Best Private Bank in Germany - Berenberg Bank

Germany’s oldest private bank is proud of its deep-routed traditions. The bank’s largest shareholders are the descendants of the founding family and the partners running the business.

Being independent contributed to draw 400 new clients and €1.1bn net new money last year, explains Markus Taubert, head of Berenberg private bank. Clients are increasingly wary of those institutions that create and issue their own investment products, he says. “Entrepreneurs in particular, who are the bank’s main client group, are usually better informed about business models and incentives and readily understand the differences between our business model and that of large banks.” Being a mid-sized owner-managed company resonates well with most entrepreneurs, he says.

Free of any conflict of interest, Berenberg Bank, which manages €25.5bn, claims to offer the best product advice. “We do believe in open architecture, as a more guided approach would perhaps limit our investment universe,” says Mr Taubert. No more than 5 per of client monies of discretionary mandates is invested into in-house funds. While third-party funds are used in areas where the bank does not have internal expertise, most clients’ assets are invested in plain-vanilla securities. The bank can count on a team of three secondary researchers as well as 70 primary researchers. Based in London since 2008, these cover 330 European stocks. The recommendation lists for equities and bonds are updated on a daily basis and centrally available to all the 130 plus advisers. The client-to-adviser ratio is set at 50 to 55.

The institution relies on sophisticated asset allocation and risk management models and offers a flexible fee structure, dependent on individual customer preferences. Relying on an integrated model with the group’s asset management and investment banking arms, the private bank gives its wealthy clients access to investment solutions and services normally available to institutions. Structured products are employed on a small scale only to reduce risk, for example equity market risk, but Berenberg investment banking does not issue any structured product, says Mr Taubert.

A private banking office was opened in the City of London this year to respond to market demand and it serves both UK onshore and offshore clients as well as German expats. ET