On a Swiss financial center that has long since reached maturity, the quest for growth now relies on a fierce war for talent. Between boutique banks, established industry giants and the rising power of independent wealth managers (IWMs), the transfer of client portfolios has become a high-wire act where smooth talk collides with the cold reality of results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conclusion is unequivocal: for Swiss private banks, organic growth will not return to its former glory. In this context, recruiting relationship managers with a client portfolio under their arm is no longer an option but a central driver of new asset inflows. Yet this permanent \u201ctransfer market\u201d is far from an exact science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recruiting a \u201cstar\u201d banker carries risks that institutions now seek to minimize through almost surgical analysis. How can one distinguish a virtuoso of client relationships from a smooth talker who negotiates a spectacular salary but whose assets never materialize?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Philippe Turrian, Head of Wealth Management at Banque Syz, the exercise is all the more complex because commercial talent is a double-edged sword. \u201cA good banker is a good \u2018salesperson\u2019, so naturally he knows how to \u2018sell\u2019 his business plan,\u201d he notes. To limit disappointments, the bank now drills down \u201cline by line to understand whether the banker truly knows his book and its specificities,\u201d as well as his ability to estimate what portion of his clients will genuinely follow him. But beyond the numbers, networks prevail: \u201cThe best way is to know the banker personally [\u2026] it is by understanding how he built his book that we can best assess his chances of success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Philippe Turrian, Head of Wealth Management, Banque Syz.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This vigilance is shared by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dommart, COO of Banque Bonh\u00f4te, who favors a fact-based approach. \u201cWe cross-check the information provided with objective data, such as target markets or mobility history,\u201d he explains. In his view, experience helps lift the veil on appearances: \u201cWe can quickly distinguish what constitutes a truly \u2018transferable\u2019 portfolio from what mainly depends on the brand or the previous environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While assets under management are the primary attraction, it is often on the altar of corporate culture that marriages of convenience fall apart. Recruitment failures are not always due to an overestimation of the promised millions, but rather to institutional incompatibility or misaligned expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCultural mismatch is an important factor,\u201d analyzes Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dommart. \u201cA relationship manager may have built a book over many years, but if he does not function well in our more agile, more transparent, less hierarchical environment than a large organization, integration becomes difficult.\u201d Philippe Turrian adds that for senior profiles, failure is often linked to a biased reading of the client relationship: overestimating clients\u2019 willingness to follow the banker, at the expense of their attachment to the institution, creates disillusionment. \u201cIt is human nature to give ourselves, as individuals, more importance than we give to the institution we serve,\u201d he recalls. Misalignment regarding risk appetite or services offered can also accelerate a breakdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dommart, COO, Banque Bonh\u00f4te.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This tension is exacerbated by changes in compensation models. Romain Buob, CEO of Grant Alexander Switzerland, observes a structural shift: \u201cWhile bonuses have for some time been linked to direct performance (Net New Money, account performance) in an increasing number of institutions, we are definitively leaving the era of discretionary bonuses. Today, whether in boutique banks, among independents or within large banking groups, the model is that of the salaried entrepreneur. Relationship managers want real meritocracy: they refuse to be \u2018luxury employees\u2019 whose variable compensation is reduced to offset regulatory fines imposed on a large group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nCulture and incentives: from golden cage to entrepreneurial project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n