Institutional asset management and funds: a decisive diversification

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The development of asset management for institutional clients has been a decisive diversification for the great Geneva houses. Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, foundations and international organisations entrust substantial mandates to specialised managers. These mandates generate regular revenues that are less dependent on the cycles of the private clientele and on developments in international taxation.

The Geneva houses have also developed ranges of investment funds, often domiciled in Luxembourg or Ireland so as to benefit from the European passport, in order to be able to distribute them within the European Union.¹ This strategy is partly a response to the absence of direct access to the European market for Swiss institutions.

Institutional asset management calls for skills that differ from those of private wealth management: formalised investment processes, large research teams, detailed reporting and compliance with the requirements of institutional investors. It favours large institutions capable of investing in these skills. It has contributed to the widening gap between the great Geneva houses, which have become international players in asset management, and the smaller institutions, which have remained focused on private clients.

Sustainable finance occupies a growing place in this business. Institutional investors increasingly require environmental, social and governance criteria to be taken into account, and several Geneva houses have made sustainability a central pillar of their strategy. Part K will return to this development and to its limits.

Notes

Allnews, 14 March 2024 (Julien Dif, “La Suisse et le Luxembourg : complémentarité en matière de fonds de placement”): Swiss funds represented approximately CHF 1,370 billion in 2023 as against more than EUR 5,285 billion for Luxembourg funds; the author attributes Luxembourg’s appeal to the European passport, to the 35 per cent withholding tax burdening units in Swiss funds and to the responsiveness of the Luxembourg legislature (transposition of the UCITS Directive as early as 1988, creation of the RAIF), and notes that many Luxembourg structures are initiated by Swiss providers. ↩

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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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

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.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Institutional asset management and funds: a decisive diversification

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?