Pleion is opening an office in Verbier. The Genevan wealth manager will take over offices vacated by Landolt, a Swiss private bank recently sold to Oddo-BHF.
Geneva-based Pleion is hiring two bankers from a local rival to open an office in the upscale ski resort popular with wealthy Brits, CEO Patrick Héritier told finews.com. The office will be led by Serge Dorsaz, a veteran Swiss wealth manager, and Carine Perraudin, both from Bruellan, a Swiss wealth manager.
The push by Pleion, which also opened in Monaco and Zurich recently, is emblematic of how Switzerland's niche wealth managers are expanding beyond their usual habitat. Verbier, where four banks crowd around Place Centrale alone, is hugely popular with British tourists, thanks in part to easy access to Geneva's Cointrin airport and a small airport in Sion.
Physical Vs Virtual
Dorsaz and Perraudin have worked together since 2009, when they teamed up at Banque Cantonale du Valais. The duo will work out of an office recently vacated by Landolt, which was bought last year by Franco-German Oddo-BHF in a Swiss growth bid.
«Even if the pandemic has changed the way we work by developing virtual relationships with our customers, we are convinced that a physical presence is essential to serve them in the best possible way and maintain a relationship of trust with them,» CEO Héritier said. Pleion, which also has offices in Bern, Nyon, and Sion, manages roughly 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.23 billion).
