Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher expects that in the future, half of all new relationship managers will be trained through internal programs. This doesn't prevent him from attracting more outside talent because the bank offers «attractive conditions».
Bank Julius Baer hired nearly 60 new relationship managers in the first half of the year, nearly 10 percent more than a year ago, the institution said Monday. That's notable because more than half of the 7.1 billion Swiss francs ($8.2 billion) in new money raised in the first six months came from the new hires, Julius Baer chief financial officer Evie Kostakis (pictured below) pointed out at an online media orientation. By the end of 2023, she expects another 2 to 3 billion francs from the «new guys.»
Evie Kostaktis (Image: Julis Baer)
A considerable proportion of these new people are likely to come from Credit Suisse. Nevertheless, Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher emphasized that competition for the best advisors remains high, even though there aren't signs it's become more expensive to attract talent. «We offer attractive conditions,» he said.
Building Talent Internally
Julius Baer is also exploring new ways to develop talent in-house. Rickenbacher (pictured below) said that in the future Julius Baer will be able to train half of all new relationship managers through internal programs.
Philipp Rickenbacher (Image: Julius Baer)
He wants to achieve this with new graduate and associate RM programs. This is important in terms of a homogeneous corporate culture and helps to create an orderly handover in succession planning, Rickenbacher emphasized.
New Offices
The human resources strategy is important because the bank intends to expand geographically over the next few years. Recently, Julius Baer consolidated all employees at a new office in Hong Kong (top image), a strategically very important location. Next year, it plans to bring employees into new offices in Singapore as well.
But that's not all. In India, where the bank has been active since 2015, it recently opened its seventh branch in Pune, and aims to have ten offices on the subcontinent. Another office is planned next in Mumbai, and a move is also planned in the capital New Delhi in the second half of this year.
New offices are also planned in Qatar and Brazil. In Europe, Julius Baer has moved into new premises in London and is planning another location in the north of England.
Focus on Recurring Revenues
Meanwhile, Rickenbacher's strategy also includes product innovations. The company plans to launch its funds, private equity solutions, and individually tailored structured products. According to the CEO, these initiatives aim to increase the share of recurring income. Finally, further measures in the digitization of the bank should lead to increased efficiency.
