With in private banking an Relationship Manager can be called many things: relationship managers, Private banking business development managers, Private banking front-office heads, Private banking business unit heads, Private banking product specialists, Financial planners/consultants , Asset managers or even given the nature of the Swiss private banking market, Family-office professionals. However at the hart of the matter they are a private banker with a blend of client facing skills, investment talents and the ability to secure his clients strategic investment aims. This specialist uses banking and tax management skills to advise a wide variety of global clients on wealth accumulation. However the world of private banking and wealth management is changing fast. The recent economic downturn has changed a great deal of this banking sector. Where as before the winning strategy was focused upon an aggressive product push, recruiting relationship managers in quantity to fill wealthy management jobs and asset "hovering", it seems now the sector is geared towards keeping existing clients, deepening these relationships and attempting to secure a reputation for advisory excellence and integrity.
It is recognized, by many banking industry leaders, that even prior to the credit crunch trust was falling amongst the traditional private banking customer base. Many High Net Worth individuals were becoming frustrated and doubted the investment skills of their chosen RMs and wealth managers. This was amplified where during the downturn many found their banks communication strategy left a lot to be desired. Many investors no longer made investments or allowed the Relationship Managers freedom to their funds like before. As a consequence of this many private banking teams were reduced in size and many Swiss banking jobs lost.
It now seems that banking client relationships are more liable to change and have become to all intents and purposes more fluid. It also seems investors are more likely to spread their investments across more than one bank and the days of the all in one banking provider are numbered. However this in itself would seem an opportunity for the adaptable Relationship Managers. With the markets uncertain and the awareness of risk amongst investors at its highest ever levels a trustworthy, competent private banker has never been more needed. Indeed those offering high quality advice are finding their client books are growing at the expense of those Relationship Managers stuck in the past.
So just what does the winning Relationship Manager for a Swiss private Bank today need to do to succeed? Firstly the RM must ensure that they know how to segment their clients and structure their banks offerings appropriately to those segments and bring to bear all elements of the banks skill set effectively. They should align the cost to serve to their clients requirements and at all times ensure they communicate in an open and frank manner what they are doing, planning to do and have done on their clients behalf. A successful RM in a Swiss banking job should be able to grow their overall book of net assets profitably through cost-effective customer acquisition and retention. They should be able to increase margins through deeper client penetration and ensure increased profitability for their bank by making selective investments. Overall these days it appears to harder to generate the returns investors have grown used to - however rather than hiding this fact the Relationship manager of today who succeeds acknowledge s this and works with their clients to generate the best returns they possibly can - showing their clients just what they are doing upon their behalf.
In essence if you can enhance your banking relationships effectively and generate additional revenue for your firm by building trust, ensuring personal attention and using the expertise and intellectual capital of their bank to benefit each client - you will succeed. What is certain is today's Swiss RM faces challenges greater than those had in the past by those in private banking jobs in Switzerland.
