Business at Zurich-based Vontobel is holding up despite a rougher international economic climate. The bank attracted almost a billion francs in new assets in the third quarter of 2015 and expects the full-year result to improve on 2014. Vontobel remains in the market for further acquisitions in private banking or asset management.

Vontobel's investment vehicles in emerging markets did well in the third quarter, significantly outperforming their benchmarks, the bank said in its quarterly statement today. This is even as economic uncertainty in China weighed on stock exchanges.

«We are ideally positioned to perform well even in a difficult market environment,» said Zeno Staub, chief executive of Vontobel.

«Difficult Environment»

The bank received 0,9 billion francs in new money in the three months through September 2015, improving the total for the first nine months of the year to 7,3 billion. Vontobel at the end of September had 142 billion francs in client assets.

The new money in asset management was primarily contributed by the fixed-income and multi-asset-class boutiques with a particularly strong performance by corporate and flexible bonds, Vontobel said.

The institute is pleased with the performance of the TwentyFour Asset Management business it acquired earlier this year. The boutique exceeded its annual growth rate of 20 percent and secured a £250 million mandate from U.K. Mortgages Limited in July.

Digital Strategy on Track

The integration of Finter Bank, which Vontobel bought two months ago, is on track and will enhance Vontobel's presence in the Italian-speaking markets. The acquisition will «be profit-generating in 2016,» the institute expects.

Vontobel's digitalization strategy is advancing according to plan. The bank's app for tablets has been made available for smartphones in its home market and will be rolled out in emerging markets and across other markets as well.

Hiring Client Advisers

Vontobel has hired new client advisers. Their number increased by 5 percent to 166 in the third quarter.

«The expansion of the client adviser base will now continue as planned in order to drive forward the expansion of the business,» the company said in the statement.

Further Acquisitions

Following the purchases of TwentyFour Asset Management and Finter Bank, Vontobel remains in the market to strengthen its asset management and private banking units.

In its full-year outlook, Vontobel said that the second half proved weaker than the first due to seasonal effects. «In addition, uncertainty surrounding the global economic outlook has increased and is weighing on variable income,» the bank wrote. «Vontobel expects to deliver a solid result for the full year 2015 and currently anticipates that it will exceed the result for the previous year.»