Geneva, Zurich and Lugano: the geography of independent asset managers

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Independent asset managers are present in all the Swiss financial centres, with differing characteristics. Geneva hosts managers oriented towards a French-speaking, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, African and Latin American clientele, in the image of its banking centre. Zurich groups managers serving a German-speaking clientele, clients from Central and Eastern Europe and from other regions. Lugano serves mainly an Italian clientele.¹

The professional associations reflect this geography. The Groupement suisse des conseils en gestion indépendants (Swiss Association of Independent Wealth Managers) is established in Geneva, while the Association suisse des gérants de fortune (Swiss Association of Asset Managers) has its seat in German-speaking Switzerland.² The supervisory organisations and the service platforms generally cover the whole country, with offices in the principal centres.

For a client, the choice between a manager in Geneva, Zurich or Ticino depends on language, on familiarity with the client’s region of origin, on networks and on proximity. The Geneva financial centre emphasises its French-speaking culture and its international openness, which Part J will examine. It also benefits from the presence of numerous custodian banks specialised in services to intermediaries.

Notes

WealthSummit study (Künzle, Baumann, Feldmann; Allnews, 19 March 2026): 1,309 asset managers licensed by FINMA as at 31 May 2025, of which 26 per cent in Geneva, 29 per cent in Zurich, 11 per cent in Ticino and 34 per cent in the other cantons; some CHF 850 billion under management; 63 per cent manage between CHF 100 million and CHF 2 billion, 27 per cent less than CHF 100 million; 83 per cent employ at most ten full-time equivalents. ↩
Groupement suisse des conseils en gestion indépendants, Geneva commercial register, consulted on moneyhouse.ch in September 2026. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

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Geneva, Zurich and Lugano: the geography of independent asset managers

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