Wealth Management - an extremly attractive Business Sector

Wealth management is continuing to be one of the most attractive business sectors in the financial industry. And in spite of the recent stock market downturn, overall wealth is continuing to develop with massive growth rates. There is nothing to stop this trend continuing in the future. Experts believe that global high-net-worth individual wealth will increase from USD 25.5 trillion (2000) to USD 38.5 trillion (2006). (Source: Merrill Lynch Gemini Consulting 2002 World Report).

But the pressure is increasing

Over the past few years several factors, such as new entrants, volatile markets, changing client demands, and regulatory changes, have been a constant source of change in the wealth management sector.

Tough competition

Given the attractive underlying business conditions of high profitability and low capital requirements, competition is continuing to increase. New operators are entering the business. New financial technologies have become a driving force for innovations. Continued dramatic efficiency gains must be expected based on innovative business models.

Clients' needs are changing

Additional pressure is developing from shifting client demands. Traditional family wealth requirements will lose some of their importance as a new, younger and better educated generation assumes responsibility, and as active investors are looking for lucrative investments in a volatile environment. These clients are in general more risk-tolerant, more performance-oriented and less loyal to their banks. In addition to a continuing emphasis on asset management as a core product, more complex products and services have increased in importance: Offerings such as structured products, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and direct investments, insurance and pension planning, estate planning, trusts, company sale or succession planning for corporate owners, and so on. More and more high-net-worth individuals have come to expect comprehensive, harmonized and sophisticated financial advice.

Making continuous learning a top priority

As a result of the rapid and far-reaching changes in the wealth management sector, the demands placed on wealth managers have increased significantly. It is vital that, in addition to "learning by doing" at the workplace, wealth managers be exposed to top-quality training programs enabling them to broaden their knowledge of principles, theories and facts in the field of wealth management. The participating universities together with the Swiss Finance Institute have recognized this need and are therefore offering the International Wealth Management Executive MBA, a newly developed program designed to provide participants with the most up-to-date expertise and skills in business administration generally and wealth management specifically.