The Private Bank targeting the super-rich, Pictet, has performed valiantly in 2022. Notable skid marks nonetheless exist.
“The funds entrusted to us rose to an all-time high,” the managing senior partner of the famous Pictet Group, Renaud de Planta, had still said about the annual result 2021.
“We will maintain this course in 2022,” the top manager of the super-rich-focused asset manager continued in this context.
Slump in profits
However, the results of the Geneva-based private bank Pictet, where the ultra-rich, i.e. the Ultra High Net Worth Individuals UHNWI, put their money, did not shine as nicely last year as they had in the past.
The returns can still be seen. They fell by just 2 percent year-on-year to 3.2 billion Swiss francs in 2022.
However, the net profit slumped by about 24 percent to 768 million Swiss francs, as Pictet announced today, Tuesday.
Hardly any new money
Net new money, however, fell even more sharply. Since the record year that Starbanker de Planta spoke of, net new money has shrunk by 86 percent to just 4 billion Swiss francs.
By comparison, Pictet had also attracted 24 billion Swiss francs in new money in the covid year of 2020.
“In a difficult year overall for the financial markets, Pictet 2022 has achieved a solid result,” de Planta now said of the financial year just ended.
Number games of little use
The profit slump of almost a quarter can mainly be put into perspective by the fact that the headquarters of the private bank in Geneva had been sold and leased back in the previous year.
The business success, which does not take this extraordinary profit into account, amounted to 924 million Swiss francs in 2021, the Noblesse money house had written.
Even if one calculates the declines without this sale-and-lease-back business, however, Pictet’s 2022 net profit still slumped by a hefty 17 percent from the aforementioned 768 million Swiss francs.
Strong capital rock
Assets under management or custody stood at around 612 billion Swiss francs at the end of December 2022. At the end of 2021, the figure had still been a record 698 billion Swiss francs.
In this respect, there was also a significant drop of over 12 percent.
However, the super-rich at Pictet hardly need to worry about capital strength. The regulatory ratios for liquidity and capital remain very solid, the communiqué said.
Finma satisfied
As of the end of December 2022, the minimum liquidity ratio was 176 percent, compared to the 100 percent required under Basel III, according to the statement.
With regulatory capital of 3.39 billion Swiss francs, the total capital ratio of 27.4 percent was well above the 12 percent ratio required by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma.
Shareholders leave
Pictet also announced a change in personnel. After more than 12 years as managing partner and 22 years with the group, Bertrand Demole has decided to step down from Pictet at the end of June, it said.
“We will miss his entrepreneurial spirit, but we respect his decision and are pleased that he will remain with us in a non-executive role,” de Planta was quoted as saying in the communiqué.
The noble private bank Pictet has thus lost another managing partner.
The money house, which is careful to keep a low profile, had already lost Swiss top banker Boris Collardi from their illustrious circle of partners in August 2021 with a lot of fanfare
02/07/2023/kut./ena.