In a reversal of its strategy to cater to the world's rich through its family offices, JPMorgan wound down its multi-family office in Geneva. Swiss regulatory changes played a role in the decision.
A little over a year ago, JPMorgan assembled a team in Geneva to cater to the investment offices of wealthy families. The unit encountered challenges in its expansion efforts, partly due to Swiss regulatory changes that caused a reduction in the number of independent wealth managers, according to a «Bloomberg» (behind paywall) story citing people familiar with the matter.
Geneva is one of JPMorgan's main hubs for private banking in Europe, along with London and Luxembourg. The pullback is a partial reversal of its plans to expand its business with ultra-wealthy clients.
Finma Changes the Rules
In 2020, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), gave independent wealth managers three years to obtain a commercial license, turning years of self-regulation on its head.
A survey earlier this year showed a majority of respondents expecting 1,500 independent asset managers to remain standing in Switzerland over the medium term from a level of around 2,200 when the survey was conducted. Many companies, especially smaller ones, are likely to exit the market, an opinion shared by the firms themselves, as finews.com reported.
Broader Operations
JPMorgan said it will fold the business into its broader operations in Switzerland.
According to JPMorgan's private banking website, managing director Matteo Gianini is Market Manager for Switzerland, having joined in 2016. He leads a team of specialists who help individuals and organizations optimize their portfolios, and advises family-owned businesses on protecting their wealth across generations.
Before that, he spent 14 years at Deutsche Bank, where he held several positions, including head of Wealth Management in Switzerland.
