23 presentations by asset managers in one morning and afterward a prize-awarding ceremony for the three audience favorites - that's what the action-packed program of the «Zwei Wealth Office Conference 2024» had in store on Wednesday.

The event was organized at the «new» Kunsthaus in Zurich by Zwei Wealth, a financial institution that sees itself as a comparison portal within the industry and thus has gathered a lot of experience with «pitches».

Heart and Soul

The portfolio managers used their allotted few minutes in very different ways. While some focused on introducing their institute and its general investment philosophy, others were quite specific and highlighted specific investment products. In the end, Zwei Wealth CEO Patrick Mueller aptly noted that not all pitches had been perfect from a marketing perspective. But it could be felt that all portfolio managers implemented their investment strategy with passion and conviction.

In third place in the audience's favor was Andreas Wueger, founder and CEO of Lapis Asset Management. The institute from Lugano specializes in selecting dividend stocks, i.e., stocks that reliably generate attractive ongoing returns for investors. Second was Michael Frei, Head of Clients and Partner at OLZ, an asset manager that uses scientifically supported models to systematically find the right stocks.

Chris Rossbach, Managing Partner and CIO of the internationally active J. Stern & Co., was named the best asset manager. finews.ch took the opportunity to talk to the winner.

Chris Rossbach, Co-Founder and CIO of J Stern & Co. (Image: J Stern & Co.)

Mr. Rossbach, first of all, congratulations. What does winning the Best Management award at the Zwei Wealth Office Conference mean for you and your organization?

We're clearly very pleased and proud to have been selected by this group based on the presentation that we gave, but I think also of the proposition that we have, which is to invest in the long term, in companies that have quality, that can compound with a truly long term approach that has been proven out over decades, and with a track record that shows that we've been able to generate value for our investors.

What sets your wealth management approach apart from others in the industry?

So we invest in companies that have quality, and that can compound over long periods. For us, quality is a gating condition, so if a company doesn't have quality, it can be as cheap as it wants, and we won't invest.

How do you measure quality?

Sustainability is a key attribute of quality. If a company isn't sustainable in terms of how it goes about its business, it treats its people, its resources, its suppliers and its customers, it can't have a sustainable competitive advantage, and it cannot generate sustainable returns over time.

For us in terms of our investment, it means we're looking at sustainability not just as a risk, but importantly, as an opportunity. We have developed many of the technologies that are necessary to address the big challenges of our time, which include climate change, the energy transition, the need to decarbonize and to move to net zero, and we think there are many companies out there that are providing the solutions to that.

Can you provide examples of how you tailor your wealth management solutions to meet the individual needs and goals of your clients?

The focus of our business is to invest in a clear, simple and transparent way. What we do for clients from a wealth management perspective is to invest in stocks as capital-generative assets, in corporate bonds, in investment grade and in emerging market bonds, and in certain non-correlated income-producing assets. With this approach, we can put together portfolios that address clients' needs, in terms of the overall return that they're looking for, as well as for the volatility that they're willing to accept in their portfolios.

Where do you see the future of wealth management heading?

We think the future of wealth management is really about providing client-based solutions that offer the prospects of generating returns in an environment that I think is going to be a lot dictated by what we're seeing, which is sustainable underlying growth, but also sustained inflation, and therefore a need to invest in assets that can increase, preserve and increase the real value of assets over time.

I think focusing on those kinds of assets and delivering these real returns and recognizing the opportunities that we have in a dynamic, evolving, growing global economy is a great opportunity for wealth management today.

Chris Rossbach is a Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at J. Stern & Co., an investment partnership with offices in London, New York, Zurich and Malta. Rossbach is also the portfolio manager of the firm’s World Stars Global Equity Fund. He has 23 years of experience in the financial services industry, 19 of which he spent with Merian Capital, Magnetar, Lansdowne Partners, and Perry Capital investing in stocks using a fundamental value approach. Before moving to London, he worked in New York for Lazard Frères as an investment banker. Together with Jérôme Stern, Rossbach co-founded J. Stern & Co. in 2012. Whilst holding a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Rossbach speaks German, English, French, and Spanish. He also chairs and is a trustee of the Warburg Charitable Trust.