The forces at play on the horizon of 2035

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

Three movements will shape the decade. The first is geographical: global wealth will continue to grow faster in Asia, the Middle East and the emerging economies than in Europe, so that the financial centres closest to those regions will gain market share. The Boston Consulting Group expects the emerging markets to add roughly USD 7,000 billion of financial wealth by 2030 and mainland China to grow by 9 per cent a year.¹ The second is regulatory: the divergence between a Switzerland that is adding rules, a European Union that is simplifying them and a United States that is deregulating creates cost differentials which institutions arbitrage. Mutual recognition, inaugurated with the United Kingdom, may spread or remain an isolated case. The third is technological: the centres that offer the most reliable infrastructure for tokenisation, instant payments and data analysis will attract the flows, whatever their size.

In this landscape Geneva has a possible strategy, which the preceding chapters have sketched out: to concentrate on what it does better than others, namely complex international private wealth management, commodity trading and its financing, arbitration and advisory work, sustainable finance and relations with Africa and the French-speaking world. It can also rely on infrastructure bought in from Zurich, Luxembourg or elsewhere rather than seeking to build it itself, defend proportionate regulation in Berne and make its stability, its compliance and its language explicit arguments. This strategy will not restore Switzerland to first place in the world for cross-border wealth, but it can keep Geneva among the handful of financial centres that the world needs.

Notes

Boston Consulting Group, 27 May 2026, cited above. ↩

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.

English

Contact

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.

Get in touch →

The forces at play on the horizon of 2035

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?