Summit on prospects and risks in asset management

At Asset Management Day 2023 in Bern, FINMA President Marlene Amstad, BIS Chief Economist Ulf Lewrick, SNB Vice President Martin Schlegel and UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti spoke about perspectives in asset management in front of more than 300 visitors. At the general meeting of the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS) held on the same day, Dagmar Kamber Borens (State Street Bank), Sébastien Eisinger (Pictet), Stefan Mächler (Swiss Life) and Yves Schneller (Partners Group) were newly elected to the board.

The Asset Management Day 2023 once again proved to be the industry event for Swiss asset management. In front of more than 300 visitors at the Bellevue Palace in Bern, Marlene Amstad, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Ulf Lewrick, Chief Economist of the BIS, Martin Schlegel, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Sergio Ermotti, CEO of UBS, spoke about developments, risks and opportunities in Swiss asset management and the financial center.

"AMAS is moving," said Iwan Deplazes, President of the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS) in his welcoming speech. He said that the last few months have been very much characterized by various initiatives in the field of sustainable finance, such as the publication of the Self-Regulation Sustainability, which will come into force next September 30. Deplazes also addressed the challenging market environment over the past year, as well as potential regulatory tightening for banks. "I see great opportunities for asset managers in the current developments," Deplazes added. Should banks have to shorten their balance sheets due to higher capital requirements, asset managers could close emerging funding gaps.

FINMA President Amstad and BIS Chief Economist Lewrick picked up the ball in their presentations: The so-called NBFI sector (Nonbank Financial Institutions), in which asset management forms the backbone, is developing very dynamically worldwide, which is also associated with risks. Amstad as well as Lewrick primarily mentioned liquidity risks in the fund market, which could endanger financial stability.

UBS CEO Ermotti described the acquisition of Credit Suisse as important for the Swiss financial center in order to maintain its international competitiveness. In asset management, he said, the two players' offerings are complementary, so economies of scale can be achieved. "We will now be number 10 in the ranking of the largest global asset managers," Ermotti said. The acquisition of Credit Suisse will be formally completed shortly, he said.

Annual General Meeting - New Board Members
At the AMAS general meeting held on the same day, Dagmar Kamber Borens, member of the Executive Management Board of State Street Bank International GmbH as well as Country Head Switzerland and Head Custodian Bank Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Scandinavia, Sébastien Eisinger, Co-Head Pictet Asset Management, Stefan Mächler, CIO Swiss Life and Yves Schneller, Head Investment Services Partners Group, were elected to the AMAS board. They replace Fiona Frick, Felix Haldner, Laurent Ramsey, André Ullmann and Martin Jufer, who have done outstanding work for the association and the Swiss asset management industry over many years.

The AMAS Board of Directors is now composed as follows: Iwan Deplazes (President), Charlotte Bänninger (Vice President), August Benz, Sébastien Eisinger, Dagmar Kamber Borens, Stefan Mächler, Alexandre Meyer, Christel Rendu de Lint, Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Filippo Rima and Yves Schneller.

Broadening of SFC Membership base

The Swiss Finance Council (SFC) and its founding members Credit Suisse and UBS are pleased to announce that the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ABPS), the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS), the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and the Association of Swiss Asset and Wealth Management Banks (VAV) are joining the SFC. This will strengthen further the collaboration in representing the interests of internationally active Swiss banks and asset managers with EU stakeholders.

Link to the press release