Infidar Investment Advisory, which is part of Julius Baer, and WMPartners Wealth Management, are to merge, creating one of the largest independent wealth managers in Switzerland.

Infidar Investment Advisory, which is part of Julius Baer, and WMPartners Wealth Management, are to merge, creating one of the largest independent wealth managers in Switzerland, the Zurich-listed private bank said today.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, Julius Baer said in a statement.

The IWM sector in Switzerland - is ripe for consolidation, it has been argued; there are around 2,600 Swiss-based IWMs with around SFr400 billion of assets under management, accounting for 13 per cent of total private banking assets. The market has been growing steadily since 1990. The number of IWMs is, however, expected to fall due to consolidation and succession challenges as independent wealth managers retire and also because of regulatory factors. The publisher of this website, in conjunction with Coutts, the private bank, is bringing out a report on how private banks in Switzerland can better serve IWMs.

Set up in 1954, Zurich-based Infidar Investment Advisory, employs a 26 staff and has been led by Markus Gonseth since 2007. WMPartners Wealth Management, which also has 26 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, was set up in 1971 and is owned by its three partners Willi Leimer, Balthasar Meier and Heiner Grüter.

In a first step, the Julius Baer has acquired the shares in WMPartners, and in a second step Infidar will merge with WMPartners. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

Employing around 50 staff and managing client assets worth over SFr4 billion, the new company will work together with around 30 custodian banks.

Once the transaction is complete, Heiner Grüter, currently partner and chief executive at WMPartners, will head up the new company as its CEO. The present CEO of Infidar, Markus Gonseth, will focus on client advisory in future.

All the partners in both companies will continue to have a hand in operations after the merger has gone through, the statement said.

Markus Gonseth, Willi Leimer and Balthasar Meier will also have a seat on the new company’s board of directors.

“The new company will remain completely independent with regard to investment decisions and choosing its custodian banks. At the same time, it will be able to handle the increasingly complex requirements that we are seeing nowadays, while also enjoying the backing of a strong partner in the form of Julius Baer,” said Yves Robert-Charrue, head of independent asset managers and global custody at Bank Julius Baer.