Jean-Luc Freymond

CEO, SAGE

Freymond will demonstrate how we can envisage a new type of relationship between the financial institution and their clients using modern interactive tools. SAGE SA’s vision is that the new market conditions and new generation of banking clients call for a much more interactive implication of the clients.

Traditionally, the relationship between the banker and their clients have been essentially in one direction. Generations of bankers have built trust relying on their institution’s reputation and track record; now, things are much harder as nearly all institutions have shown weaknesses in the past years.

Clients eager to preserve their wealth need efficient asset allocations that accurately match their objectives and risk tolerance. The target set at a strategic level needs to be executed with proper rebalancing tools to ensure its achievement within the given timeframe.

Throughout the life of the portfolio, accurate measures of risk, return and simulation tools provide the required interactive framework for clients to understand the risk they are being exposed to and can make confident decisions together with their banker.

Osmond Plummer

Wealth management consultant and trainer

Plummer will discuss how, a post secrecy world:

Offering lunch and money burying is a bankrupt business model.

Transparency (especially fees) and performance are going to be the driving force.

Clients are going to be willing to pay for superior performance but this has not been the USP of Swiss PB to date.

RMs will need to up their game, get training in how to manage relationships and very few banks see this need at this stage.

Heiner Weber

Head, Geneva branch and Middle East desk head, Falcon Private Bank 

Weber will be exploring how Switzerland can remain the jurisdiction of choice for Middle East clients and how it can compete against its rival jurisdictions (e.g Singapore).

As of today, Switzerland is by far the preferred booking centre for foreign booked assets of wealthy clients from the Gulf. However, Switzerland faces ever stiffer competition as wealth management center, especially from places like Singapore.

A traditional link between Switzerland and the ME exists, whereas, links between Asia and ME are still in the phase of being built, this is especially true in the realm of wealth management.

In order to remain the jurisdiction of choice, Switzerland has to focus on its core strengths, which are: principle based wealth management, professionalism and a culture of confidentiality.

The weaknesses which have emerged lately and cause the deterioration of the once impeccable image are data leakage (stolen CDs), weakening of banking secrecy and – for politically exposed persons – the proactive freezing of assets.

Switzerland has many trumps in order to remain the preferred jurisdiction for banking clients. However, Switzerland has to make an effort in explain the values of Swiss banking to its ME clients. Swiss banks should try to have one voice. E.g. if we have Swiss banks marketing their IT security by bashing Swiss competitors, the client will hear that there is a problem or if Swiss banks send their Singapore based bankers to the Gulf region and criticize the way Switzerland has proactively frozen assets, the clients get confused.

The Swiss core strengths as a jurisdiction for holding offshore assets for Gulf based clients is intact, however, those core strengths have to be explained and marketed.

François Reyl

CEO of Reyl & CIE 

Given the regulatory pressures Swiss private banking professionals are currently facing, they now have to readjust their business model and activate new growth vectors. To achieve success, such a repositioning will require a stronger expertise in legal and fiscal cross-border matters, enhanced service personalization and the addition of Corporate Advisory services as customers' businesses have now become key components of their overall wealth.

Ago Cluytens

Marketing strategist 

Ago Cluytens will walk us through the story of how the global wealth management "centers of power" have shifted in recent years, and how Switzerland can maintain its position in an ever more competitive and increasingly mobile world.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the global competitive landscape has thoroughly changed. Rising Asian financial centres like Shanghai appear to be leaving traditionally established hubs like Geneva and Zurich rapidly behind.

But what is really going on once we look at the numbers ? Is the picture as bleak as it appears to be ? Which elements work in Switzerland's favor when it comes to attracting (U)HNW clients ? And how can we ensure we craft a sustainable value proposition in the increasingly competitive and globally connected world of tomorrow ?

Switzerland has many trump cards which - used wisely - can ensure its future on the global wealth management scene.

Jean-Luc Freymond

CEO, SAGE

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Jean-Luc Freymond was one of the main architects of Prospero, SAGE’s suite of financial services software solutions. Before joining SAGE he worked for Swiss banking giant UBS; he has more than 14 years of experience in systems development and in the management of banking projects. He has implemented several projects of very large scope and led several teams of developers and analysts.

Freymond received both his BA in Management and his Postgraduate Diploma in European Law from the University of Lausanne, and received his EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program from MIT. He speaks fluent English and French. 

Osmond Plummer

Wealth management consultant and trainer 

Osmond Plummer currently trains and consults in wealth management internationally, as well as being Swiss correspondent for WealthBriefing. He is also a faculty member at the European University in Geneva and a visiting lecturer at other universities.

Plummer is a veteran wealth management specialist, having held various top-level positions at the world’s leading institutions. His former roles include: head of private banking market development and head of compliance for Bank of New York – Inter Maritime Bank, Geneva, and deputy manager of the international private banking office of Lloyds TSB, serving clients in the UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Bahrain and Qatar, based in Dubai.

Ago Cluytens

Marketing strategist 

Ago Cluytens is an experienced marketing strategist, specialised in working with high-end professional services clients.

As a former industry executive with a broad background in financial services - including having held the role of global head of marketing at ING Private Banking - Cluytens has a unique perspective on how the wealth management industry is transforming and how strategic marketing can help private banks attract new assets, access new segments and tap into new markets.

As a recognised thought-leader in the wealth management industry, Cluytens has contributed to industry reports and spoken on stages including FT.com, Wealthbriefing, Terrapinn, Marcus Evans and those of other leading institutions.

Heiner Weber

Head, Geneva branch and Middle East desk head, Falcon Private Bank 

Heiner Weber heads the Geneva branch and the Middle East desk at Falcon Private Bank. Before joining Falcon, Weber advised ultra high net worth clients worldwide at one of the major private banking firms in Geneva and was also previously responsible for a team of UHNW bankers at one of the leading global wealth managers. Before coming to UHNW banking, he worked in derivatives trading, and is a co-founder of the pan-European options market-making firm Servisen Trading, where he served as chief executive. 

François Reyl

CEO of Reyl & CIE 

François Reyl is the chief executive of REYL & CIE, an independent banking group created by his father Dominique Reyl in 1973. He joined the group in 2002 as head of development and became CEO in 2008. Under his stewardship, REYL & CIE has expanded into new lines of business - including the creation of the Reyl Funds range and the launch of Reyl Private Office - while remaining faithful to its core values.

In 1989 François Reyl worked at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in New York, before moving to Paris as an attorney in the M&A Group. In 1994 he joined Crédit Suisse First Boston in London, where he co-founded the LBO Coverage Group and executed numerous mergers, acquisitions, financing deals and IPOs as managing director.

Member of the Bars of New York and Paris, François Reyl is a graduate of the Université de Genève and of the New York University.