Zurich, 12 December 2022 – Julius Baer announced today that the goodwill on its investment in Kairos Investment Management SpA (Kairos) will be further impaired. While net new money has been positive since the governance changes announced at the end of 2020, the impairment follows an unprecedented difficult year for the asset management industry and in particular active asset managers, with global financial markets showing significant declines across equities and fixed income that are especially relevant for Kairos.

The goodwill impairment, together with the impairment of the remaining amortisable customer relationships, will lead to a pre-tax non-cash charge of CHF 57 million, to be reflected in Julius Baer’s 2022 financial results. As per year-end 2022, no more intangible assets related to Kairos will be reflected in the consolidated financials of Julius Baer.

Italian asset and wealth management company Kairos is part of the Julius Baer Group, with Kairos management retaining an approximately 35% interest. Kairos, with assets under management of around CHF 5 billion, acts as a leading Italian ’investment house’, focusing on innovative, actively managed investment solutions. While market conditions in 2022 provided significant headwinds for the industry, Kairos will continue to strengthen the foundations for the future long-term growth of the business.