Switzerland, an international finance center ideal for portfolio diversification

Putting part of your savings into an investment outside your country has the advantage that it won't be affected by local political events at home, the fluctuations of the local market, economic cycles, exchange rates or local financial institutions.

Diversification is the process by which investments are made in more than one asset, in order to reduce portfolio risk. The lower the correlation among the assets that comprise the portfolio, the greater the diversification and the lower the associated risk.

Diversification can be achieved, for example, by investing in different assets (shares, bonds…), currencies (euros, dollars), or geographic areas (developed or emerging markets…). However, there is a type of diversification that allows investors to maximize the risk-return relationship; investing beyond one’s borders, in other countries.

For people seeking to diversify their net worth. Switzerland is an international financial center that offers a series of advantages:

• Judicial, political and economic stability, as reflected in its AAA credit rating by the three major agencies: S&P, Moody’s and Fitch.
• Access to a wide range of currencies, including the Swiss franc.
• Access to other international investment opportunities.
• A solid offer of credit with attractive conditions.
• Strong, solvent and strictly regulated financial institutions.
• Constant supervision, controls and monitoring.
• The highest standards of confidentiality and privacy.

Above all, Switzerland has many years’ experience in managing wealth, which makes it one of the preferred destinations for people, who for one reason or another, want to diversify their portfolio by having part of it in a foreign country.

We have developed an extraordinarily advanced advisory model, through which we put opportunities into the hands of our client"

Zürich, the world’s ninth-largest financial center

Switzerland is the most important country in terms of wealth management. And Zürich, the country's principal city, is the world’s ninth most important financial center.

BBVA has been present in Switzerland for more than 25 years and is the only bank in the group that acts solely in the area of private banking. “Our activity is focused on managing thousands of clients, thousands of miles away, in more than 10 countries, “ says Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA in Switzerland.

“Basically, in an extraordinarily complex economic scenario, we have developed an extraordinarily advanced advisory model, through which we put opportunities into the hands of our clients – opportunities in terms of investment, allowing them to access a universe of truly global assets,” he says.

BBVA, a bank that understands its clients

Switzerland, as a country, sells stability. And BBVA’s clients, in many cases from Latin America, appreciate the proximity that the bank offers, by speaking the same language and understanding the idiosyncrasies of each country. “What makes us very different from the Swiss banks is that ours is a very Latin bank, one that understands the client from those latitudes,” says Rodolfo Lizárraga, Head of BBVA’s Peru desk in Switzerland.

“We want our clients to be part of the BBVA experience That's why we accompany them during the different stages of their lives, always following some basic principles: transparency in communication; commitment and implication in our daily work; and the constant search for excellence,” says María Saras, investment advisor at BBVA in Switzerland.