Julius Bär Group AG, known alternatively as Julius Baer Group Ltd., is a
private banking
Private banking is banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs)—defined as those with very high levels of income or sizable assets. A bank that ...
corporation founded and based in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Headquartered in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, it is among the older
Swiss banking institutions. In terms of assets under management, Julius Baer is number three among Swiss banks after the two generalists
UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
and
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
and the biggest pure-play private bank.
Established as a traditional private bank and named after Swiss banker
Julius Bär
Julius Bär Group AG, known alternatively as Julius Baer Group Ltd., is a private banking corporation founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it is among the older Swiss banking institutions. In terms of assets under manageme ...
, it provides
investment management
Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
,
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
financing,
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
, and select offerings in
sales and trading Sales and trading is one of the primary front-office divisions of major investment banks. The term is typically reserved for the trading activities done by sell-side investment banks who are primarily engaged in making markets for institutional clie ...
based on an open and managed architecture. The majority of income is generated by commissions and service fees. Located in 28 countries, it is known for its
banking secrecy
Banking secrecy, alternately known as financial privacy, banking discretion, or bank safety,Guex (2000), p. 240 is a conditional agreement between a bank and its clients that all foregoing activities remain secure, confidential, and private. Mos ...
and
client confidentiality
Client confidentiality is the principle that an institution or individual should not reveal information about their clients to a third party without the consent of the client or a clear legal reason. This concept, sometimes referred to as social s ...
. Julius Baer employs a staff of over 6,600 worldwide.
The group manages
assets
In financial accountancy, financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value ...
for private clients from all over the world. The firm's services consist mainly of
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
and
investment
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
consultancy
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
. The bank provides products via its open architecture platform as well as
securities
A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
and
foreign exchange trading
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all asp ...
. The shares of the Julius Baer Group are listed on the
SIX Swiss Exchange
SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other security (finance), securities such as Swiss government bonds and d ...
and form part of the
SMI MID
The SMI MID (SMIM) is a stock index which lists Switzerland's mid-cap companies. The index is calculated by SIX Swiss Exchange.
It includes the 30 Prime Standard shares from sectors that rank immediately below the companies included in the Swis ...
, the mid-cap stock index comprising the 30 largest and most liquid listed Swiss companies not in the SMI.
History
![Frankfurt, Reuterweg 14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Frankfurt%2C_Reuterweg_14.JPG)
Julius Bär Group Ltd. is a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
private banking group which is the parent company of Bank Julius Baer, a traditional
private bank
Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...
based in
Zurich, Switzerland. The firm dates itself back to 1890 when an exchange office was founded by Ludwig Hirschhorn and Theodor Grob. Grob left the firm again in 1896 when at the same time Joseph Michael Uhl and Julius Bär joined. In 1901, Julius Bär acquired the bank and remained as partner until 1922. Hans E. Mayenfisch joined the bank on 1 July 1913 as partner and was active until 1947. The sons of Julius Bär became partners as follows: Walter Bär on 1 October 1913 until 1947, Werner Bär in 1921 until his death on 2 February 1960 and Richard Bär, who was a physicist became a silent partner in 1922. After his death in 1940 he was succeeded by his widow Ellen Bär.
The members of the 3rd generation became active in the bank with Hans Bär on 21 August 1947 until 1996, last as chairman of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd, Nicolas Bär on 22 September 1951 until March 1993, last as Chairman of Bank Julius Baer & Co.Ltd, Peter Bär on 1 November 1955 until his death on 11 November 1998 last as member of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd., and Rudolf Bär 1969 until 2005, last as member of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd. Hans Bär was succeeded as Chairman by Thomas Bär 1996 until 2003. On 4 July 1970 Dr. Ernst Bieri, former head of the finance department of the City of Zurich joined as outside partner until 1990 as member of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd.
