Switzerland: An Important World Centre for Alternative Management
While one may argue that there are many jurisdictions aiming to stay abreast of the latest, state of the art solutions in the financial sector, aiming to lure the ruffs of clients and their assets. There is only a handful of locations worldwide, that have excelled in providing an incorruptible and peerless level of service in a safe and sound environment, away from the praying eyes and unwanted attention of causal bystanders, business associates and even government officials or the ‘taxman’.
Located at the heart of Europe, yet outside of the European union and away from its ‘political drama’ at the same time fully benefiting from memberships in the Schengen zone and the European Community, allowing for a smooth and swift transfer of labor, assets, etc. Switzerland is the unprecedented and undisputed leader in the financial sector. Enjoying centuries long reputation of an impeachable and flawless reputation in customer service, security, anonymity and stability, all while being able to provide and employ the traditional, as well as the latest, most sophisticated financial solutions to a broad worldwide clientele.
Professionals use the term ‘alternative management’ for any financial mechanism that operates outside of traditionally recognized portfolio management methods. Alternative managers aim for absolute performance, i.e. as high as possible and disconnected from any benchmarks, turning the slightest imperfections or fluctuations in the behavior of capital and financial markets to their advantage and ultimately to their clients’ benefit. Management banks, private bankers, asset managers, major financial and trust companies in Switzerland were quick to spot the advantage of these specialized instruments. Investment funds, holding companies and institutional investors call on the Swiss expertise in this field. Due to the perspicacity of its bankers, Switzerland has acquired a highly regarded expertise in designing and distributing, but also pioneering alternative management products, becoming a world leader in the field. Specialists believe that some CH 1,000,- billion in assets managed alternatively are directly or indirectly controlled by Switzerland. In order not to lose this expertise which underpins many areas of financial engineering, to organize it better and to be able to use it advantageously in training programs, Switzerland has set up specialized institutes as the FAME Center or IFCI. The aim of these training centers is to make Switzerland the premier venue for training of financial engineers.
Openness of governmental bodies to new alternative avenues, has created a ‘Swiss’ microclimate that fosters pioneering, sophistication and outside the box solutions, to achieve a groundbreaking state of affairs. Zug, a fairly small, yet very picturesque Swiss city, located just a 20m drive from the Zurich-Kloten airport is the hub and place of business for a bevy of international juggernauts and fortune 500 companies, such as Glencore International, Alliance Boots, Xstrata Plc, Siemens, just to name a few. Zug is also one of the most open and forward-looking cities and Cantons (the Swiss equivalent of a State of governance; altogether there are 26 Cantons in Switzerland) in Switzerland. This openness to business in a progressive and continuously developing fashion, with constant adoption of new technologies, like the recent phenomenon and eruption of the blockchain technology and the rise to stardom of various blockchain based cryptocurrencies, has attracted a bevy of talent to Zug. In recent years, the city and the Canton have exploded in the business sense and today are proud to be the operating ground not only to international conglomerates but also to many startups, especially in this constantly evolving field of blockchain. In fact, Zug was the first ever Canton in Switzerland where corporate and personal taxes could be paid in crypto. This welcoming and technology embracing nature has earned Zug the moniker Swiss Crypto-Valley.
Today the Swiss Crypto-Valley brims with the brightest of lights offering a truly alternative management approach and state of the art facilities only bolster the imminent global success of this region. Whether a greenhorn or an advanced investor, the Zug based firms, managers and trust companies have the necessary tools, knowledge and talent to tailor to the most discerning clients and fashion the most breathtaking investment strategies, all while maintaining the Swiss traditional values and qualities perpetuated for centuries, which became synonymous with Switzerland and its illustrious financial sector.
