Julius Baer Group

Julius Bär Gruppe AG
Type Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as SIX: BAER
Industry Financial services
Founded 1890
Founder(s) Julius Bär
Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland
Key people Raymond Baer (Chairman), Boris Collardi (CEO, Bank Julius Baer), Dieter Enkelmann (Group CFO)
Products Private banking, wealth management, asset management
Revenue CHF 1.794 billion (2010)[1]
Profit CHF 352.0 million (2010)[1]
AUM CHF 169.7 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total assets CHF 46.29 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity CHF 4.484 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees 3,580 (FTE, end 2010)[1]
Website www.juliusbaer.com

Julius Bär Group (or Julius Baer Group, SIX: BAER) is a Swiss banking firm which is the parent company of Bank Julius Bär, a traditional private bank based in Zurich, Switzerland. The firm dates itself back to the year 1890, when an exchange office was founded by Ludwig Hirschhorn und Theodor Grob. Joseph Michael Uhl and Julius Bär joined in 1896, when Theodor Grob left. And it was in 1901, when Julius Bär acquired the bank. The group manages substantial assets for private and institutional clients from all over the world. The firm's services consist mainly of asset management, wealth management and investment consultancy, investment funds for private and institutional investors as well as securities and foreign exchange trading.

Apart from its head offices in Switzerland, the bank has offices in London, Frankfurt, Milan, Dubai, Moscow, Grand Cayman, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

In September 2005, Julius Bär acquired the independent private banks Ferrier Lullin, Ehinger & Armand von Ernst, Banco di Lugano, and the asset management house Global Asset Management (GAM) from the Swiss banking giant UBS AG, to become one of the largest independent wealth management firms in Switzerland.[2] UBS acquired almost 21% of Baer's shares as part of the deal,[2] but sold off its stake in May 2007 to fund a share buyback.[3] GAM was demerged as a separate company in October 2009.[4] The companies of the group are consolidated within Julius Bär Gruppe AG, whose shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Alex Widmer, the chief executive of Bank Julius Baer, died suddenly on December 4, 2008. News reports cited sources indicating the death was a suicide.[5] Hans de Gier, the former chief of Julius Baer Group, assumed Widmer's responsibilities for the interim.[5]

On January 16, 2011, former Julius Baer employee Rudolf Elmer announced that he would be handing over to Wikileaks bank account details of individuals and corporations holding offshore accounts that may indicate massive tax evasion.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Annual Report 2010" (PDF). Julius Bär Group. http://www.juliusbaer.com/download/htm/4042/en/2011-02-07-JuliusBaer-FYR10-AnnualReport.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Merrell, Caroline (6 September 2005). "Julius Baer snaps up UBS private banks for £2.5bn". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article563038.ece. Retrieved 2009-02-22. 
  3. ^ "Today In Business: UBS Sells Julius Baer Stake". The New York Times. 26 May 2007. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E3DB1730F935A15756C0A9619C8B63. Retrieved 2009-02-22. 
  4. ^ de Sa'Pinto, Martin (1 October 2009). "Julius Baer splits operations, unlocks value". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idINL148020920091001. Retrieved 2010-03-26. 
  5. ^ a b Reid, Katie (December 5, 2008). "Bank Julius Baer CEO dies unexpectedly". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKTRE4B420R20081205. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  6. ^ Ed Vulliamy (January 16, 2011). "Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer plans to hand over offshore banking secrets of the rich and famous to WikiLeaks". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/16/swiss-whistleblower-rudolf-elmer-banks. Retrieved January 17, 2011. 

External links

Swiss Market Index companies of Switzerland