Since 1980, the Bank began accepting non-family investors until it became a listed public company in 2005. In September 2005, the bank acquired the formerly independent private bankers Ferrier, Lullin & Cie SA, Ehinger & Armand von Ernst AG, Banco di Lugano and the asset management house GAM (Global Asset Management) from UBS, making it one of the largest independent asset managers in Switzerland. In 2012, the bank acquired Merrill Lynch's wealth management business outside the US from Bank of America. The 4th generation was involved with the leadership of the bank with Raymond Bär from 1988 until 2012, last as Chairman of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd. Michael Bär joined the bank in 1992 and was active in various senior operating functions, last as a member of the group executive committee until 2005. As representatives of the family shareholders Mark Bär (1999–2005), Andreas Bär (2003–2005) and Beatrice Speiser-Bär (2003–2009) were members of the board of Julius Baer Holding Ltd. Since its inception in 2014, the bank has been title sponsor of the FIA Formula E championship. The number of personnel by full-time equivalent grew from around 400 in 1980 to more than 2'000 in the year 2000 and further to more than 6'000 in 2020 when nearly half of them were employed in Julius Baer offices abroad.
Capital and scale
Julius Baer originally operated as a partnership and was incorporated on 27 November 1974 with a share capital of CHF 14.040 million, divided into 56,400 registered shares of CHF 100 each and 16,800 bearer shares of CHF 500 each. The company went public in 1980. The Baer Families relinquished control in 2005 converting the share capital into a single class of registered shares all quoted at the SIX Swiss Exchange. Today,
MFS Investment Management
MFS Investment Management (MFS) is an American-based global investment manager, formerly known as Massachusetts Financial Services. Founded in 1924, MFS is one of the oldest asset management companies in the world and has been credited with pionee ...
is the single biggest shareholder with nearly 10% of voting rights.
In 2020, Julius Baer announced it plans to slash 300 jobs, a decision which is a part of the company's CEO's three-year plan to improve the bank's profit margins.
Acquisitions
In September 2005, Julius Bär acquired the independent private banks Ferrier Lullin,; born 1954
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), was managing director at Ferrier Lullin. Ehinger & Armand von Ernst, Banco di Lugano, and the asset management house
Global Asset Management
GAM Investments is an independent, pure play asset management group headquartered in Zurich. (GAM) from the Swiss banking giant
UBS AG
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
, to become one of the largest independent
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
firms in Switzerland. UBS acquired almost 21% of Baer's shares as part of the deal,
but sold off its stake in May 2007 to fund a
share buyback
Share repurchase, also known as share buyback or stock buyback, is the re-acquisition by a company of its own shares. It represents an alternate and more flexible way (relative to dividends) of returning money to shareholders. When used in coor ...
. GAM was
demerged
A demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a merger or acquisition.
A demerger can take place through a spin-off by distributed or ...
as a separate company in October 2009. The companies of the group are consolidated within Julius Bär Gruppe AG, whose shares are listed on the
SIX Swiss Exchange
SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other security (finance), securities such as Swiss government bonds and d ...
.
In November 2012, Julius Baer and Milan-based Kairos Investment Management SpA (‘Kairos’) announced that they had reached an agreement for a cooperation to jointly create a leading onshore wealth management player in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Julius Baer’s Italian SIM was integrated into Kairos and, simultaneously, Julius Baer acquired 19.9% of Kairos. All Italian wealth management activities of the two groups run under the name Kairos Julius Baer.
Julius Baer acquired
Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
’s International Wealth Management business (IWM), based outside the US, in August 2012, for 860 million Swiss francs ($884.8 million). The deal grew Julius Baer's assets under management by 40%, raising the AuM to 251 billion francs ($258.2 billion).
In July 2014, Julius Baer announced that it had purchased the private banking assets of Israeli
Bank Leumi
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
.
Corporate social responsibility
Julius Baer Foundation
The main focus of the Julius Baer Foundation is youth,
vocational training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
and wealth inequality. Projects that directly benefit the younger generation are sponsored in various ways. Set up in 1965 by Walter J. Baer initially for charitable causes in Switzerland, the scope has grown together with the expansion of the business to a global scale. Julius Baer Foundation works together with and supports among others Sistema B (Chile), Solafrica (Ethiopia),
Swisscontact
Swisscontact – Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation is a Swiss non-profit-organisation, which carries out projects aiming at reducing poverty in developing and transition countries by private sector development. It has been founded in 195 ...
(Switzerland) and Plastic Free Planet (UK). It continues its traditional support of the Julius Baer employee-based JB Cares organisation and selected
art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...
s in Switzerland.
