Vontobel intends to harness the huge growth potential for business with external asset managers and family offices who seek services for external asset managers in Asia by building up local expertise.
Georg von Wattenwyl has been appointed to develop the business and take worldwide responsibility for family offices. As head of Vontobel’s Financial Products, Advisory & Distribution unit for 11 years, he has been in charge of global advisory services and the distribution of Vontobel financial products. He will be in charge of the development of the business in Asia and head the new team from 1 January 2019.
Vontobel expects the Asian market for external asset managers (EAMs) and family offices who seek services for external asset managers to grow by more than 30% per year. In the two key Asian financial centres of Singapore and Hong Kong alone, there are around 150 EAMs and multi-family offices (MFOs) providing high-net-worth clients with investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services. Together, they manage client assets totalling some CHF100bn. Added to these are a comparable number of single-family offices (SFOs) with a similar volume of client assets.
In addition to EAMs in Asia, von Wattenwyl will also take global responsibility for advising family offices acting as external asset managers.
Vontobel Investment Banking has also appointed new heads of Financial Products Advisory & Distribution and Transaction Banking. Following Georg von Wattenwyl’s decision to take charge of building up the business with EAMs in Asia and global responsibility for advising family offices at Vontobel EAM, Peter Camenzind will take over from him as head Financial Products Advisory & Distribution with effect from January 1, 2019.
Since 2008, Camenzind has been in charge of the Transaction Banking business unit, which provides a range of payment and tax services for Vontobel and external financial firms including client execution, clearing, settlement, and corporate actions. Under his leadership, more than 120 banks – including Swiss cantonal, regional, and private banks – and international brokers currently call on its services for their securities business.
Camenzind will be succeeded as head Transaction Banking by Nino Ciganovic, who joins Vontobel from SIX Securities & Exchanges, where his most recent position was head Global Relationship & Network Management and member of the Management Committee.
