Credit Suisse’s private bank has shelved a line of funds aimed at the ultra-rich, partly reversing a strategy for the wealth unit laid out by Swiss banker Iqbal Khan late last year.
The Swiss bank had in October pledged to introduce so-called Signature Managed Accounts as an advisory offering for ultra-high net worth clients, which are typically those with more than $50 million in liquid assets to bank.
Credit Suisse had high hopes for the move, part of a broader target disclosed last October to bolster lucrative mandates by a factor of 1.5.
Significant Discontinuation
Now, Credit Suisse has scrapped the Swiss-based Signature Managed Account line just three months after setting it up earlier this year, according to finance portal «Citywire». A spokesperson for the bank told the media that the push was discontinued in order to focus on other, undisclosed key business priorities.
The discontinuation is significant because Credit Suisse had appointed several bankers for the push, also hiring Lombard Odier’s Laurent Auchlin. It is unclear what will happen to the bank’s six-person team for Signature Managed Accounts, led by Daniel Sandmeier.
Pledged For a Paradigm Shift
Sandmeier had pledged a «paradigm shift» for ultra-high net worth clients with the now-defunct unit and pledged to roll out the line in Asia and Luxembourg if the Swiss version proved successful.
