Julius Baer Group facts for kids
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Native name
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Julius Bär Group AG
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| Public (Aktiengesellschaft) | |
| Traded as | SIX: BAER |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Founder | Julius Bär |
| Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
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Key people
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| Products | Private banking, wealth management |
| Revenue |  CHF 3.24 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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CHF 534 million (2023) |
| CHF 453 million (2023) |
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| AUM |  CHF 427 billion (2023) |
| Total assets | CHF 96.8 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | CHF 6.16 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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7,425 (end 2023) |
Julius Baer Group Ltd. is a large private banking company based in Switzerland. Its main office is in Zürich. It is one of the oldest Swiss banks. Julius Baer is known for managing a lot of money for its clients. It is the second largest Swiss bank in terms of money managed, after UBS. It is also the biggest bank that focuses only on private banking.
The bank offers services like managing investments, helping with real estate financing, and managing wealth. They also help with buying and selling different financial products. Most of the money the bank earns comes from fees for these services. Julius Baer has offices in 28 countries around the world. It is known for keeping client information private. The company employs over 6,600 people globally.
The group helps manage money for private clients from many different countries. Their main services are wealth management and giving advice on investments. The bank also offers various financial products and helps with securities and foreign exchange trading. Julius Baer Group shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange. They are part of the SMI MID index, which includes 30 large Swiss companies.
Contents
History of Julius Baer
Julius Baer Group Ltd. is a Swiss private banking group. It is the parent company of Bank Julius Baer, a traditional private bank in Zürich. The company started in 1890 as an exchange office. It was founded by Ludwig Hirschhorn and Theodor Grob. Julius Bär joined the firm in 1901 and later bought the bank. He remained a partner until 1922.
Over the years, members of the Bär family continued to lead the bank. Julius Bär's sons and later his grandchildren became partners. For example, Hans Bär was chairman of the board until 1996. The bank started allowing non-family investors in 1980. It became a public company in 2005.
In 2005, the bank grew by buying other private banks like Ferrier, Lullin & Cie SA and Banco di Lugano from UBS. This made Julius Baer one of the biggest independent money managers in Switzerland. In 2012, the bank bought Merrill Lynch's wealth management business outside the US. This helped Julius Baer manage even more money.
The bank has also been a main sponsor of the FIA Formula E championship since 2014. The number of employees grew from about 400 in 1980 to over 6,000 by 2020. Almost half of these employees work in Julius Baer offices outside Switzerland. In July 2023, Julius Baer decided to stop working with clients living in Russia. They informed these clients that their accounts would be closed.
How Julius Baer is Structured
Julius Baer started as a partnership. It became a company on November 27, 1974. It had a starting capital of CHF 14.040 million. The company became publicly traded in 1980. This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone. In 2005, the Bär families gave up control. All shares were then traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Today, MFS Investment Management is the largest shareholder. They own almost 10% of the voting rights.
In 2020, Julius Baer announced plans to reduce about 300 jobs. This decision was part of the CEO's three-year plan to make the bank more profitable.
Companies Julius Baer Has Bought
Julius Baer has grown by buying other companies. This is called an acquisition.
- In September 2005, Julius Baer bought several independent private banks. These included Ferrier Lullin, Ehinger & Armand von Ernst, and Banco di Lugano. They also bought the asset management company Global Asset Management (GAM) from UBS AG. This made Julius Baer one of the largest independent wealth management firms in Switzerland. UBS, which sold these companies, bought some of Baer's shares but later sold them. GAM became a separate company in October 2009.
- In November 2012, Julius Baer teamed up with Kairos Investment Management SpA in Italy. They created a leading wealth management company in Italy together. Julius Baer bought 19.9% of Kairos. All their Italian wealth management activities now operate under the name Kairos Julius Baer.
- In August 2012, Julius Baer bought Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management business. This business was located outside the US. This deal increased Julius Baer's managed assets by 40%. It raised the total amount of money they managed to 251 billion Swiss francs.
- In July 2014, Julius Baer announced that it had bought the private banking assets of the Israeli Bank Leumi.
Helping the Community
Julius Baer Foundation
The Julius Baer Foundation focuses on helping young people, providing job training, supporting recycling, and addressing wealth inequality. They support projects that directly benefit the younger generation in various ways. The foundation was started in 1965 by Walter J. Baer. It first focused on charity in Switzerland. As the business grew globally, so did the foundation's reach.
The Julius Baer Foundation works with and supports organizations like Sistema B (Chile), Solafrica (Ethiopia), Swisscontact (Switzerland), and Plastic Free Planet (UK). It also continues to support JB Cares, an organization run by Julius Baer employees, and certain art museums in Switzerland. In 2020, JB Cares and the JB Foundation helped with aid programs in Lebanon. This was after a big accident in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. Since 2019, Romeo Lacher has been the president and chairman of the Julius Baer Foundation.
See also
- Julius Baer Group controversies
- Banking in Switzerland
- List of banks in Switzerland
