Bellevue Group has seen its profit slump in the first half of the year. The company’s assets under management have held up well though, recovering strongly after the plunge in March.
Bellevue Group, a finance boutique based on the shores of Lake Zurich, had profit of 6.2 million Swiss francs ($6.8 million) in the first half of 2020, down by more than half compared with 14.2 million in the same period of 2019.
Net profit was strongly impacted by impairments and provisions in excess of 7 million francs, most of which were linked to Star Capital. Bellevue Group said the unit faced stiff competition with its traditional focus on global equity, bond and multi-asset strategies.
In- and Outflows
In April, the company completed the divestment of Bank am Bellevue to Luxembourg-based private-banking group Quintet. The bank had generated a loss of 0.7 million francs in the months preceding the sale.
Bellevue Group is taking heart from the performance of its remaining asset management activities. The company has seen its stock of assets recover well following the corona-plunge of March, rising to 10.6 billion francs by the end of the reporting period, slightly up from the beginning of 2020. It received more than 500 million francs for its health-care strategies, an inflow that was pared by outflows at more traditional strategies.
New Head of Finance
The sale of its bank to Quintet led to a trimming of its structure. Patrik Gilli, the finance chief of the bank and now of the group, and key person in completing the divestment of the stake in SIX and the bank, will leave the group after concluding ongoing projects.
He will be replaced on August 1 by Michael Hutter, the finance chief of the asset management business. He will take on the task in addition to the strategic group projects and leadership roles at various units of the group.
