continental Europe within the next two years.
“My first task is to get a firm hold of Geneva and then we will be able to develop the whole Globaleye system throughout Europe, and ultimately take that into the major capitals around Europe,” Pacitti adds.
Whether Globaleye succeeds in its quest for Swiss dominance depends in part on AES, which has similarly ambitious plans. Jonathan Wookey, branch manager at AES, says his team will initially target clients in Zürich, before the firm trains its sights on Geneva or Basel. By March 2013, Wookey expects to employ seven or eight consultants – the maximum he says a Zürich office can support.
He is seeking to instil a long-term approach in his advisers which will set AES apart from the commission-driven, hard-selling tactics previously used by some Swiss-based IFAs.
Professional focus
“The opportunity in Switzerland is that financial advice is moving from an industry to a profession,” Wookey explains. “So we work to build up relationships with clients and look after their needs. It is not just about a one-time sale of an individual product, but a long-term approach that adapts to the client, and is based on their changing needs throughout their career in Switzerland.
“AES was the UK’s fastest-growing financial services company in 2011 [according to the Fast Track 100 league table]. I do not see why that success cannot be exported into the Swiss marketplace.”
AES will deal with all expat groups in Zürich except Americans, Wookey says, owing to the additional compliance burdens of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which takes effect next year. Wookey adds German citizens are likely to form about 30% to 40% of the company’s client base – reflecting their position as one of the largest groups of foreign nationals in Switzerland (see graph on previous page) – with the remainder mostly British, Australian, South American, Italian and French expats.
Marriott, who is also on a recruitment drive, has acquired some 200 clients, about two-thirds of whom are from the UK.
He expects Blackden to be largely unaffected by growing competition in the Swiss IFA sector – owing to the firm’s steady approach to expansion – but says advisers are under more pressure to distinguish themselves from their peers, either by reputation or the way they seek to generate new business.
“Investors here are as savvy as they are anywhere – possibly more so, because your average client tends to be highly educated and working in a head office,” Marriott says.
“The way in which you approach those clients is important. If you arrive anew, and you have no clients to start with, the question is: how do you go about building your business? If that involves cold-calling, I would suggest you are going to have a hard time of it.”
But business opportunities are only part of Switzerland’s appeal, according to advisers who have relocated there – Marriott, Wookey and Pacitti all highlight the country’s standard of living as a key ingredient.
Desirable habitats
Swiss cities consistently feature towards the head of global quality of life indices. For example, Mercer’s latest annual survey – which analysed urban living conditions based on 39 factors, across ten categories – ranked Zürich, Geneva and Bern within its ten most desirable places to live.
“Everything works here, everything is perfect – there is no graffiti, no litter, no crime,” Pacitti says.
“You have all of these blue-chip headquarters here, and you have got CERN a couple of kilometres away, which has the world’s best scientists. So I always refer to it as a bit like Utopia – the cleverest and the brightest people from all over the world are gathered within Geneva.”
But, as any Rolex owner knows, quality comes at a price – and Marriott notes that Switzerland is also a costly place for expats and their advisers to live (both Geneva and Zürich appear in Mercer’s top ten most expensive cities for expatriates in dollar terms, with Bern in 14th place).
Companies, too, must foot the bill of higher pension and social insurance costs than other countries, Marriott adds.
Nevertheless, Pacitti says salaries more than compensate for the extra expense and highlights recent proposals to raise the Swiss minimum wage to more than $50,000, as a further potential boost to pay packets.
“My cleaner is on £25 or £30 an hour,” he adds.
