Julius Baer Group (Julius Bär Group) history, profile and history video
Julius Bär Group AG (Julius Bär Gruppe AG), also known as Julius Baer Group Ltd., is a Swiss wealth management group headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It provides investment management, financing and wealth management.
The company’s origins date back to 1890 when the partnership Hirschhorn & Grob, the forerunner of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., started as a small bureau de change.
In 1896, Julius (Isaac) Baer became a member of Hirschhorn & Grob. The company was dissolved and a new partnership was established under the name of Hirschhorn, Uhl & Baer. In 1896, Julius (Isaac) Baer became a member of Hirschhorn & Grob. The company was dissolved and a new partnership was established under the name of Hirschhorn, Uhl & Baer.
In 1901, Hirschhorn, Uhl & Baer was dissolved after the death of Ludwig Hirschhorn, and all the assets and liabilities are taken over by Julius Baer & Co.
In 1940, the Baer Custodian Corporation was established in New York.
In 1974, Julius Baer & Co. (Holding) Ltd. was established, and all of the assets and liabilities of Julius Baer & Co. were transferred to the newly established Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd.
In 1980, Baer Holding Ltd., the successor of Julius Baer & Co. (Holding) Ltd., issued bearer shares with a par value of CHF 500, priced at CHF 3,000.
In 1986, Baer Holding Ltd. acquired Société Bancaire.
In 1989, Bank Julius Bär (Deutschland) AG was established in Frankfurt.
In 1996, Baer Holding Ltd. was renamed Julius Baer Holding Ltd., and the new division-based management structure of the Julius Baer Group is implemented.
In 1997, Julius Baer Holding Ltd. acquired the Lucerne-based Bank Falck & Co. That year, the bank also opened a representative office in Vienna, today’s Julius Baer Investment Advisory GesmbH.
In 2002, the trust company Julius Baer Fiduciaria S.p.A. was founded in Milan.
In April 2005, Julius Baer sold its wealth management business in the USA and Canada to UBS.
In September 2005, the Group announced the takeover of three private banks – Ehinger & Armand von Ernst AG, Ferrier Lullin & Cie SA, and BDL Banco di Lugano – as well as asset manager GAM Holding AG from UBS AG.
In May 2009, Julius Baer announced the acquisition of the independent Italian investment manager Alpha SIM.
In October 2009, the shares of Julius Baer Group Ltd. were traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange, as the result of the former Julius Baer Holding Ltd. separating its wealth management and asset management businesses.
In 2010, Julius Baer acquired ING Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.
In May 2011, Julius Baer acquired the independent Brazilian wealth manager GPS.
In October 2011, Julius Baer entered into a strategic partnership with Macquarie Group and took over Macquarie’s wealth management business in Asia.
In July 2012, Julius Baer entered into a strategic partnership with the Bank of China (BOC).
In August 2012, Julius Baer announced the acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management (IWM) business outside the United States and Japan from Bank of America.
In November 2012, Julius Baer acquired the Milan-based Kairos Investment Management SpA.
In 2013, Julius Baer acquired TFM Asset Management AG, which was renamed Julius Bär Wealth Management AG in 2016.
In 2014, Julius Baer was the exclusive Global Partner of the new FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully-electric racing series.
In 2015, Julius Baer acquired the independent wealth manager Fransad Gestion SA in Geneva.
In 2016, Julius Baer acquired Commerzbank International S.A. Luxembourg. It was later renamed Bank Julius Baer Europe S.A. in 2018
In January 2018, Julius Baer acquired Reliance Group, Brazil, one of the country’s largest independent wealth managers. Since the end of 2019, Reliance Group together with GPS, has been operating under the name Julius Baer Family Office Brasil.
In September 2018, Julius Baer entered into a strategic partnership with Nomura Holdings Inc. by forming Julius Baer Nomura Wealth Management Ltd.
Locations: Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Montevideo, Moscow, Mumbai, São Paulo, Singapore, and Tokyo.
With more than 6,500 employees and a presence in over 25 countries, Julius Baer Group is considered one of the largest Swiss wealth management groups and one of the older Swiss banking institutions. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Top 2000 Largest Public Companies in the World.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.juliusbaer.com/international/en.
**Video published on YouTube by “Julius Baer“.