Swiss Bank Expands In Asia
Friday, August 13, 2010

The Swiss banking group SYZ and Co is continuing its expansion in Asia by extending the operations of its Hong Kong office.

In addition to alternative asset management - which has been available since January 2007, SYZ & Co will from now on also promote and distribute its institutional asset management solutions and OYSTER investment funds in the region.

Three and a half years after launching its Hong Kong operation, SYZ & Co has decided to broaden the range of services offered in the region so as to take advantage of the growth opportunities afforded by its exceptional dynamism. In addition to managing and promoting the Group’s alternative products in Asia, the Hong Kong office will now also register and promote the OYSTER range of Luxembourg SICAV investment funds and the institutional asset management services provided by SYZ Asset Management. To reflect this new orientation, the Hong Kong-based entity will change its company name from 3A Asia Ltd. to SYZ & Co Asia Ltd., subject to regulatory approval.

“We have identified strong demand in the region for innovative products with high added value. The extension of our activities will enable us to capitalize on the contacts established over the last few years to offer the full range of the Group's products throughout South-East Asia and Australia” explained Eric Syz, Managing Partner.

SYZ has announced that Daniel Ghirardi, formerly of UBS, will take on responsibility for the region as of September 2010. “Despite an extremely competitive environment, Banque SYZ & Co has earned the respect of the institutional and professional market, thanks to its investment track record and its coherent range of top-performing products," said Ghirardi.

SYZ joins a number of other Swiss institutions attempting to tap into Asia's rapidly-growing pool of wealthy individuals. including Julius Baer, Reyl Group and UPB.

According to the 2010 Merrill Lynch/Cap Gemini World Wealth Report, after falling 14.2% in 2008 to 2.4 million, Asia-Pacific’s high-net-worth individual population (HNWI) rebounded in 2009 to reach 3 million, matching that of Europe’s HNWI population for the first time. Asia-Pacific wealth also surged 30.9% to USD9.7 trillion last year, more than erasing 2008 losses and surpassing the USD9.5 trillion in wealth held by Europe’s HNWIs. This shift in rankings, according to the report, occurred because HNWI gains in Europe, while sizeable, were far less than those in Asia-Pacific, which saw continued robust growth in both economic and market drivers of wealth. Hong Kong and India led growth in Asia-Pacific, after experiencing massive declines in their HNWI bases and wealth in 2008.