The independent asset manager celebrates its 30th anniversary amid increasingly rife speculation that it is about to be sold. But what, if anything, is behind the current rumors and recent departures?
In August, the three founders of the Zurich-based independent asset manager Swisspartners (German only) came together. Although they and the 200 guests in attendance celebrated the 30th anniversary of the company they founded, it may have also been the last time the three industry pioneers were in the same room, at least in that capacity.
Martin P. Egli, Dirk van Riemsdijk and Rainer Moser (image below) are now long retired and even though the strong rains did not stop any of the guests from attending, it also didn't put an end to widespread speculation about the asset manager's future.
Dirk van Riemsdijk, Martin P. Egli and Rainer Moser (from left; Image: Christian Meixner)
According to some, proposals have been circulating among potential interested parties and a few of them have even signalled interest. The speculation is also being linked with a surprising number of personnel departures, at least when they are taken in as a whole. Internal sources have indicated to finews.com that there are at least half a dozen senior employees who are on the way out, including the head of financeDavid Maestri, who is going to Aquila after being there for two and a half years. Other functions are also losing people. Simone Toellner, who had represented the company externally, and was responsible for marketing and events, will be leaving the company in October 2023.
High Fluctuation
Swisspartners CEO Markus Wintsch confirmed all this while saying: «The owners and the board have decided to evaluate a number of strategic options for the future of the group.»
Markus Wintsch, CEO of Swisspartners Group (Image: V. Di Domenico)
But things are not just moving in one direction. Lukas Ruettimann has been appointed the new head of finance while Nina Sticher will take over marketing. Marcel Ammann is coming in as the deputy head of the fiduciary and property business while also focusing on ongoing digitalization efforts, Wintsch indicates.
Just this past March, Swisspartners made two acquisitions in relatively short order. It was something that was talked about in the market. It bought NRS Treuhand – where Marcel Ammann worked, a fiduciary, tax, and administrative firm based in Zurich and Baar that was also active in succession planning and the provision of family officer services. After that, it acquired Rapperswil-based Decimo Immobilien, which has expertise in key areas of property management.
Changing Ownerhip
What this all means, however, is that Swisspartners has clearly grown from just having a few employees to one that now employs 110 and manages about $5.6 billion in client funds. Although it has the capabilities and expertise to meet a wide variety of client needs, the take in the market is that the level of assets is not enough when looked at against the overall size of the group. Given that, the talk of a potential sale is not surprising.
In the larger context, this is also not the first time that the business has reached a key inflection point. An important one was in 2015 when Swisspartners management, together with Werner Vogt (engineer and founder of the ITW group in Liechtenstein) and Stefan Pierer (entrepreneur and founder of Austria's Pierer Mobility) bought back a 70 percent stake in the business that the Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) owned.
In 2021, that step was reflected when Martin Meyer was appointed chairman of the board, succeeding co-founder Martin P. Egli. Since then, Egli has been honorary chairman while Meyer's full-time role is CEO of ITW.
Consolidating Market
The current review of the strategic options, as Wintsch puts it, could actually lead to something much bigger, not least given that the independent asset management sector has plenty of acquirers on the lookout for anything to buy.
At the start of the year, for example, Zug-based Cinerius-Gruppe bought Entrepreneur Partners, as finews. com reported then.
At the time, the deal was seen as a harbinger of things to come.
