“When we were thinking about further expansion, the discussion came up: what’s next?” explains Falk Fischer – CEO of Bank Julius Baer Europe – when sharing the history and strategy of the business.  And this clever foresight is the red thread driving Falk and his team. Throughout every move and decision, the question of ‘what’s next’ is consistent. It’s with this drive to look forward, paired with strong respect for the past, that pushes Falk and his colleagues in our European branches to improve and expand. 

Managing wealth, now and in the future, requires a level of human connection – after all, even with technology at our fingertips, there’s nothing like the reassurance of a trusted expert. The team in Luxembourg aim to perfect this balancing act between humanity and technology. 

How to manage wealth across Europe

To avail of this important human touch, some level of physical proximity is needed. And, Falk explains, this is made a reality by our Luxembourg office. Julius Baer is, at its core, a Swiss wealth manager with decades of rich history. However, as Falk notes, you don’t need to live in Switzerland to gain local access to this deep understanding of wealth management. 

“For clients in the European Union, our model is quite simple. We have the bank here in Luxembourg with all the required functions – and we have the branches locally, to be very close to the client.”

Currently, Luxembourg acts as the centralised hub for Julius Baer Europe’s activities – with branches now in Madrid, Barcelona, Dublin, and more recently Milan. Soon, a Lisbon branch will also open its doors. This growth stemming from Luxembourg has been consistent since the hub was founded in 2016, after the acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2013 and Commerzbank in Luxembourg, in 2015. 

“Bank Julius Baer Europe is the gateway for business in the European Union. Luxembourg is not our primary market. This is where we have the booking centre, where we have all the functions of a fully fledged bank. However, our business is primarily being conducted in the branches of the countries which we have defined as focus markets. It’s very common that in Luxembourg, the banks have their licence and their ‘passport’ to manage their business with European Union clients out of Luxembourg.”

So, what makes this tiny country so special?

Why is Luxembourg the beating heart of Europe?

Free transport, spotless streets, irresistible baked goods and wines – these are certainly things that make Luxembourg memorable. However, for those interested in wealth management, there’s a lot more to it. 

A naturally diverse nation, Luxembourg sits between Germany, Belgium and France, with expats making up close to half of its total residents. The number of cross-border commuters is staggering, with thousands travelling into Luxembourg for the workday each morning.

Thomas Fehr, COO EMEA at Julius Baer Europe, knows that this international flavour makes Luxembourg the perfect breeding ground for outside-the-box ideas. 

“You’re in the centre of Europe and you’re working with all of these countries – we have our Portuguese colleagues, our Monegasque colleagues speaking French, our Italian-speaking colleagues. You have to have an international team. And I’m very proud to say that we have more than 20 nationalities in this building. 

“But it’s not only that these people speak Portuguese, Italian, French or whichever. It’s also about the culture. For example, serving our colleagues in Spain is a bit easier, if you have someone here from Spain. And clients love knowing our colleagues in operations who are from the same city, for example. The international setup with more than 20 nationalities is a must to serve our international presence,” adds Thomas.

And Luxembourg’s history matches the focus of Julius Baer Europe – it’s also about looking forward, no matter the circumstances. Falk confirms: “Luxembourg was rather an agricultural country. And then Luxembourg transformed itself after World War II with the heavy industry, steel industry, mining, etc. And with that, Luxembourg developed into a prosperous and rather wealthy country. And then the little country was smart enough to understand in the 1960s that the mining and steel industry will not last forever. And they started to think: ‘Okay, what’s next?’ And so, the financial industry came up in the late 60s and in the 70s.”

Falk adds: “And when this evolved, Luxembourg again was asking itself: ‘What is next?’ This little country is able to continuously question its position in the respective time, in the respective framework. And now it has positioned itself as the gateway or the hub for doing international business in the European Union. And, it’s not only about financial business. There are many other industries evolving in Luxembourg from that perspective – many other firms from overseas, from Asia, from America, have come to Luxembourg and use the hub in order to distribute their products, their services into the European Union. 

“And that’s why I’m quite confident that this little country will remain smart enough to react on, let’s say, international developments and give us, as a Swiss wealth manager, the perfect environment to do business: it’s well-regulated, and business-friendly.”

Thomas adds: “Luxembourg is geographically, but also cultural-wise, very well-positioned to do international business. Luxembourg attracted talent to come here from different countries. This continued with the formation of European institutions: the European Investment Bank, European Parliament, European Commission, the Court of Justice. And as well as being a small country – it’s also small in terms of decision processes, the way you get support from the authorities, from the government, from the regulator. For these reasons, collaboration between us and Luxembourg, as the European hub, is very important.”

What does the future of wealth management in Europe look like? 

And amid all the talk of what’s next, the question remains at the forefront – for Julius Baer and the world of wealth management, what lies ahead? 

In terms of branches, Lisbon is next on the cards for Julius Baer Europe. This comes after a period of expansion for the team. “We developed Ireland as the first branch in 2018, and then in 2021, Spain came with Madrid and Barcelona, followed by Italy earlier this year. In 2023, we were starting to think about Portugal, because we came across a good team and we decided to set up in Lisbon.” This branch, Falk explains, will be opening in October 2025.

“So now we have already four locations and we want to consider what could be next. There are still some spots left blank in terms of branches – and if the business case is appealing, then certainly we will look into that,” Falk notes.

And what’s next for Thomas? “Julius Baer’s strategy generally is to invest heavily into technology. So just as part of the group strategy, we are investing significantly into innovative solutions for clients. I think we are looking at this from two angles. The first angle is what is directly impacting the clients. This is e-banking, your mobile app, digital signature – things which you can really feel as a client. 

“On the other side, we are also using new technologies to become more efficient and to bring better services which the client might not directly feel. Things like robotics, IT, artificial intelligence. And this is helping us a lot to become more efficient, and with this, create a good service for our clients.”

Despite this hunger for innovation, both Falk and Thomas agree that personal relationships are crucial, now more than ever. 

Falk concludes: “I always say: the most important thing is a good connection between our clients and our people. In modern times, clients can look for everything on the Internet – it’s at their fingertips. But personal relationships, which have been developed over years; this is something you cannot create with new technology alone.”