Vontobel recorded good overall performance for the past year. Looking ahead to 2017 however, Vontobel boss Zeno Staub sees challenges.
The consolidated result of the Vontobel Group increased against the same period last year by 12 percent to 201.5 million Swiss francs. When stripping out special effects, profit climbed 47 percent to 264.4 million francs, the Zurich-based firm said on Wednesday.
In the most important division, asset management, pre-tax profit rose by 18 percent to 163.5 million francs. And despite lackluster weak markets, Vontobel gained further market share in its financial products division. As a result, a strong second half showing meant that the division's profit rose by 11 percent to 69.3 million francs.
Recruited More Advisors
The departure of the star fund manager Rajiv Jain left a mark, leading to an outflow of roughly 16 billion francs. At 155 billion Swiss francs, the assets under management were nevertheless higher than in the previous year.
Pre-tax profit in wealth management was weaker, rising just 3 percent to 63 million francs. All in all, Vontobel customers pushed 2.2 billion francs in the bank last year. This corresponds to growth of 5.3 percent, above the bank's target range of 3 to 5 percent.
Compared to the previous year, Vontobel increased the number of customer advisors by 17 last year to 200. Across the bank, the bank took on 180 more staff last year and now employs 1,674.
Cautious Entry Into 2017
For the current year, Vontobel CEO Zeno Staub is cautious: «The first weeks of the new year show that 2017 will not be a simpler year.
Political developments, the shift in quality towards value, the rise in U.S. interest rates and their impact on emerging markets will challenge our business especially in asset management. In addition, many of our customers remain very cautious.»
Singapore Pact
The Zurich bank entered into a strategic agreement earlier this week with Bank of Singapore. The pact enables the Asian bank's clients to book their assets in Switzerland.
It also gives Asian clients access to European financial products and services, via Vontobel.
