Vontobel

Vontobel AG is a major private banking and investment management group headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Established in 1924, it has over 2000 employees across 30 offices in 22 countries. Vontobel group’s core businesses are wealth management, investment banking and asset management catering for wealthy private clients and institutional investors. Among the top tier Swiss banks, Vontobel’s comparable rivals are Credit Suisse, UBS, Pictet and Lombard Odier. As of 2019, Vontobel holds $300 billion of client assets and is among the most well-capitalised banks in Switzerland. The registered shares of Vontobel Holding AG are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The Vontobel families and the Vontobel Foundation hold the majority of shares. However as a large listed company, it is led by an independent board of directors and executive committees.

Vontobel Holding AG
Public Company
Traded asSIX: VONN
ISINCH0012335540 
IndustryBanking
FoundedZurich, Switzerland (1924 (1924))
Headquarters
Zurich
,
Switzerland
Key people
ProductsWealth and asset management
Services
  • Wealth Management
  • Investment Banking
  • Asset Management
CHF 1,157.8mn (31-12-18)[1]
CHF 249.2mn (31-12-18)[1]
AUM CHF 288.4 billion (31-12-19)[1]
Total assets CHF 22,903.7 mn (31-12-17)[1]
Total equity CHF 1.62 bn (31-12-17)[1]
Number of employees
2,000
Websitevontobel.com

Structure

Vontobel comprises three business units: Wealth Management, Investment Banking and Asset Management.

Wealth Management

The Wealth Management business unit serves the needs of wealthy private clients. Its offering ranges from portfolio management and investment advisory to wealth planning. As an SEC-licensed investor advisor, Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors offers wealth management solutions for US clients.

Investment Banking

Investment Banking concentrates on the derivatives products business, securities and foreign exchange trading and institutional sales, as well as services for external asset managers, transaction banking and corporate finance. The business model pursued by Vontobel Investment Banking cannot be compared to traditional US or UK-style investment banking, since Vontobel is not active in the capital-intensive commercial side of the business. Its trading activities are limited to the hedging of risk positions arising from the issuing or sale of structured products and derivatives.

Asset Management

Asset Management focuses on the wholesale business and on serving institutional clients in the mandates business. It also develops services and complete solutions for private label products on behalf of third parties. As part of a cooperation agreement, Vontobel supplies Raiffeisen Switzerland with comprehensive investment services. Vontobel also holds a majority stake in Harcourt Investment Consulting AG, an international provider of fund-of-hedge-funds products that are targeted primarily at institutional investors. Harcourt has operations in Zurich, New York, Hong Kong and Grand Cayman.

