The Genevan wealth manager widened its partnership, including with a well-known hedge fund manager who will be the first female partner in Pictet's 216-year history.
The Swiss private bank is appointing Elif Aktuğ and François Pictet as partners, effective in September, it said in a statement on Monday. This brings the partnership, led by Renaud de Planta, to nine.
Aktuğ leads Agora, Pictet's 2.5 billion euro ($3 billion) European equity strategy. Before joining the wealth manager ten years ago, she was a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in both mergers and acquisitions as well as in proprietary trading.
Family Ties
François Pictet (pictured below), the son of former managing partner Charles Pictet, joined the eponymous firm's ultra-high net worth arm six years ago after working in mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse as well as in non-government organizations. At Pictet, he has managed private equity portfolios as well as the department for the super-rich in Geneva, while overseeing multi-asset client portfolios.
De Planta said their addition, which is pending regulatory approval, is «a step we’ve been planning since the end of 2020 to help manage the increased demands resulting from the strong growth of the firm.» Pictet's other partners are Rémy Best, Laurent Ramsey, Bertrand Demole, Marc Pictet, Sébastien Eisinger, and Boris Collardi.
The asset management arm, which Ramsey and Eisinger run, oversees 223 billion francs in client money. The private banking arm, co-headed by Marc Pictet and Collardi, the former CEO of Julius Baer, manages 240 billion francs.
Genevan Rivalry
The Pictet family first surfaced as financiers in the early 18th century but the firm established itself following the French Revolution. From the mid-19th century until 1926, the bank was always overseen by a member of the founding family – three of whom passed away while still in the senior partner job.
It has opened up to outsiders while carefully cultivating its family roots. Crosstown rival Lombard Odier included women in its partnership far earlier with Anne-Marie de Weck and, four years ago, ex-SEB CEO Annika Falkengren.
