Sound Capital, one of the large independent asset managers in the Zurich area, is undergoing a generational change. The company has also ramped up its digitalization efforts, finews.com has learned.
Simon Grossenbacher is putting his money where his mouth is. Last fall, the new head of major independent asset manager Sound Capital told finews.com, «As CEO, I want to make Sound Capital a magnet for talented bankers of the next generation.»
In recent months, the Zurich-based firm has been able to sign up various frontline staff as well as executives for its corporate center.
Further Changes Ahead
Three ex-bankers joined the company as client advisors last year. Markus Steinacher, who joined Sound Capital from UBS and looks after clients from the Greek and Cyprus markets. Sandro Weibel and Beat von Gruenigen joined from Zurich-based private bank Julius Baer to serve wealthy entrepreneurs from German-speaking Europe (DACH).
Additional relationship managers are expected to start at Sound Capital in the coming months, the company announced.
Vigorous Recruiting
To attract yet more talent, the Zurich-based company is recruiting vigorously and providing a rare glimpse into its business figures, which are otherwise kept strictly secret. According to the company, its cost-income ratio (CIR) is 50, very good for a wealth management firm. It is said to be highly profitable, which in turn guarantees planning security and one of the highest revenue-payout ratios in the industry.
There is also movement in the Corporate Center where Oliver Schmid started this month as the operational head (COO) alongside Grossenbacher. He represents the next generation at the asset manager, which celebrated its tenth-anniversary last year. He will be looking after the scaling and digitization of the company's platform which are challenges the industry still has to overcome after upheavals around licensing.
Schmid previously held the COO role at the international law firm Baker McKenzie in Switzerland.
Interface With Custodian Banks
Joerg Stoehr started at Sound Capital in November, in the role of chief legal officer. He looks back on a career at Credit Suisse and the Liechtenstein bank LGT. Also in February, Miriam Dibsdale joined as a communications expert to improve the company's external messaging. The communications manager with a past at UBS joined from Zurich-based Smart Media Agency.
The independent asset manager is pushing ahead with digitalization in addition to expanding its staff. Digital interfaces to the most important custodian banks are now in place for 90 percent of portfolio management clients, allowing much simpler and faster processing of transactions.
Partners Welcome
The expense process for client advisors has also been automated using the Abaclik3 app, so expenses can now be submitted completely paperless.
Sound Capital continues to offer interested parties the opportunity to buy in as a partner. «This makes the company a preferred partner for client advisors who want to become independent and develop further in wealth management,» Grossenbacher, himself a former UBS executive, commented on the offer.
