The bank increased its profit in the first six months of the year by 48 percent to 191.8 million francs, Vontobel announced on Tuesday. The sharp increase was not surprising: due to strong business development, the institute already announced higher semi-annual earnings compared to the previous year before the month.
New money at the upper end of the target range
Assets under management (AuM) jumped to CHF 244.2 billion at the end of June, after reaching CHF 219.6 billion at the end of 2020. Customer assets under management, which also include structured products and interest rate instruments, amounted to CHF 274.5 billion (end of 2020 : 248.2 billion Swiss francs).
The strong growth in new money again contributed to the growth of client assets: in general, the institute received 6.6 billion Swiss francs, slightly less than last year (+7.4 billion). However, the annual net new money inflow of 6.0 percent was at the higher end of the company’s target corridor of 4 to 6 percent.
Bitcoin products are booming
Vontobel attributes a positive development to its Digital Investing division, which benefited from strong demand for structured products in the first half of the year. New clients have been gained, mainly in Switzerland, Germany and Hong Kong. There was also still a demand for products that made it possible to benefit from the development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
However, the bank’s growth driver remained asset management, which increased operating income by 17 percent. However, institutional investors were more cautious than private clients in the first few months of the year, Vontobel notes. The net inflow of new money was 4.3 per cent.
Vontobel has also managed to grow in asset management for individuals. Vontobel has systematically expanded existing client relationships in Wealth Management and acquired new clients. The division’s net new money growth was 7.0 percent above target range. However, the gross margin in this area again fell to 69 basis points (previous year 76 basis points)
no update
It recognizes that the positive trend for the first half of the year, depending on the development of markets, cannot continue “linearly over the entire year,” as stated in the press release from CEO Zino Stop. Nevertheless, he is confident that the institute can continue to achieve the goals it has set for itself in the future.
(AWP)