The Pictet Group is celebrating 35 years of uninterrupted growth in Luxembourg. As the Group’s second largest site, it has been able to adapt over the years to the demands and many changes in the finance industry, while retaining its identity and values. A key player in the Luxembourg market, the Swiss group is represented in all its business lines in Luxembourg.
Founded in 1805, the Pictet Group decided to establish its first European presence in Luxembourg in 1989, at the dawn of the Internet revolution. So, 35 years ago, Pictet, whose partners are both owners and managers, focused on its international development by relying on a main hub, the geographical choice of which was well thought out, to enable it to target Europe but also to opt for a haven with the highest and increasingly rare rating awarded to a country: triple A.
While the institution was able to adapt to this revolutionary technology at the start of the new century, the Internet, it should be emphasised that it then came through the dark and turbulent period that shook the entire banking sector in 2008-2011 without a hitch and without making news. “It’s a fortress,” as its CEO, Mario Pirola, who hails from northern Italy but has put down roots with his family in Luxembourg, likes to say. Pictet draws on a tradition that goes back almost 220 years and was established by its parent company in Geneva. This never-spilled tradition, with its unchanging recipe for security, stability and excellence, tends to avoid taking risks in its financial business by offering a sophisticated, made-to-measure service. Pictet does not offer commercial loans or investment banking services. Quite simply, wealth management, asset management, alternative investment management and a whole range of highly personalised and sophisticated financial services are offered to its customers.
In Kirchberg, at the beginning of boulevard JF Kennedy, Pictet has its stronghold on the upper part of Luxembourg. Today in Luxembourg, the Group has 295 billion in assets under administration, over 850 employees (compared with 390 10 years ago) and has become one of the 10 largest employers in the country. The Pictet Group’s second-largest site after its Geneva headquarters, Pictet Luxembourg is a macrocosm of its parent company, with its range of complementary services.
Four pillars
Pictet Asset Management, with Suzanne Berg at the helm, has been distributing around 300 funds in more than 27 countries since 1995. With 130 billion in assets under management in Luxembourg, the institution has ranked among the top 10 Luxembourg companies for the past seven years. Wealth Management, headed by Christophe Deltomme, has been present in the Grand Duchy since 1989, and extended its target activities to the Benelux countries in 2007, followed by the Nordic countries in 2019. And the bank and its employees have had success. Assets have quite simply doubled over the last five years, with uninterrupted organic growth.
Another traditional branch of the Bank, and also the oldest in Luxembourg, Pictet Asset Services, headed by Claude Pech, is regarded as a market leader in private custody despite tough competition. With over 30 years’ experience, it has developed cutting-edge technology for asset management companies and asset managers. The branch sells the Luxembourg brand throughout the world and offers a 360degree centre of excellence for its customers, with one of its niches, life insurance, “made in Luxembourg”, becoming an asset.
Finally, and the latest addition to the range of services offered by Pictet’s Luxembourg office, Pictet Trading & Sales, which Guillaume d’Assier de Boisredon has taken the helm of, has been handling orders from morning to evening, even on public holidays (except Christmas) throughout the world since 2021. The brokerage business has grown rapidly and spectacularly, requiring a rapid increase in the number of employees from 7 to 16, with seven different nationalities. The number of electronic orders placed in the Luxembourg multi-asset trading room jumped by 85%. Last but not least, Pictet Technologies, a technology development business based at Belval, employs 150 people.
Cultural presence
The celebration of 35 years of presence in Luxembourg will also take place in the global ecosystem with a presence in the cultural world and exceptional events (Philharmonie, Mudam, Prix Pictet at the Cercle Cité with a photography exhibition, Private Art Kirchberg which plunges into the discovery of the Pictet art collection, Fondation Mérite Jeunesse…) in a responsible commitment.
“Being a leader is a privilege but also an obligation,” concludes Mario Pirola, CEO of the Group in Luxembourg. Pictet feels at home in Luxembourg and is determined to pursue growth and excellence.
