The international expansion of Swiss wealth managers into emerging and established financial hubs requires strategic skill and cultural adaptability. An established Swiss brand alone is not enough to succeed in highly competitive growth markets.
A conversation with Michael Kuenzi, head of the Marcuard Heritage office in Abu Dhabi, and his colleague in Singapore, Michel Keiser, about the balancing act between global appeal and local roots, changing client needs, and what «Swissness» means today.
Mr. Kuenzi and Mr. Keiser, Marcuard Heritage deliberately chose to establish a presence in the United Arab Emirates and in Asia. What were the strategic considerations behind these locations, and what goals are you pursuing there?
Michael Kuenzi, Abu Dhabi (AD): For Abu Dhabi, diversification is the key consideration. Anyone holding substantial wealth should use different financial centers. We are pursuing three primary goals here: managing client assets that are already in the UAE but have historically been serviced from other centers, building an attractive platform for our relationship managers (RMs) from other booking centers, and third, building a local client book with locally hired RMs. The first goal has largely been achieved; the other two are ongoing processes.
