Long-standing Pictet head Nicolas Pictet is stepping down. He will be replaced internally, as the Genevan wealth manager replenishes its partner ranks.
Nicolas Pictet will step down as senior partner of the eponymous Swiss private bank in September as well as leave the partnership, Pictet said in a statement on Wednesday. Pictet has been a partner for 28 years and has been in the senior role for just over two years.
He will be replaced by Renaud de Planta (pictured below), who oversees Pictet's vast asset management business. The institutional arm makes for nearly half of Pictet's 496 billion Swiss francs ($496.1 billion) in overall assets, with the rest from traditional wealth management.
The changes are the first to come following the entrance of ex-Julius Baer CEO Boris Collardi as a partner eight months ago. De Planta, who joined Pictet directly as a partner in 1998, is the second-longest-standing in the top body, after Nicolas Pictet.
The bank also said it will replenish its top echelon by adding Sébastien Eisinger (pictured below) as a partner from April. Eisinger is a 20-year Pictet banker and deputy head of asset management to de Planta.
«With his entrepreneurial spirit, his long term thinking and deep investment experience in asset management, not to mention his knowledge of Pictet and appreciation of our distinctive culture, we expect him to make a vital contribution to our future success», senior partner Pictet said. Eisinger began as a fixed income manager after joining Pictet from Lazard Frères Gestion.
Following Nicolas Pictet's departure, the partnership will comprise de Planta as senior partner, Collardi, Laurent Ramsey, Rémy Best, Bertrand Demole, Marc Pictet, and Eisinger.
Inflows Offset Withdrawals
Besides the top-level changes, Pictet said full-year net profit rose just over 4 percent to 596 million francs on the year. The bank won just 1 billion francs in net new money, explaining that it had suffered undisclosed outflows, which were compensated by winning new clients.
Its assets receded nearly 3 percent amid the market turmoil. Last year, Pictet had won 14 billion francs in net new money. «2018 was a particularly challenging year. Volatile equity markets unsettled investors, who were cautious as a result», Pictet said.
The bank will continue to plow profits back into hiring – it nabbed 18 Julius Baer bankers two months ago – as well as in infrastructure.
