Sponsorship is an established marketing channel for banks, and the area of professional tennis is no exception.

The Swiss wealth management group said it has become the men’s tennis tour’s first official wealth management partner and will be the presenting partner of the Swiss Indoors Basel from 2027.

Julius Baer has signed a multi-year partnership with the ATP, the governing body of men’s professional tennis, becoming the tour’s first official wealth management partner.

The Zurich-based group will also be the first official partner of the ATP Coaches Programme and, from 2027, presenting partner of the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament in its home market. The financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

The bank will run client activity at five tournaments: the BCI Seguros Chile Open in Santiago; the BMW Open in Munich; the Mallorca Championships; the Japan Open in Tokyo; and the Swiss Indoors Basel. It will also have access to hospitality, player meetings and tennis clinics at other events through the season.

The coaches programme supports more than 230 coaches through education, recognition and commercial opportunities. Julius Baer will present its Coach of the Month, Coach Spotlight and Coach of the Year awards.

Swiss Indoors Basel, founded in 1970, is an ATP 500 event that draws more than 65,000 spectators a year and is broadcast in 180 countries. As presenting partner, Julius Baer will appear in the tournament’s logo and branding and gain on-court visibility and client hospitality.

Two of the five tournaments, in Santiago and Tokyo, are in cities where the group has offices.

Banks see opportunities in advising owners, buyers and other interested parties in sport. Citi Wealth, for example, works with owners and would-be purchasers of sports teams. Sports finance has become a large enough area to warrant Deutsche Bank’s private banking arm to launch a specialist offering covering Europe and the US in March, as reported earlier this year.

In the world of tennis, France's BNP Paribas is a prominent supporter of the sport, serving as the official sponsor of Roland Garros (French Open); sponsor of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (BNP Paribas Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, and the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters) and other ATP and WTA Tour events

Sponsorship is an established marketing channel for banks. Standard Chartered is principal sponsor of Liverpool FC, while UBS is a Formula 1 sponsor of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team.

Marketing enters the wealth management business in other ways. In September, BWC Benchmarking’s annual report on the financial health of the UK wealth sector pointed to relatively low marketing spend as a share of revenue compared with other business sectors, arguing that it must rise if firms are to achieve more organic growth. Sports sponsorship and engagement could form part of that mix, although its value depends on whether a firm’s strategy is aimed at clients or at other businesses.

Julius Baer issued half-year financial results in July.