The investment boss of a small private bank in Geneva has found a new job in the Middle East. His dream move may turn out to be one of the most inspired of the year.
Cyril Urfer's (pictured left) career step won't be surpassed easily by a Swiss banker. Urfer is swapping his job at Gonet & Cie, a small private bank in Geneva steadfastly refusing to say how much it manages, with a new position at Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Saudi state fund has an estimated value of $200 billion. The move even made it into «The Wall Street Journal» (behind paywall).
Urfer has been Gonet's head of investments since 2012. Gonet and PIF didn't comment on the move, which is why the exact role of Urfer remains the source of speculation. Reports suggest that he will advise on investments in equities and bonds.
Veteran Gulf Banker
Urfer is not new to the region. In 2008 to 2011 he developed from scratch an equity and bond team for Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), another of the region's state funds.
Urfer started his career as a private banker at Credit Suisse (CS), Switzerland's second-largest bank. In 1998, he moved on to Lombard Odier (which then was known as Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch), where he helped develop the third-party fund selection.
Vision for the Future
PIF is central to Saudi Arabia's «Vision 2030», which aims to make the kingdom less dependent on oil revenues, building a global investment platform. The state fund for instance bought a stake in Uber last year.
PIF may soon receive vast new sources for its investment as the country is seeking to take public parts of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), the state-owned oil and gas corporation. Such an Initial Public Offering (IPO) would likely boost PIF's assets to more than $2,000 billion. PIF was assigned as the new owner of Aramco.
