There are lots of speculations going around in the sector already: Credit Suisse wants to start a new type of online platform for external asset managers in a few weeks. finews.ch has carried out further investigations.
Credit Suisse (CS) will introduce a novelty for external asset managers (EAMs) on the 21st of March.
As finews.ch found out, the novelty is an electronic market platform for EAM clients in all of the booking centers of CS. The concept is based on the opportunities of social media like Facebook and LinkedIn and is supposed to contribute to creating networks among players, to link them with experts and also to obtain research on investment and other (market related) information as well as ideas for investments via the platform.
Higher efficiency for EAMs
As opposed to already exiting solutions, Credit Suisse will integrate its existing processes into this new solution. The efficiency in the daily business for EAMs is to be further strengthened with this, as CS has declared internally.
«Credit Suisse will start a multidimensional solution for external asset managers on the 21st of March 2013, which is new in its form» said Daniel Renner (picture), head of Global External Asset Managers, upon request by finews.ch.
An enormous potential for the market
«We want to foster the co-operation between EAMs and the CS. This solution, which is new for the sector, offers the possibility to exchange more intensively issues of finance and the market and it thus increases transparency and improves access to information» Renner said further. During the next days and weeks, CS will issue more information.
The sector of independent (or external) asset managers includes – depending on counting methods – between 2'200 and 3'600 enterprises, which manage approximately 600 billion Francs of clients' assets. According to newest information, the Verband Schweizerischer Vermoegensverwalter (VSV) counts almost 1'000 members.
External asset managers changing
For CS, the EAM sector constitutes a strategically important area. The bank has – according to its own information – business relationships with roughly 1'700 EAMs, which manage more than 90 billion Swiss Francs in total. CS thus sees itself as the «market leader in caring for external asset managers».
Due to stricter regulations, the end of the classical offshore banking in Europe, the margin erosion and the general pressure of costs, the business is changing tremendously. In other words: In the future, many EAMs will no longer be able to work on their own. Given this background, online platforms and organizational units, which offer a certain infrastructure for individual asset managers, have a great time ahead.
Aquila and Lombard Odier pioneers
Zurich's Aquila group, for example, is such an institution, which offers à la carte solutions for EAMs. Under the name «E-Merging», Geneva's bank Lombard Odier has already four years ago launched an online platform, which sees considerable success meanwhile.
E-Merging currently has 760 EAMs from 37 countries connected, which manage 270 billion Swiss Francs in total. Additionally, also supplier firms like lawyers' offices, HR agents, IT-businesses, trustees, finance planners, asset managers and family offices are linked with the network so that the platform can truly be considered as a «financial community» as the head of E-Merging, Olivier Collombin explained to finews.ch.
After work activities and E-Shopping
Regular after work activities in Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich and Lugano make sure that E-Merging does not only work in a virtual environment. It is also planned to offer an E-Shop with country manuals on the platform for EAMs soon.
