Julius Baer: Catering to Asia's wealthy

ASIAN investors' behaviour differs markedly from those in Europe or the US, so private bank Julius Baer takes pains to ensure that the majority of its staff and management are Asian, says group chief executive Boris Collardi.

So far, that strategy appears to be working. The bank's assets under management in Asia has grown from zero in 2006 to a nearly 25 per cent share of group assets. As at end-April, the group had AUM of 289 billion Swiss francs (S$410.6 billion). A 25 per cent share suggests that AUM in Asia stood at over 72 billion Swiss francs.

Says Mr Collardi: "The challenge is that this is a highly competitive part of the world. There is high growth of wealth, but also of competition. The good news is it's not that easy to be in Asia... There are barriers to entry. You need talent. You can't get talent if you don't invest for the long term, if you don't have an affinity for the market and the culture.''