Credit Suisse's former top private banker in Asia, Francesco De Ferrari, dispenses Swiss directness in his new job-winning Australia's affluent back.
Francesco De Ferrari, the former head of Credit Suisse's wealth management arm in Asia, is launching an appeal less than six months into his new job as chief executive of AMP, a troubled Australian wealth manager. De Ferrari tried to connect directly with clients through a full-page advertisement in «The Australian Financial Review».
The unconventional step should come as no surprise to those who, until recently, knew De Ferrari as the straight-talking head of Credit Suisse's private bank in Asia. This newspaper ad move comes after AMP’s admission last week that its wealth management arm had suffered $1.8 billion of outflows in the first quarter of 2019 – its worst ever since the global financial crisis.
Cutting Prices
In the advertisement, De Ferrari acknowledges that AMP – one of Australia’s largest wealth managers – «made many mistakes and fell short of the standards expected of us». He is referring to criticism leveled against AMP and its peers of being conflicted rather than neutral custodians of clients wealth, by a royal commission in Australia last year.
Apart from sweeteners such as zero ATM fees and a slightly higher interest rate, De Ferrari offered mostly words of comfort to clients via today’s advertisement. Two weeks ago, AMP's chairman told investors De Ferrari was chosen in part because is not Australian and said the Swiss banker had already instilled a new sense of vigor and optimism at the bank.
Internal Improvements
De Ferrari's rivals were less charitable. «Most banks introduced zero ATM fees as standard in 2017,» says one fellow Australian wealth management CEO, «so he [De Ferrari] had better have more to say than just that.»
The long-time private banker, who lost out to Iqbal Khan for the top Credit Suisse wealth job four years ago, comes across as refreshingly honest in the ad. He acknowledges that many felt AMP seemed as though it is «not moving quickly enough,» but that it had in fact made «fundamental changes» such as appointing four new board members, a new chair and a management team.
De Ferrari stressed that AMP has also «strengthened internal processes,» introduced a new code of conduct, enhanced its whistleblower program and intensified its focus on customer remediation.
Trust Me, I'm Swiss
De Ferrari is believed to have emailed some clients personally before reaching out to a broader swathe through the advertisement. AMP, which hired De Ferrari in December last year, is hoping some of his squeaky-clean image (he once volunteered with Mother Teresa) will rub off on the firm.
In his 17 years at Credit Suisse prior to his move to Australia, De Ferrari built a reputation for being a «by the book» manager according to those that worked with him. He stands to earn as much as A$17.7 million ($12.4 million) over the next three years if he can turn around the battered wealth manager.
