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Karim Atallah Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva for New Managers:

Participants at the latest Opalesque Zurich Roundtable deliberated the pros and cons of Zurich as a location for new fund managers.

The regulators in Switzerland are taking more time to approve a fund these days. For example, the FINMA process can take six to nine months and sometimes even longer. This has not, however, deterred the number of startups in the country, according to Karim Atallah, who is in charge of IB Prime Services and Capital Services at Credit Suisse Switzerland.

"Over the last 18 months to two years in particular, a remarkable number of very high caliber, very talented CIOs have decided to set up shop in Switzerland," he said. "They decided to take the time to put in place their FINMA process, and ultimately launched their firms." Atallah has worked with a number of those managers, putting them in touch with the right service providers to start their businesses.

Switzerland’s financial industry is under pressure, especially the banks. The competition means one must be attractive and innovative, and Switzerland, especially Zurich, meets those criteria, said Patrick Burger, Partner and Fund Manager at Swiss Hedge Capital. "New managers also benefit from a de-minimis clause that allows the......................

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