While not strictly related, the merger comes at a time of upheaval and change in Switzerland as the Alpine State witnesses a new regulatory regime for the external asset managers sector.

Switzerland’s Cité Gestion has entered into a formal merger agreement with Sartus Capital, a Geneva-headquartered multi-family office. 

Sartus Capital, which has 13 employees lead by Sven Blake and Stéphane B., has officially joined forces with Cité Gestion, the bank said in a statement on its Linkedin page this week. 
The bank will boost assets under management to around SFr7 billion ($7.55 billion) because of the agreement; headcount will stand at approximately 100 employees across four offices in Switzerland. Sartus Capital was founded in 2016 by XP Inc, a Nasdaq-listed wealth manager, and bought back by its Swiss management in 2021. 

The merger comes at a time when Swiss wealth management – such as the external asset managers (EAM) industry is facing continued pressure to become more efficient to handle rising regulatory and technology costs, and cater to more demands from clients. New rules on EAMs from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) come into full effect in 2023 (as covered here).

“This merger strengthens the scope and scale of the services we can deliver to our clients. It brings together a dynamic group of managing partners, who are successfully running the fastest growing private bank in Switzerland,” Blake said in the statement.