Zurich's Fisch Asset Management recently broke through the 10 billion franc asset barrier and now belongs to the mid-sized players. Other firms to eye expansion plans are Limmat Wealth and Bellecapital, which showed the sector is also an attractive employer when it poached a Credit Suisse heavyweight recently (in German).

FFSA, FMIA Loom

«Nearly every major player is interested in growing by acquisition today,» Felix Brem told finews.com. Brem runs Schwyz-based wealth management group Reuss Private and is head of the Alliance of Swiss Wealth Managers, a platform which unites 24 of Switzerland's largest independent houses.

To be sure, the small- and mid-sized firms still face a host of worries that their larger rivals don't. The mid-term ones include the generational and digital challenges, while the more immediate worries are new financial market regulation to ensure equal footing with the European Union – rules dubbed FFSA and FMIA in Switzerland.

The rules will formalize licenses for independent wealth managers, and will also govern standards – a novelty in an industry which has largely done without regulation since its inception.

Sector Clear-Out 

«I expect the industry to consolidate after the FFSA and FMIA are introduced, much like what happened in Germany in the 1990s when loan and securities rules were introduced,» Reuss head Brem said.

But he also said: «There may be fewer licenses after the consolidation, but just as many people and managed assets.» Growth prospects for independent houses are promising, according to Brem.

Banks at a Disadvantage?

Brem doesn't believe that banks will be able to corner the wealth management market. «If the banks believe that they will participate in this consolidation – that's wishful thinking on their part,» he said. Instead, he sees the trend of advisors leaving banks for independent asset managers as continuing.

His views coincide with what is happening at Wergen & Partner: the industry's future may be uncertain, but they are not lacking in confidence.