Julius Baer has carried on where it left off last year on hiring in its second home market. The latest additions are both former Deutsche Bank private bankers.
Ancus Mak has joined as a Director in the Chief Investment Office (CIO) Asia, reporting to Asia CIO Bhaskar Laxminarayan. Prior to his new role, Mak worked at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong where he was vice-president of global products and solutions. Before that, he held the same role with Credit Suisse.
Olive Wang is also joining the pure-play private bank as a director in the fund specialists team in Hong Kong. She reports to Johann Santer, who heads the fund specialists Hong Kong team. Wang also held the same role at her previous employer Deutsche Bank. Prior to that role she was an investment counsellor and fund specialist at EFG Bank in Hong Kong.
Collardi Eyeing U.K. and China
The Zurich-based bank hired aggressively in both Singapore and Hong Kong during 2016, taking experienced bankers from all of its direct rivals. Julius Baer calls Asia its second home.
Speaking earlier this week Boris Collardi, CEO, said he was not afraid of the implications of the Brexit vote.
Collardi said he was keeping on eye on the U.K. for potential acquisitions and now sees the chances of taking over a British competitor as a distinct possibility.
China, the Holy Grail
Collardi also wants to continue to grow in Asia - especially in China. «China is something like the Holy Grail for asset managers in Asia,» he said in a recent TV interview with «Bloomberg.»
«We will continue to work on partnerships and alliances until we find the right model,» said Collardi.
The Chinese private banking market is about $17,000 billion, according to estimates by China Merchants Bank and Bain, growing by 16 percent annually since 2012. The number of private banking customers, or those with at least $1.5 million of invested assets, increased by 22 percent every year.
