The past 12 months have been dramatic in the financial industry, with wealth management getting its fair share of the action. This article looks back on an eventful year.

The past 12 months have been some of the most dramatic in the wealth management industry’s history. On the investment side, advisors and clients have had to contend with a once-unthinkable demise of the euro barely 12 years after it was launched.

Turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East put geopolitical risk high up on the agenda; budget battles in Congress and huge debt burdens saw the US stripped of its precious AAA credit rating; Tea Parties raged and Wall Street got "Occupied". In China, the regime grew increasingly concerned about its overheated property market. Japan suffered the worst earthquake in living memory. 

In Switzerland, the country’s centuries-old bank secrecy laws ended the year looking tattered and torn as various countries stepped up measures to hunt down alleged tax evaders. The Swiss franc got so strong that the country's central bank moved to cap its strength against the ailing euro. Switching to the US, the courts jailed a number of investment industry people over insider dealing. The US FATCA Act, which affects expats, was delayed in implementation for a year, but remains a scary piece of legislation. The family offices sector in the US grappled with the impact of recent guidance on legislation from the SEC. Italy, France and Spain moved to tax the wealthy more heavily.

In the UK, the national regulator fined a number of wealth managers, such as Coutts, Towry and Credit Suisse, for various shortcomings. And just when it might have thought it was on the way to full recovery, UBS discovered it had lost $2.3 billion due to unauthorised trading in London. That episode saw the departure of UBS’ chief executive.

The positives? Well, this was the year when mobile technology and its use by even the more hidebound private banks gained traction. Dozens of firms, such as Citigroup, JP Morgan, Schroders and Bank of America are embracing mobile tech with all the enthusiasm of a geeky teenager.

There are also signs, too, that firms are starting to think harder about their use of brands and how to prospect for new business after what has been a flat period for net new money overall over the past three years, consultants say.

Western banks continue to push hard into the still-expanding Asia-Pacific market, although the helter-skelter pace of change seems to have slowed slightly. Singapore marches on as a wealth management centre, potentially putting rival hubs under pressure. The growth stories of India and Latin America remain bright spots. And the ageing of the Baby Boomer generation in the US, meanwhile, means demand for incisive financial planning advice remains as strong as ever in the world’s largest economy. Over the border, firms such as Canada's RBC continue to thrive.

In London, while the government may give out uncertain signals on issues such as the top rate of income tax, proposed new tests for residency (delayed for a year, alas), and a new investment visa system, will help the UK’s capital remain a strong magnet for the world’s super-rich.

In other words, the world has been a volatile, at times frightening place for the past year but there are also some reasons for cheer. And the wealth that is out there remains formidable: the chances of booking a decent restaurant space in Mayfair or Monaco appeared to be as difficult in December as at the start of the year. Some things never change. Happy Christmas.