8 BUSINESS & COMMUNITY PROFILE

9BUSINESS & COMMUNITYPROFILE

SSI Wealth Management’s managing partner talks expanding without merging or acquiring and keeping everything in-house

hen driving around the hills of Wettswil in his convertible Alfa Romeo Spider, SSI Wealth Management’s managing

partner, Florian Siegfried, always brings his tools with him. If his roadster starts stuttering, he takes them out of their box and starts working to fix the issue. Siegfried has cultivated an entrepreneurial spirit as CEO at several companies, from his experience leading shaPE Capital, a firm investing in private equities, to the most recent at SSI Group. It may be because of this that he became CEO of SSI Wealth Management’s

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CAMILLA GIANNONIReporter, Citywire Switzerland

Taking thehigh road

asset management division, SSI Asset Management, at the beginning of this year, after joining the company in September 2018.

He now oversees the management of five funds: Precious Capital Global Metals & Mining, SSI American Strategic Leaders, SSI Swiss Strategic Leaders, SSI Global Strategic Opportunity and SSI European Strategic Leaders, with close to CHF 200 million in assets. ‘I think it is important to adapt to a dynamic environment in order to remain competitive,’ he explains. Adaptation is part of the history of the company, which was started in 2010 by the former management team of Hugo Kahn private bank.

Nine years later, the firm has grown and now has two offices – the headquarters in Bäch, Switzerland, and the Liechtenstein

branch – and has recently hit CHF 1 billion in assets under management.

WORKING AS ONE Just as cogs in a car work together to make the vehicle move, SSI Wealth Management’s employees collaborate to deliver services to the firm’s clients. At a time when platforms are expanding and consolidation looms over Switzerland’s wealth management industry, Siegfried distances himself from this trend. ‘We try to be as integrated as possible and do not want to be seen as a platform of individuals,’ he says. The CEO believes in operating as a single institution, guided by a common vision and willing to reach the same objectives.

This is not to say that all clients can expect the same advice.

10 BUSINESS & COMMUNITY PROFILE

Nowadays, it takes time to find good people with an

entrepreneurial way of thinking

‘Of course, every customer receives a personalised and tailored service based on his or her needs and we work together as a team to achieve the best results. We think it is important that clients recognise the investment strategy across the firm.’ This does not just apply to the wealth management and asset management divisions but extends to compliance and IT.

Siegfried says: ‘We do not outsource any of our investment management, back office or compliance activities because we want the clients to know we are one single firm and we operate as one. ‘The regulatory landscape is evolving quickly and we believe having the required knowledge in-house will help us keep up with the pace.’ Despite working to comply with the new laws, the CEO believes the arrival of FinIA and FinSA will cause more disruption than positive changes to the industry and will make services more expensive. ‘The regulations are inevitable. We as a firm are required to invest more money into something which does not really benefit the business or the client. We have to train people to comply with the new Swiss regulations.’ The firm is currently registered with a self-regulatory organisation in Switzerland, while the Liechtenstein-based branch is regulated by the Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA).

DRIVING FORCEAlthough working together within the firm is valued, Siegfried stresses how the company is independent in relation to other firms.

‘Independence is one of the main values of the firm. The company is owned by the founding partners, management and employees and we have no strategic shareholders with an agenda to follow.’

The manager explains that an independent board of directors overlooks the firm’s structure. According to Siegfried this structured set up has allowed them to get loyal clients, with whom they have built long-term partnerships. ‘We want the relationships we have with the clients to last from one generation to the next.’

The CEO explains they want the clients to

perceive them as a family-oriented business, which is able to satisfy the family’s needs. ‘To gain trust we think you need to do more than just managing money. That’s why we offer a range of services that go beyond what many of our competitors do, providing wealth management, asset management, real estate and also family office services. We offer the clients a holistic approach. ‘The other reason is that we have to deal with a new generation of clients who are educated and who have different needs from their parents, and we need to make sure we can give them what they ask from us,’ he says. To better serve the firm’s European clients, especially the ones based in the Nordics, Germany and the UK, which are some of SSI’s core markets, Siegfried explains that

11BUSINESS & COMMUNITYPROFILE

they launched their Liechtenstein subsidiary, SSI Asset Management in July 2018.

GOING FURTHERAfter the expansion outside Switzerland’s borders, Siegfried says the firm is now looking to grow its headcount. ‘It is not easy as we have to find individuals whose mindset fits in with our way of doing things. ‘Everything here is based on balanced, long-lasting, personal relationships. When I started working here I had known Oliver [Amstad, the CEO of SSI Wealth Management] for nearly 10 years already. We met in 2010 when I was managing a fund that he was investing in,’ he says.

F L O R I A N S I E G F R I E D

2019 – PRESENTCEO, SSI Asset Management

2018 – PRESENT Managing partner, SSI Wealth Management

2014 – 2018Senior portfolio manager, Aganola

2009 – 2014CEO, Precious Capital

2005 – 2007CEO,shaPE Capital

We want the relationships we have with the clients to last from one generation to the next

Siegfried explains that at the moment the firm is open to hiring relationship managers, possibly with a well-established book of clients. ‘Nowadays, it takes time to find good people with an entrepreneurial way of thinking. The team at SSI has grown over the years and has been built entirely through our own relationships,’ he explains. On the other hand, Siegfried is not keen on mergers and acquisitions. ‘It is never an easy process. It is like merging two different cultures. ‘We are not in a rush to expand, so we would not just do it for the sake of it. In the future, should an opportunity of this kind arise we will evaluate it,’ he says.