Private Banks

Pictet Private Bank

An independent review of Pictet Private Bank by our team of experts

Summary

The Pictet Group was founded in Switzerland in 1805 and is headquartered in Geneva. It offers private banking, wealth management and asset management services, and is owned and run by a small group of managing partners.

Pictet reported around CHF 662 billion of assets under management and employs roughly 5,000 people across offices in Switzerland, Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

Notably, Pictet extends no commercial loans and does no investment banking, making it a focused, pure-play wealth and asset manager.

Pros

Pure-play wealth and asset manager (no investment bank)
Global access
Strong digital banking

Cons

Smaller, boutique scale
Not the best way to invest
Possible higher fees

Our verdict

Pictet is one of Switzerland's most respected names, a partnership founded in 1805 that takes no commercial loans and does no investment banking. That focus is a genuine strength, and it places Pictet closer to AES's own philosophy than most banks on this list.

Even so, for the most demanding international clients it remains a relatively boutique operation, and the depth of specialist resource behind any individual banker can be thinner than the largest global houses provide. And like any bank, Pictet is ultimately remunerated through the products and mandates it places.

The underlying point is structural. A bank sells what a bank holds. Serious wealth work begins one level up, with the whole picture coordinated across your investments, structures, pensions, protection and succession, and with advice that answers to you rather than to a product shelf.

If you are already a private banking client of Pictet, a no-obligation Second Opinion will show whether your portfolio still serves your plan, or whether the plan was ever the starting point. AES will also review the thinking that led to the investments you currently hold.