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Ex-fighter pilot and UBS banker Patrick Héritier came to entrepreneurship late. Now he is charting an aggressive growth course for Swiss wealth and asset manager Pleion, he tells finews.com.

Patrick Heritier, you’re a veteran private banker of UBS and Julius Baer. Why did you move to an independent asset manager?

It took me almost 50 years to realize I was an entrepreneur. None of the independent asset managers I met had a vision or a strategy I could share. I didn’t want to hear that I could work less and make more money – I’m too young for that. I don’t want to work for a company I don’t share a set of values with. I’m privileged to have the choice and this is why I chose Pleion.

Pleion has been on a tear since you joined less than two years ago. What’s your strategy?

We want to grow in Switzerland, in the EU, and in the rest of the world. We are hiring relationship managers who are leaving banks or had set up their own independent asset management companies.

Let’s start with your plan for Switzerland.

Zurich and the German-speaking part of Switzerland are strategic for us. We are an ideal company for Swiss clients with international plans, and Zurich is key for them. Eastern Europe and a lot of Middle East business are also now run out of Zurich, as is a lot of northern Europe.

You already pushed into Bern last year. Will you be able to launch in Zurich this year?

If you want to do something strategic, you need the right people. You can’t rush it though. As a former fighter pilot, I always say you need to be very patient. But when you have a fit, you go full-throttle with the afterburner.

You just opened in Monaco as well with ten people. What else do you plan in Europe?

We’d like to take a majority stake in a Luxembourg company with a fund management license and EU passport for wealth management. We’re waiting for an answer from CSSF [Luxembourg’s financial regulator].

Your resources are finite because of your size.

I’m a big believer in sharing experiences. We’re joining the ASWM [Alliance of Swiss Wealth Managers] because I think there we can really achieve a major change in our relationship with the banks. Our clients would benefit: we can bundle power on pricing, knowledge, and other things.

What is so distinctive about Pleion as an independent asset manager?

We want to be close to our clients, this is why we are present already in Geneva, Nyon, Sion, Bern and Monaco., We have set up a strong Investment office with an independent, open and rational approach for the development on investment strategies.

«Considering strategic shareholders to help finance growth»

We’ve been developing our own information technology for the last ten years with a team of 20 people. We’re also multi-custody and multi-jurisdiction, and we have dedicated people for legal and compliance, and human resources.