External Asset Managers (EAMs) maintain a close relationship with their clients. They advise them, manage their assets under the mandate entrusted to them and support them over the long term.
But behind this relationship lies a third essential player: the custodian bank.
Its role extends well beyond safeguarding assets or executing transactions. For an External Asset Manager, the choice of banking partner directly shapes the environment in which they operate.
The model is built on the complementary roles of the client, their External Asset Manager and the custodian bank.
The EAM manages the relationship with the client and carries out the investment management mandate for the assets held in custody. The client opens an account with the bank, deposits their financial assets there and benefits from the services provided by both their asset manager and the custodian bank.
The bank, for its part, is responsible in particular for safeguarding the assets and executing transactions based on the instructions it receives. It also provides a broad range of services beyond account management, including mortgages and Lombard loans.
The roles are distinct, yet complementary.
This structure enables the External Asset Manager to preserve one of the fundamental characteristics of their model: their independence in the relationship with clients and in the advice they provide.
In practice, the needs of an EAM today extend far beyond the execution of transactions.
Digitalisation, regulation, access to markets, operational requirements and evolving client expectations have gradually made their environment more complex.
A custodian bank must therefore be able to provide the tools, services and expertise required for their day-to-day activities, while understanding the specific characteristics of their business model.
At Piguet Galland, we have been supporting External Asset Managers for more than 25 years through a team dedicated specifically to their needs.
The objective is simple: to enable them to focus on their core business and their clients.
In our view, this collaboration is built on three key pillars.
Stability, first and foremost. In an uncertain economic and geopolitical environment, the stability of the custodian bank is an important element of the relationship. Piguet Galland has deep historical roots in Switzerland and benefits from the backing of its reference shareholder, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV).
Experience, secondly. The members of our dedicated team understand the day-to-day realities faced by External Asset Managers, their constraints and the evolution of their profession. This knowledge enables us to foster direct dialogue and provide responses tailored to the situations they encounter.
Trust, finally. A relationship between an EAM and its bank is not built solely around tools and processes. It develops over time through availability, transparency and the pursuit of shared objectives in the interests of clients.
Technology is playing an increasingly important role in wealth management. Platforms are becoming more sophisticated, processes are being automated and artificial intelligence is already opening up new possibilities.
These developments are essential. But they do not replace human relationships.
Understanding an asset manager’s business model, knowing their needs and being available when a particular situation requires a tailored response remain essential aspects of the relationship.
It is this combination of stability, expertise, tools and proximity that enables a custodian bank to go beyond its purely operational role.
And to become, in the truest sense, a trusted partner to the External Asset Manager.