History
  • 1924
Friedrich Emil Haeberli establishes the brokerage firm Haeberli & Cie.
  • 1936
After Haeberli's death, Jakob Vontobel takes over the brokerage firm and establishes Bank J. Vontobel & Co.
  • 1943
Jakob Vontobel's son, Hans Vontobel, joins the bank and, in 1951, is made a partner with unlimited liability. In 1972, Jakob Vontobel's grandson, Hans-Dieter Vontobel, joins the bank and is made a partner with unlimited liability in 1977.
  • 1984
Bank J. Vontobel & Co is transformed into a limited liability corporation and the Group companies are combined within Vontobel Holding AG. The bearer shares of Vontobel Holding AG are listed on the Zurich Stock Exchange in 1986 and single-class registered shares are introduced in 2001.
Vontobel USA Inc. is founded in New York. This is followed by Vontobel Asset Management AG in 1988, Vontobel Bank & Trust Company Ltd in Grand Cayman and Vontobel Fonds Services AG in 1990, and Vontobel Fund Management SA in Luxembourg in 1991.
  • 1993
Vontobel acquires a stake in Banque Tardy, de Watteville & Cie SA, Geneva, followed by a majority stake in Bankhaus Berger & Comp. AG, Salzburg, in 1995. In 1996, Bankhaus Berger opens a branch in Vienna.
  • 1999
Vontobel Securities AG is established in Cologne. This is followed by Bank Vontobel (Liechtenstein) AG, Vaduz, in 2000 and Vontobel Luxembourg SA in 2001. In 2002, Bank Vontobel Österreich AG opens a branch in Munich. Vontobel Asset Management GmbH commences operations in Frankfurt am Main. Vontobel Asset Management SGR SpA is founded in Milan in 2003.
  • 2000
Bank J. Vontobel & Co AG is renamed Bank Vontobel AG. Banque Tardy, de Watteville & Cie SA now operates under the name Banque Vontobel Genève SA, and the former Bankhaus Berger is renamed Bank Vontobel Österreich AG. In 2002, Vontobel USA Inc. in New York is renamed Vontobel Asset Management, Inc.
  • 2001
The loss-making Internet banking project 'y-o-u Bank' is discontinued prior to completion and a loss of CHF 151 million is recorded.[2]
  • 2004
Raiffeisen acquires a 12.5% stake in Vontobel Holding AG. The Vontobel family and the Vontobel Foundation continue to hold the majority of the company's share capital.
  • 2005
Vontobel Financial Products GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, is founded.
  • 2006
In January 2006, Vontobel acquires 56% of the share capital of Harcourt Investment Consulting AG from the Dutch firm NIBCapital N.V. Harcourt, which is domiciled in Zurich, is a leading provider of fund-of-hedge-funds and asset management mandates in the area of alternative investments for major institutional clients. The Vontobel Group launches transaction banking services for banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein under the name VONSYS Vontobel Solutions for Your Sourcing. The Vontobel Group acquires the brokerage and corporate finance activities of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch on 1 November 2006.
  • 2007
Vontobel opens a branch for its commission business in London. Its offering comprises brokerage services – particularly equity analysis and investment advice. The Vontobel Campus is established in the centre of Zurich's banking and financial district. Vontobel moves into its new head office at Gotthardstrasse 43, which was built by Stücheli Architekten and forms the heart of the new campus, in November 2007.
Deutsche Börse AG and its partners Bank Vontobel, Bankhaus Metzler, Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG, DZ Bank AG and Umicore AG & Co. KG establish Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH at the end of November 2007. The company provides different types of commodities securitization and aims to offer cost-effective trading solutions in conjunction with the partner firms.
  • 2008
Vontobel Holding AG establishes a 100% subsidiary in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Vontobel Financial Products Ltd. commences operations at the end of March 2008 and replaces Bank Vontobel Cayman as the issuing platform for structured products. The Vontobel Group establishes VT Wealth Management AG, an independent wealth management company for Swiss and international private clients. Vontobel holds a 51% stake in the new company and 49% is held by the management.
  • 2009
In May 2009, Bank Vontobel Europe AG, which is headquartered in Munich and is a 100% subsidiary of the Vontobel Group, commences operations in Germany after being granted a full banking license. In July 2009, the Vontobel Group acquires 100% of Commerzbank (Schweiz) AG, which is headquartered in Zurich and has a branch in Geneva and a subsidiary in Vienna. The integration of Commerzbank (Schweiz) results in a 20% increase in the volume of client assets held by the Vontobel Group's Private Banking business.
  • 2010
Branches of Bank Vontobel AG open in Basel and Berne. Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors AG is founded in Zurich.
  • 2012
Vontobel Financial Products (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. is founded in Singapore and Vontobel Wealth Management (Hong Kong) Ltd. is founded in Hong Kong.
  • 2015
Vontobel announced it had acquired a 60 percent stake in Britain’s TwentyFour Asset Management, its first acquisition since Commerzbank in 2009.[3]
  • 2016
Vontobel now has a branch (formerly Finter Bank) in Lugano.[4]
Honorary President Dr. Hans J. Vontobel deceased at the age of 100.[5]
  • 2017
Vontobel presents itself with a new visual and verbal image.

References
  1. "Vontobel Full-year report 2017" (PDF) (Press release). 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  2. Swiss Private Bank Vontobel Fires Three Top Executives After Internet Bank Project Fails
  3. "Vontobel to buy majority stake in British asset manager" (Press release). Reuters. 25 March 2015.
  4. "Swiss Banking Industry Consolidation to Continue, Scheidt Says". Finews.com. 19 September 2016.
  5. "Vontobel patriarch Hans Vontobel dies aged 99". Reuters. 4 January 2016.
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