Switzerland has always been a magnet for the ultra-rich with China dominating flows from Asia in the last two years, Citigroup’s Laurence Mandrile told finews.asia.
Laurence Mandrile joined Citi’s Geneva office as its general market manager for Switzerland in the summer of 2019. Just a few months away from the start of the pandemic, Mandrile began to see an «increasing demand for ultra-high net worth families to be serviced from Switzerland for safety reasons, especially post-Corona».
By region, demand also originated from Asia where rapid wealth creation persists, leading to potential needs for alternative residencies, nationalities and booking centers.
China Wealth
In the last two years, China has made up a large part of the wealth coming from Asia to Citi’s onshore Swiss unit which is dedicated to servicing the country’s nationals and residents with a minimum net worth of 25 million francs ($26 million), as well as family offices, through its Geneva and Zurich branches.
Among the Chinese clients are some with close ties to the United Arab Emirates who might choose to relocate to Dubai or Abu Dhabi while their wealth is managed from Geneva, Mandrile explained.
Back to Trading
After Covid, many individuals who had installed themselves or their family offices in Switzerland were ready to invest, but then the war in Ukraine occured, keeping clients on the sidelines.
«It is only in the past few months that we’ve seen clients come back to trading,» Mandrile noted.
Citi is now focused on reviewing clients’ asset allocation while taking a close look at yields, which are making a comeback in fixed income. Moreover, Mandrile has observed certain clients moving to illiquid markets and commodities, particularly in energy.
