Print this article
Julius Baer Woos Clients And Next Gen With Music
Chrissy Coleman
28 February 2013
The battle to woo clients in unique and memorable ways continues as Swiss private bank Julius Baer brings the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra to Asia. The Julius Baer Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra China Tour, commences in Beijing today and will travel to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, where the bank will be hosting an exclusive private concert for its clients, marking the finale of the China tour, Julius Baer has told WealthBriefingAsia. The event sheds light on how wealth managers are seeking to distinguish themselves from the competition and build brand identities and associations in what is a crowded market. “We have sponsored the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the leading European festival of this type, for the past four years. Now the opportunity has arisen to bring the Chamber orchestra from the festival to China and Hong Kong for the first time,” the bank said in an emailed statement. The Swiss bank has described Asia as its second "home market"; Asian assets under management account for around 10 to 15 per cent of the global Julius Baer AuM, which stood at SFr189 billion at the end of 2012, a spokesperson said. As the private bank seeks to grow its market share in the region, the festival sponsorship seems like the perfect opportunity to give clients a taste of its Swiss heritage, as well as boost the Julius Baer profile in a region where brand-consciousness is ever present. “We are glad to be so closely involved with the Verbier Festival and are delighted to bring such a creative and unique artistic experience to music-loving audiences in China,” Kaven Leung, chief executive North Asia said. Next generation As part of the programme, the bank is also organising master-classes for “special guests” in China and for clients in Hong Kong, encouraging these elite few to bring their children along. With succession planning being a hot topic for private banks in Asia, it seems fitting to invite the next generation, albeit in social circumstances, to interact with their future bank at an early stage. While Julius Baer does not introduce succession planning “in a blatant way through sponsorship programmes”, it said: “When clients see that you understand what is important to them and their children, this conversation happens naturally over time.” Leung said of the exclusive initiative: “At Julius Baer we understand your strong desire to educate and look after the next generation. We have been building relationships with clients and their children over generations, for over 120 years. As such we understand the personal and professional elements involved in developing a legacy,” Need for luxury While client entertaining is no new concept, it’s a way for private banks to stand out. And ultimately, it is important to identify and meet client expectation in this value-added area since this level of familiarisation often reflects the depth of the client-advisor relationship. Julius Baer said its rich history and focus on private banking relationships enables it to better understand generational needs, adding that these needs include “the level of luxury that our clients expect – the ‘way of life’ engagement that they have with luxury.” “This means that we are able to provide an extra level of experience an exclusive night with one of the world’s leading orchestras) and make it useful for them and the next generation ,” the bank continued. The main event The Verbier Festival, is a classical music festival, which was founded in the idyllic mountain village of Verbier, in Switzerland, in 1994. It prides itself on offering young musicians a stepping stone for their international careers. Among the young artists who have developed international renown at Verbier are Chinese pianists Lang Lang, Yuja Wang and Yundi Li. The Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra is part of the Verbier Festival’s learning programmes, designed to foster the next generation of extraordinary star musicians. The leading soloist of this year’s tour will be renowned Russian violinist Kirill Troussov, an ex-member of the Verbier Festival Academy. The former pupil of Zakhar Bron and Yehudi Menuhin has performed with some of the world’s most famous orchestras, such as the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig and the Orchestre de Paris, under the direction of conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Daniele Gatti and Lawrence Foster The China tour, sponsored by Julius Baer, takes place from 28 February to 4 March 2013.