The Zurich-based wealth advisor is growing rapidly and in 2023 it plans to extend that growth beyond its Swiss border. CEO Patrick Mueller tells finews.com he wants to open an office in Singapore next year.

Invest, let it take hold over two years, then invest again. With this cycle, Zwei Wealth CEO Patrick Mueller guided Zurich-based wealth advisor Zwei Wealth through considerable growth. Last year saw the firm move to a well-known villa in Zurich's financial district but 2022 was defined, above all, by the launch of its Wealth Office platform, as finews.com reported exclusively. As the cycle turns, 2023 will now be another investment year, Mueller says in the interview.

The next few months will see the wealth firm, co-founded by former UBS chief economist Klaus Wellershoff, expand its business outside of Switzerland. Preparations are underway to open a London office in the fall, becoming a third hub after Zurich and Geneva. Andrew Hall, already an advisor to the young company, will be one of Zwei Wealth's ambassadors there.

Franchises in Germany

«London has a very significant wealth management and family office scene,» says Mueller, explaining the reasoning behind the expansion. The location will start with a small team for consulting and operational matters, with plans to build on that foundation.

The next phase will come in Germany as early as the fourth quarter. Because Zwei Wealth strategists do not recognize clear demarcations for centers in the asset management industry, they want to work with franchises on teams of advisors with their neighbor to the north. The teams set up a location themselves where Hamburg, Duesseldorf, and Munich come into the picture, says Mueller. As in the UK and Switzerland, wealth advisors in Germany are focusing on the needs of a broad middle and upper class that has held assets for generations.

No Supervisory Shackles

That is in contrast to Asia, where new money tends to dominate. Even so, the firm wants to be active there and preparations will take shape in the coming months for a leap into Singapore where an office is planned for 2024. Although Mueller sees great opportunities there, he cautions success is not guaranteed, acknowledging «our hypothesis has yet to be proven.»

It is not so much the complexity of respective jurisdictions. Zwei Wealth operates as an intermediary between the highly regulated wealth management industry and its clients and is therefore not subject to supervision. This model facilitates entry into new jurisdictions since the technology platform can be linked to Switzerland in each case.

London is Promising

The company also has to find suitable local advisors on the other side of providers of financial services, like asset managers and banks. «That's where the greatest effort lies for us,» Mueller says. It is unclear whether Britons, Germans, and Asians will flock to a Swiss wealth advisor, or whether a foreign firm will be met with skepticism. But the feedback from banks and asset managers in London is promising. «They see us as an interesting distribution channel,» he says.

The Swiss market is still keeping Mueller busy. The portfolio of providers is to be expanded, and Zwei Wealth also wants to provide clients with asset management services, along with real estate and providing legal and fiduciary advisory options.

Not Silicon Valley

The company also plans to invest in technology and human resources. Significant expenditures are still budgeted for the expansion of systems so that even more services are digitally accessible to the clientele. «A customer should also be able to select a new solution for the third pillar on her sofa on Sunday evening,» Mueller explains. Further, about 20 more wealth advisors are to be hired this year. With three new hires this January, the start has already been made.

This is where the wealth business differs from the digital business models of Silicon Valley. Wealthy people still want to be served by flesh-and-blood advisors, so there are limits to scaling and, therefore, to margins. «We are operating in a niche,» he says. Being the world market leader in small areas is what Switzerland specializes in and what Mueller has in mind for Zwei Wealth.

The M in SMEs

In recent years Zwei Wealth has grown to the extent it needs new structures. In December, an operational head (COO) was hired in the person of Andrea Schlapbach. Extra management positions were created for market development and for networking with providers.

More than 40 advisors now work for the company, with nearly 500 banks and asset managers represented on the platform, along with more than 6 billion Swiss francs in assets.

«We have left the K in SME behind us,» says Mueller, summing up the growth of the company.