Underlining this Swiss archetype is a 300-strong private bank army and a large number of independent managers.
However, Marriott says discretion and avoidance are not synonymous, firmly distancing Blackden from the escapades of Switzerland’s wider financial community and emphasising the different brand of confidentiality his company offers.
“You have to differentiate between the advice given by certain sectors of the banking system in Switzerland and that given by locally based IFAs,” he says. “What discretion really means is that if you are working in a small community, you will not let other customers or other companies know who your clients are. It is this client confidentially that is key.”
Blackden’s growth over time has arisen through word of mouth. While the company has a website, and has even used radio adverts to “get the name out”, Marriott says that when a company is around for long enough in a small community, reputation increases naturally.
As a result, the company does not mass-market outside its niche, expat community, preferring instead to build its business around networking.
“People get to know you,” he says. “For example, when I went skiing recently, I kept bumping into friends and clients. You meet a lot of people. Much of Blackden’s growth has come from being around for a long time”.
Regulatory shake-ups
When it comes to these clients’ charges, Blackden does not have a set fee structure. “Some clients look to work on hourly fee basis,” he says. “Some want to work on a brokerage basis and others prefer a fee-based approach relative to their managed assets.”
However, he adds that fees are ultimately being influenced by pan-European regulatory changes such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, which is currently being implemented by the European Securities and Markets Authority and looks to increase transparency.
“We are encouraging clients to move towards a fee-based approach,” he says.
