He's been loyal to UBS for more than three decades. Now he joins a wealth manager in Singapore founded by a compatriot.
Thomas Koechli (pictured) for 32 years was a trusted employee at Switzerland's biggest bank, working in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore. Research by finews.ch revealed that he now joins HP Wealth Management in Singapore, an independent asset manager and family office.
Founder and managing partner at HP is Urs Bruetsch. He was head of the Clariden Leu branch in Singapore before leaving at the end of 2008 to start his own business. HP now is one of the few small but distinguished asset managers in the city-state of Singapore.
Private Banking in Asia
Private banking in Asia took off about 25 years ago and has hitherto been dominated by mainly foreign banks. This may be changing.
«Size isn't everything that matters in asset management today,» Bruetsch said. «A lot of customers are looking for trustworthy advisers (at smaller firms),» bankers who don't just want to sell as many products as possible. «The fact that an experienced (big) banker joins HP Wealth Management is the perfect example for the change the industry is undergoing.»
For a Long Time in Singapore
HP Wealth Management is under the guidance of three partners - Urs Bruetsch, Stephane Schmid (formerly at Pictet) and Michael Foo, who also acts as chief investment officer. HP's target clientel are rich people and family offices.
Bruetsch has been in Singapore for a long time – first at the private banking unit of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (today known as Credit Suisse), doing what was rather marginal at the time.
