Julius Baer Wealth

About

Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India) Private Limited was incorporated on 27 June 2014. JBWA is a 100% subsidiary of Julius Baer Group Ltd. and Julius Baer is a 130-year-old private bank spread across 60 locations worldwide and a public company listed on Swiss Stock Exchange

The business was earlier known as Merrill Lynch Wealth Advisors Private Limited. Merrill Lynch was incorporated on December 23, 1975.

Relationship managers/ advisers: 42 (2019, Asian Private Banker)
Assets under management: USD 12 billion (2019, Asian Private Banker)

The segment they serve – HNWI and UHNWI and NRI clients

The firm holds the following licenses –

Portfolio Manager Service
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) for distribution of Mutual Fund
Investment advisory services.
Depository Participant
Research Analyst

Key staff

Ashish Gumashta, (Director & CEO) – Has a B.com degree from University of Mumbai and is a MBA from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies. He has 25 years of experience and is currently head of India at Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India) Private Linkedin

Unmesh Kulkarni, Head Markets & Advisory-  He has done his engineering from IIT Kharagpur and MBA from IIM Calcutta and has 20+ experience in the Finance Industry Linkedin

Himanshu Bhagat, Head of Wealth Management – More than 15 years experience in wealth management including as COO at IIFL Wealth and CEO at Morgan Stanley LinkedIn

Muthu Manickam, CFO and Executive Director – Has done B.sc in Mathematics and pursued a leadership programme from IIM Ahmedabad. He has 18 years of experience. Linkedin

Services

• Investment services – what investment services do they offer – advice and/or execution on what range of products/asset classes

• Lending
• Wealth planning- trust services, customized estate and succession planning services
• Advisory – taxation, liquidity event management, lifestyle, financial reporting and auditing
• Portfolio construction and management.

Investment philosophy (for firm)

Stand by a set of investment beliefs along  core categories that guide through  proprietary asset allocation process:

Fundamental beliefs

• There are a few absolute investment truths.
• There must be a set of investment beliefs that reflect our strengths and weaknesses as investors.
• Challenge your investment biases – just as we challenge our own.
• Skill and market efficiency
• There are few arbitrage opportunities.
• Noise is not information: active bets must reflect a testable edge and be original.
• Contrarian views are to be followed sparingly.

Strategic choices

• Portfolio construction is central: we combine building blocks into a meaningful portfolio.
• The chosen strategic asset allocation must be appropriate and survivable.
• Following a committee’s market timing adds no value – taking risks is necessary from time to time.
• It can pay to be fully invested.

Market behaviour

• We follow our Chief Investment Officer’s (CIO) analyses.
• Mean reversion may not happen within a useful time frame.

Investment Horizon

The investment horizon is a crucial factor for determining the appropriate investment strategy.

We encourage you to opt for long investment horizons.

Media

• Julius Baer expands onshore office in India, International investment, 22^nd June, 2020

https://www.internationalinvestment.net/news/4016788/julius-baer-expands-onshore-office-india

Julius Baer, the Swiss-based private bank, has hired six relationship managers across India, in an expansion confirmed by the Indian arm of the bank this morning. The decision was made amidst COVID-19 pandemic and has no impact on our continued wealth management growth strategy in Asia.

• Julius Baer India announces Domestic Expansion and Digital Enhancements, Hubbis, June 2020

https://hubbis.com/news/julius-baer-india-announces-domestic-expansion-and-digital-enhancements

Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India) (Julius Baer) has announced that it has expanded its domestic team while also capitalizing on greater use of technology to bolster client services and boost efficiency.

Analyst questions

1. How do you classify alternatives? do you have philosophical views on alternatives
2. How much alpha do you think a wealth management firm can add and in which part – asset allocation, product selection, rebalancing etc?