It was with rare elegance and in a hushed atmosphere that Pictet Luxembourg opened its offices to us. Like a tribute to the Pictet family motto, "Do well and let it be known", the philosophy of this multi-polar player, with almost 300 billion euros in assets under administration, is expressed in values that constitute as many common threads between the generations of talent it embodies and the clients whose interests it manages. At a time when wealth management as a whole is preparing for the greatest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history, Pictet's Luxembourg staff displays a remarkable serenity, coupled with absolute confidence in the grand-ducal fortress.
And with good reason: more than a third of a century after its establishment in Luxembourg - in terms of employees, the first establishment outside Switzerland - Pictet Luxembourg defines itself as a "macrocosm of the Pictet Group in Switzerland", as its CEO, Mario Pirola, emphasizes. All business lines are represented here, supported by over 850 employees. The tenth-largest employer in the financial centre covers asset management, fund administration and structuring, wealth management, as well as custodian banking and trading activities. It is one of the few players to have its own innovation center, along with Pictet Technologies, which has 150 employees.
A unique and strategically important platform, but also, and more simply, a local player with a strong commitment to professional associations, artistic patronage and various charities. Back to business. While the figures are soberly stated, the Group's stature is no less impressive, especially for a story built exclusively on a strategy of organic growth. In a world that swears by acquisitions and consolidation, the permanence of Pictet's guiding principles, particularly that of entrepreneurship, stands out as a benchmark of its kind.
.With €130 billion in assets under management in Luxembourg, Pictet Asset Management is not only one of Europe's finest signatures - 4th place in the European Fund Brand 50 - and includes 79% of funds managed under Article 8 or 9: a very high proportion of ESG assets, marking its commitment to responsible management. The next phase of development presented by its CEO, Suzanne Berg, has the dual ambition of strengthening the alternative offering and the distribution network.
Present since 1989, Pictet Wealth Management is undoubtedly the branch that best bears the symbol of the wealth fortress. Headed by Christophe Deltomme since 2007, the company immediately expanded throughout the Benelux countries, then to the Nordic countries in 2019. This quadrilingual Dutch speaker leads a fast-growing team of twenty professionals, including 11 private bankers, and cultivates a continuous spirit of innovation that has led to a doubling of assets under management since 2019.
For its part, asset servicing is one of the Group's oldest areas of expertise in the Grand Duchy. Thirty years of presence have made it a partner of excellence for asset management companies and asset managers alike. A nimble, state-of-the-art "One Stop Shop", market leader in private custody, but also the epicenter of European activities, with 80 professionals of 50 different nationalities. Further development of the Nordic markets (alongside the EU, UK and Monaco presence) is also part of the ambitions of the team headed by Claude Pech, whose main focus remains irreproachable service quality. Pictet Asset Services, "the business unit that consolidates all the others", has established itself not only as a 360° centre of excellence, but also as a stable alternative in the face of industry consolidation, which is having a negative impact on customers, due to migration. An unthinkable situation for Pictet Asset Services, for whom reputation and customer service are a must.
.More recently (2021), Pictet Luxembourg saw the addition of a new entity, Pictet Trading & Sales. With an established, global presence via trading rooms in Europe, America and Asia, Guillaume d'Assier de Boisredon's team has seen an 86% increase in orders and a fourfold increase in staff. The lure of cutting-edge expertise, certainly, but also a market environment where volatility is becoming the norm. An activity that harks back to the origins of the Geneva-based firm: in 1805, Pictet was founded as a trading company. A centuries-old tradition, here too, with a scope covering all asset classes.
A range of celebrations has already been announced: at Private Art Kirchberg with the discovery of the Pictet art collection, at Cercle Cité with a photography exhibition highlighting sustainability issues, and many more.
This post was translated from the original French