Switzerland's private banks have performed with surprising buoyancy in recent years – at least, until financial markets curdled in the third quarter, changing the industry's prospects significantly.

Since then, wealth managers have emoted doom and gloom, and hardly any players voiced optimism about 2019. Several trends have already etched themselves out, as summarized by finews.com.

1. The Big Fee Crunch

It's already hard for many private bankers to command favorable fees. This trend will accentuate in 2019: the big driver is rampant digitization which is fully automating many transactions. International competition between other marketplaces and financial centers will also weigh on fees. The upshot? Advisory skills will me in demand more than ever.