Wealth & Finance International - March 2017

Wealth & Finance International 32 A World of Opportunity ehrli & Zehnder is a multi-family office that advises wealthy individuals and families on how to manage, organise, allocate and protect their wealth. The firm oversees all aspects of its clients’ wealth with core strengths in asset management and the selection of correlated and non-correlated alternative investments. Dominik E. Zehnder is co-founder of the firm, serves as Chairman of the Board and co-runs the business. “Restructurings and lay-offs at banks and financial institutions is a great opportunity for us to showcase our firm as an anchor of stability and reliability,” he says. “The partners at Kehrli & Zehnder only have one goal at the core: over-deliver on the service and performance expectations of our clients. We provide high quality, independent, unbiased and professional advice. “The current restructuring wave also paves the way for us to hire quali- fied and experienced staff who look for a more dependable environment for their clients and for their own professional future. “When clients come to our firm, they are served by one of the partners” (rather than being covered by a junior member of the staff). “Our belief is clients have given us their trust and we have a duty to make sure they have a good experience.” Every partner has a unique skill that benefits all clients of the firm. Dominik firmly believes that the best way to measure the firm’s success is how long clients stay with them. “I am happy to report that we have clients who have been with us since we were with our previous employ- ers (in the last century!)” he enthuses. “The best endorsement for us is when clients refer their friends or business partners to us” and those who give us a larger portion of their assets over time.” Dominik embellishes a little on the firm’s history. “We started Kehrli & Zehnder in 2003 and grew it one client at a time, step by step,” he begins. “We want to grow organically and in a sustainable manner. Our industry is one built on trust, and trust is not created overnight. Kehrli & Zehnder is a firm for the long-run.” Kehrli & Zehnder is off to a successful start in 2017 with two new man- dates. In the first, “the principal sold the family business and asked us to set up a wealth-preserving structure that focuses on non-correlated investments,” states Dominik. “The second is from one of our largest (and longest standing) clients who has given us a second mandate to invest in non-correlated assets.” “Many like our open-minded and international orientation. In addition to our home market in Switzerland, we have representative offices in Hong Kong and Lugano. We travel to Asia, the U.S. and London at least once a year to perform due diligence on existing asset managers and identify new investment opportunities.” As part of his day-to-day role, Dominik attends to clients, meets manag- ers and writes the firm’s monthly investment comment. Client acquisition is mostly focused on their core target pool (entrepreneurs and wealthy families). This comes only after having established a rapport of trust. “The key challenges these days are high valuations, markets that are distorted by central bank actions and political risks. Clients want capital preservation but also capital appreciation. We will achieve the first goal by diversifying across asset classes, regions and strategies. By picking attractively valued and partially overlooked strategies or geographies we seek to achieve the second objective. Depending on our clients’ profile, we overweight one objective over the other. “The regulatory environment and administrative requirements have become increasingly cumbersome and continue to absorb resources. By choosing our clients carefully, we are minimizing regulatory issues.” Building a strong and loyal team is imperative. “Our staff is instrumental to the success of our firm and they ensure the quality and consistency of our service. Staff turnover is very low as we strive to provide a good work/life balance.” Company: Kehrli & Zehnder Global Wealth Management Name: Dominik E. Zehnder Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.kehrlizehnder.com Address: Gartenstrasse 33, CH-8002 Zurich, Switzerland Telephone: +41 44 222 1818 Dominik Zehnder, co-founder of Kehrli & Zehnder, offers insights into the industry it serves and its vision for the future. K 1703WF05