Bank Julius Baer hosts first Asia Investment Conference today

Asia is fascinating, Asia is thriving, yet Asia is hard to grasp for the western mind. As a consequence, the region is still underrepresented in most portfolios, thus forgoing valuable return and diversification potential. In order to make Asia more accessible to investors, Bank Julius Baer hosts the first full-day Asia Investment Conference in Zurich today. Attracted by the conference’s motto, some 350 investors are to be presented “Flavours of Asia”, offered first-hand by a broad panel of distinguished external speakers and complemented by the intimate insights of the Bank’s Asian-based and international research and investment experts.

In his opening address, Boris F.J. Collardi, CEO of Bank Julius Baer, highlights Asia’s importance for the Bank and its clients: “This investment conference underscores Julius Baer’s commitment to Asia as the Group’s second home market next to Switzerland. Asia’s potential for managing the wealth created in the region is huge, as is Asia’s increasing potential as part of international clients’ investment universe. We intend to capture both by our dedicated private banking offering, be it for local clients but also out of the region for the benefit of our clients worldwide.” He concludes: “I am overwhelmed by the huge interest in the conference and the sheer number of investors who dedicate their time to gain insights into Asia, a region Julius Baer as a truly locally-rooted wealth manager is intimately familiar with.”

Asia is the world’s single largest continent, covering 30% of the earth’s land area and hosting 60% of the world’s population. Including economic powerhouses such as China, India, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore, Asia has firmly established itself as the world’s prime manufacturing site and important contributor to global economic growth. Still labelled emerging markets, the recent European sovereign debt crisis has, once again, underscored the relatively superior structural fundamentals of most Asian countries, boasting strong balance sheets on all levels of the economy.

Julius Baer covers Asia primarily out of its locations in Singapore, Hong Kong and Jakarta, and currently employs more than 400 staff locally, representing well over 10% of the Group’s total number of employees. Besides its comprehensive wealth management offering tailored to the demands of its local private clients, Bank Julius Baer has built a strong and growing reputation for Asia-oriented investment intelligence, advice and local execution, mirroring the specific requirements of regional as well as international clients. Spearheaded by Singapore-based V. Anantha Nageswaran (also known as Dr VAN) in his function as Chief Investment Officer, the Bank employs more than 30 investment experts based in Singapore and Hong Kong, in addition to some 100 research and investment advisory professionals primarily based in Switzerland.