The merger is also an example of the kind of industry consolidation taking place in Switzerland, Europe and beyond.

Independent asset manager J Stern & Co and Geneva-based asset manager bvo capital have agreed to combine their Swiss operations and concentrate their global equity investment expertise. 

Once the deal is closed – the financial terms of which have not been disclosed – it will lift J Stern & Co’s assets to more than $2.8 billion, the firm said in a statement today.

Subject to regulatory approval from Switzerland’s FINMA, the agreement will  bring together two firms with highly aligned investment cultures, complementary client bases, and a shared commitment to long-term investing, based on proprietary research in high quality global businesses, the organisations said in a statement.

The $2.8 billion of assets include more than $2.3 billion in its flagship World Stars Global Equity strategy. As prior to the transaction, Christopher Rossbach and Katerina Kosmopoulou will manage this strategy, with Cedric Coignard, CEO of bvo capital joining J Stern & Co as a partner of the group and a member of the firm’s investment committee. 

The investment approach and repeatable investment process will remain unchanged.

J Stern & Co (Switzerland) AG will maintain its existing Zurich office while establishing a stronger presence in Geneva through the former bvo capital office, where Coignard and bvo capital partner, Laurent Pallanca, will be based.

“This combination increases the scale of our investment platform and expands our presence in Switzerland,” Jérôme Stern, managing partner and CEO of J Stern & Co said. 

Coignard added. “We share the same long-term investment philosophy and the conviction that disciplined, independent research is the foundation of lasting investment success. The combination of both of our firms will strengthen our resource base across investment research and client servicing. Laurent and I look forward to contributing to the firm’s continued success.”

J Stern & Co has offices in London, New York, Zurich and Malta. It is best known for its World Stars Global Equity Fund as well as its Emerging Market Debt Stars Fund and US Stars Equity Fund. bvo capital, which was founded in 2021, specialises in concentrated global equity investing. Clients invest through the FiftySix Equity Fund (UCITS) and separately managed accounts. 

J Stern & Co has been growing organically. However, it is noteworthy that it has chosen this transaction, suggesting that such deals are in the scope of many organisations seeking to expand their market reach and capabilities.

History
The J Stern & Co business is an example of the lengthy history to be found in European and international wealth management. The firm, which oversees assets for the 200-year-old Stern dynasty, traces its origins to a wine merchant family which transformed its business into a bank in 1805 on the counsel of their neighbours, the Rothschild family, who had gone through that transition a few years earlier (coincidentally, the same year that Swiss private bank Pictet was founded). The family flourished, operating across Europe. During the Second World War, the French branch of the family represented by J Stern & Co fled to New York in 1940.
 
Whilst in New York, Maurice Stern created an investment strategy of long-term quality stock picking. In 1946, he returned to Paris to rebuild the banking business in Europe, including an asset management business. After being run for two generations, the business, called Banque Stern, was sold in 1988 to Swiss Bank Corporation (now known as UBS). The family created a family office in Geneva for the Stern family. J Stern & Co was founded in London in 2012. In 2023, it opened a New York office and an office in Malta in 2021.