The Zug-based financial group Cinerius is undergoing significant changes in its executive management. The board of directors has bid farewell to CEO Christoph Lieber and Gregor Korte, Head of M&A and Business Development, as finews.ch has learned.

As the asset management group announced on Friday, Lieber's successor is apparently already determined. The new CEO is expected to be announced in the «coming weeks» and will take up the role in the fourth quarter. Until then, executive management members Philippe Roschi, Jens Jüttner, and Gordian Giger will step in.

Giger will also immediately take over Korte's responsibilities.

«Getting ready» for further growth

With these personnel changes, the Cinerius group aims to create the conditions for further growth. The focus is on the Dach region, as well as Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

«Our business model generates high interest and acceptance among independent asset managers, and we have the personnel and financial capacity to bring more asset managers under the Cinerius group umbrella,» said Chairman of the Board Jens Hagemann.

Falling short of expectations

Chris Lieber (Image: finews.tv)

In industry circles, however, it is said that Cinerius has fallen far short of expectations. The group has set a goal of acquiring several independent asset managers in the country, as Chris Lieber also explained to finews.tv. However, apart from the acquisition of Entrepreneur Partners in February 2023 and SSI Wealth Management in December 2023, no other transactions materialized. At the end of 2022, Lieber had still mentioned «a dozen asset managers in the pipeline.»

The fact that both the CEO and the Head of M&A are leaving speaks volumes. Currently, the Cinerius group comprises nine asset managers mainly in Germany and the two mentioned in Switzerland, with total assets under management of 13 billion Swiss francs.