Switzerland's external asset management sector continues to evolve in the wake of new regulations brought into force at the start of this year.

SAM Excel, the Zurich-based external asset management firm, said it is changing its named to UCAP Wealth Management Switzerland Ltd. It has appointed private banking figure Peter Albinsson as its new chief executive.

The firm will change its logo and become a member of UCAP, a financial services network whose members concentrate on global high net worth clients. UCAP, which has a total of more than $50 billion of client assets under management and advisement, has offices in Zurich, Geneva, London, Bahamas, Miami, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai.

Albinsson’s most recent role was at NPB Neue Privat Bank AG, where he was a member of the executive board and the deputy chief executive and head of international private banking and ultra-high net worth clients. Before that, he worked at EFG International, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Falcon Private Bank.

“Given its deep talent pool and international reputation, Switzerland represents an important growth opportunity for us. Our objective is to attract entrepreneurial relationship managers who are seeking the benefits of working for an independent financial boutique, yet still wish to profit from the strength and capabilities that comes with being part of a global financial network,” Lawrence Howell, a principal shareholder of UCAP and co-founder, said.

Switzerland's EAM industry is continuing to adjust to a new regulatory regime introduced by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) at the start of this year. FINMA has introduced tighter regulatory requirements and the rules have seen a number of firms go out of business, merge, or change how they operate.