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.