at Credit Suisse in Zurich. There, he notably led the PMnet project to design and implement a fully automated system for the investment and its operations process. He then was head of portfolio management at Ferrier Lullin & Cie, a Geneva private bank. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs whose wealth is overseen by a family office, says Nicholas Hochstadter, founder and CEO of Investment by Objectives. Our financial assets are divided among several portfolios entrusted to various investment managers. Ten years ago, we wanted to find a more dynamic way to track our portfolios’ returns. It also seemed to us that the returns reported to us did not adequately take into account the volatility that they engendered. Having worked in the banking industry myself for many years, I was eager to develop a programme that would allow us to monitor our risk-adjusted returns regularly, according to each manager’s style. Investment performance is not particularly meaningful unless placed in the rightful context”.
profession, managers must refocus their efforts equally on client satisfaction and business practices. The challenge is to reconnect with clients, and today’s popular communication channels are an excellent way of doing so.”
“From my standpoint, the comparison sites I came up with do more than just present data in a standardised form. For managers, their true advantage is not merely in providing another tool for the technical toolbox, but in cultivating a deeper relationship with clients. They exist first and foremost to restore and strengthen the bond between managers and us, clients.” “Wealth management, whether performed by bankers or independent asset managers, may not have changed fundamentally, but certain practices must be altered. It is not a matter of adding a dash of risk management here and a pinch of compliance there, as legislators are keen to demand on behalf of their constituents. They must instead focus on returning to the basics. To reappropriate their
In the current environment, online media are certainly not optional or for occasional use, whenever one feels like it. In the end, they are meant to form true digital marketplaces in which wealth managers should set up shop ahead of the likely influx of potential clients. And there is no doubt that online marketplaces will be bustling with activity, as evidenced by the staggering amount of traffic on web platforms like Facebook. Clients adopted these new communication methods long ago. Time has come for wealth management professionals to embrace these solutions at a faster pace than they have done so far… not only because pressed by clients!
“If integrated and interpreted wisely by professionals, IBO’ applications could be a positive driver of change, emphasizes Nicolas Gonet head of the Swiss private bank Gonet & Cie. By providing a better way to analyse, adapt and, in particular, steer performance, it should boost returns. Despite what one might think, the goal is not necessarily to increase performance in terms of the actual numbers, although that is of course a worthwhile goal. Rather, we aim to show investment returns from the right perspective so that they might be better understood. And I do believe this will encourage a healthy habit of emulation among managers. I say healthy because the rules are clear and applicable to all, which will surely benefit clients.”
www.performance-watcher.ch
94 WWW.FAMILYOFFICEELITE.COM