth management industry during a transformative year.
Digital transformation has significantly reshaped all banking sectors, transforming traditional banking practices into dynamic, technology-driven services. Social media’s integration into banking has been one of the more recent changes, offering new avenues for client engagement, marketing, and service delivery. For Swiss wealth management banks, known for their discretion and reliability, adapting to this digital shift has become crucial, especially with the emergence of a new generation of wealthy clients: the so-called NextGen.
The landscape of wealth management for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) continues to evolve, as highlighted by the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest individuals living in the USA. A recent article has analyzed the Forbes 400 list back to 1990 to determine the source of wealth creation across industries.
In this blog post, I will review this article and highlight what I believe Swiss wealth management banks should do to maintain their relevance and leadership. In sum, I will argue that Swiss wealth management banks should focus on understanding the primary sources of wealth creation among UHNWI, adapt to their evolving needs by embracing technology and digital transformation, expand and diversify their asset management services, and maintain personalized wealth management while ensuring robust regulatory and compliance frameworks.
Wealth management banks may be the hidden heroes in a world where AI is becoming increasingly prevalent. As a recent journal article demonstrated, AI can handle data and automate processes – but the value of human touch in wealth management is unparalleled.
In this article, I explore why wealth management banks excel where AI falls short, highlight the importance of empathy, trust, holistic financial planning, regulatory navigation, and personalized client education.
A recent journal article has reviewed the current state and future direction of the FinTech landscape, mainly focusing on the retail banking space. While many retail banks around the world have partnered with FinTech companies to enhance their services, I believe the question of partnering with FinTech companies is more complex for wealth management banks. With this blog post, I will explore opportunities and challenges for wealth management in partnering with FinTechs, focusing on how these partnerships may benefit HNWI clients and addressing concerns about value chain integration.
PE has become a popular investment choice for wealthy clients seeking higher returns beyond public markets. A recent Harvard Business School publication, “Does the Case for Private Equity Still Hold?”, offers a cautiously positive outlook on PE, despite its challenges like market saturation and high fees.
As a former PE executive myself, I find that PE still offers unique opportunities for wealth management, particularly through exclusive investments. However, wealth management banks must carefully select PE offerings, focusing on diversified portfolios and transparent fee structures to ensure sustainable value for (U)HNWI clients.