In 2020, JB Cares and the JB Foundation supported aid programmes in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
following the accident in the port of
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
on 4 August 2020.
Since 2019, Romeo Lacher has been the president and chairman of the Julius Baer Foundation. Andreas Weinberg serves as vice president.
Controversies and lawsuits
In February 2008, Julius Baer Group sent cease and desist letters to Wikileaks and its domain registrar, resulting in subsequent legal action. The bank initially obtained a permanent injunction against the Wikileaks domain registrar on 18 February. On 29 February, a federal judge dissolved the initial injunction, citing First Amendment concerns. On 5 March 2008, the bank
dropped the case.
Alex Widmer
Alex W. Widmer (1 May 1956 – 3 December 2008) was a Swiss banker who had been the chief executive officer of the Julius Baer Group, one of the world's largest providers of private banking services.
Biography
Born in Zurzach, Widmer was an ...
, the chief executive of Bank Julius Baer, took his own life on 4 December 2008.
Hans de Gier, the former chief of Julius Baer Group, assumed Widmer's responsibilities for the interim.
In May 2009,
Boris F. J. Collardi assumed the role as CEO for the Julius Baer Group Ltd. and Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd.
On 17 January 2011, Rudolf Elmer provided Wikileaks with the alleged bank account details of 2,000 individuals and corporations from three financial institutions, including Julius Baer. Elmer, a previous employee of Julius Baer, worked for the bank from the early 1980s until 2002 when he was dismissed for data theft. In 2008, Elmer had previously leaked bank information to Wikileaks, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel, which had referred to his documents as ‘partly authentic and partly fake'. It was subsequently reported that the discs had been empty, and the event a ploy to draw attention to Elmer’s court proceedings in Switzerland.
In 2011, Julius Baer became one of a dozen Swiss banks to come under U.S. federal investigation for allegedly aiding US citizens in committing tax evasion. The bank subsequently chose to engage with federal investigators, cooperating with the
US Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
investigation and accepting responsibility for its conduct. On 4 February 2016, the bank signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and agreed to pay a fine of $547 million. Acting Chief Executive Bernhard Hodler reacted to the agreement in a statement saying that "This important step confirms Julius Baer's approach to cooperating constructively with competent authorities and our commitment to fulfill our regulatory obligations and responsibilities."
On 20 February 2020 the
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is the Swiss government body responsible for financial regulation. This includes the supervision of banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges and securities dealers, as well as other ...
(FINMA) censured Julius Baer for falling "significantly short" in combating money laundering between 2009 and 2018 with regards to corruption allegations involving
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and
PDVSA
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production ...
, Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas company. FINMA ordered Julius Baer to change its remuneration and recruitment policies, and appointed an auditor to oversee the bank to ensure its compliance with anti-money laundering standards. In March 2021, FINMA lifted the ban on large acquisitions for Julius Baer. The move was driven by a report by an independent auditor that supervised the implementation of the measures that FINMA ordered. Julius Baer said it welcomed the move and noted the "significant progress the bank has made in strengthening its company-wide risk management."
In 2015, Julius Baer began cooperating with the
US Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
concerning its investigation of alleged money laundering and corruption involving officials and affiliates of the world soccer federation,
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
. Julius Baer subsequently entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ & agreed to pay fines totaling over $79 million. On May 27, 2021, Julius Baer finalized the agreement with the DOJ, resolving the investigation of the Bank’s role.
See also
*
Banking in Switzerland
Banking in Switzerland dates to the early eighteenth century through Switzerland's merchant trade and has, over the centuries, grown into a complex, regulated, and international industry. Banking is seen as emblematic of Switzerland, along wit ...
*
List of banks in Switzerland Systemically Important Banks Globally Systemically Important Banks
*UBS Group AG
*Credit Suisse Group AG
Domestically Systemically Important Banks
* Zurich Cantonal Bank
* Banque cantonale vaudoise
* Raiffeisen
* PostFinance
Top-tier Swiss banks ...
Notes
References
*
External links
*
*
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
br>
Grand Cayman
{{Authority control
Banks based in Zürich
Financial services companies of Switzerland
Banks established in 1890
Swiss companies established in 1890
Private banks
Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange
Swiss brands