Our client advisors have many years of experience in dealing with private clients and their individual needs. They are in contact with our clients on a daily basis – be it by telephone or in person. After all, trust is the foundation of any relationship stretching across generations. And we have now gone a step further: Our entire advisory process has been clearly structured, with our client advisors certified on that basis at the end of last year by the company Gsponer Management Consulting.

(Interview with Lukas S. Risi, Head of Private Banking, Deputy Chief Executive Officer)

What is your overriding objective when looking after clients?
Identifying client needs rapidly and comprehensively. This is what enables us to elaborate individual solutions. Since the end of last year we have been assisted in this by a uniform advisory process involving ten steps and specially tailored instruments. 

What are the benefits of this clearly structured process?
The clear structure simplifies discussions with our clients. It means we can identify individual needs, wishes and investment objectives in an even more detailed way and then explore these thoroughly. It is important to us that our clients feel they are understood and are comfortable with our approach at all times.

How is comprehensive advice provided at Maerki Baumann?
We have our physical advisory questionnaire at hand for every advisory discussion. It helps us to discuss the key issues in a structured way. At the same time, it serves as a kind of notebook in which we record information, decisions and data in a standardized way, with these being entered in the system at a later stage. 

What’s new about our advisory discussion? The fact that we now ask the client for their direct feedback at the end of the consultation: “How satisfied are you with the course of today’s discussion and the final result?” To start with, this takes a bit of courage, but in many cases it can throw up surprising answers. And it is precisely this openness that generates even more trust.

Why have you had your client advisors certified by Gsponer Management Consulting?
The complexity of the financial markets continues to increase, as do the demands made of advisory quality and the client experience. This in turn has repercussions for the requirements in terms of our client advisors’ approach and skills. By certifying our client advisors we can create a uniform, binding framework for quality in which the advice given has the effect of strengthening our clients’ trust in us, as well as their sense of security.

How did that come about?
Working closely with the company Gsponer Management Consulting, we carried out a series of workshops with our client advisors at the end of last year. We subjected the advisory standards, advisory process and advisory competencies to close scrutiny. This involved looking at real situations in small groups, in a way that mirrors existing practice. Straightforward, relaxed, instructive, constructive. And sure enough, everyone was able to tweak their usual approach and thereby markedly improve interaction with our clients.

We are delighted to have successfully completed the certification of all our client advisors. This makes us optimally equipped for the future, and will enable us to provide our clients with even more targeted support in respect of their financial needs.