What is the smallest account you can have with a private banker?
It is not possible to answer this frequently asked question with a figure. It is not customary for private bankers to mechanically place their clients into categories.
For a private banker each client is, above all else, an individual whose interests need to be served as well as possible.
As far as asset management is concerned, it is very much a question of risk distribution. This is the criterion that defines the thresholds to be taken into account when managing assets in a professional and economic way. Its importance increases with the volatility of the financial markets.
This is why most private bankers advise their clients who do not have several hundred thousand francs available to invest on a long-term basis, to consider investment funds that are managed collectively. These funds guarantee professional management to those holding shares in them and enable the holders to choose their preferred investment profiles.
Most of the members of the Swiss Private Bankers Association have marketed a selection of investment funds for which they ensure the management and distribution.
But, with a sum of money which can be well under one million francs (and which will depend on the client's individual profile and his personal ambitions), it is possible for a private banker to spread the risks over a sufficient number of securities while providing a personalized and professional management service.
How do the Swiss private bankers deal with dormant accounts?
The Swiss Bankers Association has enacted a directive on this subject. First of all it provides that the banks must take preventive measures in order to avoid the funds becoming dormant. If, after a period of 10 years and despite efforts made by the bank, contact with the client can no longer be established, the bank must make a central listing of the assets of the client in question and assure conservative management of the funds, with specific acknowledgement that the bank may debit the usual costs and expenses. The bank must also declare dormant assets to a central search office whose staff observes the same professional secrecy as bankers. If it is provided with convincing evidence, this central search office may proceed with investigations with a view to tracing the client or his/her beneficiaries.
