Pictet & Cie, an independent private bank catering to institutional and private clients, has applied for a Dubai International Financial Centre Licence where it plans to establish a team of fund managers. The 203 year old Swiss bank opened a representative office in Dubai last year to cater to regional wealthy clients, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and central banks. It has now decided to increase its presence on the ground to meet strong client demand for advisory and investment services.
"We haven't waited until now to come here, we have had a presence here through significant client relationships since the 1970's," said Jacques de Saussure, the firms' managing partner. "Business [in the region] has accelerated over the last 10 years and the purpose of increasing presence in the UAE now is to service the local client base as well as the whole GCC region and parts of Asia." Ivan Pictet, the firm's senior partner, added that the timing is good, as the region has a very strong potential of recovery from the financial crisis.
Pictet manages over US$350 billion (Dh1.2 trillion) in assets, making them among the largest fund managers in the world in a network covering Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US. Pictet is owned and managed by seven partners. The firm's representative office in Dubai is comprised of 11 professionals and is headed by Thibaut Tosello [CQ]. shamdan@thenational.ae