Leo Trust Switzerland has been shortlisted in the category of trust company of the year (midsize firm) in the prestigious STEP Private Client Awards, which highlights excellence among private client advisors in the international trust and financial services industry.
Leo Trust Switzerland has been shortlisted in the category of trust company of the year (midsize firm) in the prestigious STEP Private Client Awards 2021/2022, which highlights excellence among private client advisors in the international trust and financial services industry. The Awards are open for both STEP members and non-members. The shortlist of up to five nominees per category is assessed by experts in the industry and is a recognition of the highest standing service quality among peer groups and clients. This year, which is also STEP’s 30th anniversary, has seen a high number of nominations with 297 submissions across 23 countries, which makes the competition extremely intense. The winners of each category will be announced on 23 September 2021. With its entry, Leo Trust Switzerland also supports the World Literacy Foundation, which lifts children out of poverty by providing access to quality literacy and educational resources that transform the lives of these children and enables them to reach new horizons.
Leo Trust has been serving its clients since 1980 with a clear and committed vision of providing clients certainty that their assets are in the best hands based on a mission statement including first-class service quality, transparency and foresight.
In the past year, the newly appointed CEO implemented strategic re-structuring to accommodate for modern client needs such as an even higher focus on client-centricity by increasing the number of key relationship managers and trust officers significantly. The team was relocated to newly refurbished premises in the heart of Zurich for an accelerated client accessibility and a new subsidiary with a select group of experts was established abroad during the exceptionally restrictive period of COVID-19. At the same time, the existing international business ecosystem of highly skilled and qualified experts has been expanded strategically, re-positioning Leo Trust in becoming a leading trust company in the industry. Leo Trust has enhanced its offerings and services by expanding and streamlining existing internal processes such as onboarding and regular compliance reviews. We also embraced the digital era with the introduction of a centralised knowledge IT platform (organisational learning) and complete digitisation of documentations pertaining to over 1,000 institutional and private clients.
Leo Trust has a truly client-centric, trust-based strategy supported by processes that enable to convey relevant, cutting edge information to existing clients and prospects. Its loyal client relationships confirm demonstrated excellence. The introduction of committed relationship managers for key clients is already confirming this pro-active approach. Excellence in client service delivery is also demonstrated through the interdisciplinary teams of trust experts, many of whom have full TEP accreditation and more than 25 years of professional experience in the industry. New client requests in respect to trust and corporate formations, including transfer of management, are treated as individual, bespoke client projects, enabling a greater flexibility in their execution and reduction of the overall costs of the client. Important take-aways arising out of such projects are shared in the centralised knowledge base and in regular team meetings, increasing the competencies and know-how of the client relationship managers daily, enabling continuous learning. Regular meetings, whether these are virtual or in-person, are scheduled by the relationship managers or meetings on demand made by the respective clients. In such meetings, progress points are reviewed with the client and new needs and wants are added to provide a holistic client service delivery. In addition, excellence is sustained by the most modern IT platforms, including a CRM system, and an expert team of IT technicians. Change management at Leo Trust relies on short decisional processes, which are of key interest to wealthy clients in need of new, specific products and services.
Leo Trust follows the latest trends in corporate services and works with the best experts in the field in developing new, compliant services with them such as asset protection structures in new jurisdictions. Our processes are centred on client needs, which aim to reduce internal bureaucracy, supporting true client centricity. We have important resources such as inhouse lawyers, accountants and an efficient compliance department. This strategic advantage allows Leo Trust to act pro-actively in an efficient, timely and competent manner. We proactively approach clients individually, review their needs and analyse how these needs can be served best. Leo trust has access to the latest technological trends and market developments around the world, enabling it to be ahead of its competitors.
An important differentiation from the competitors is that Leo Trust is in an optimal position to provide highly compliant cryptocurrency services such as hot and cold storage by using state-of-the art software, which also banks and exchanges use to track and verify transactions. Leo Trust is one of the first trust companies to embrace such an advanced technology. We have an open and innovative employee ideas contribution process and internal training led by qualified experts. We search for client added value that no other trust companies address. Our remuneration system includes numerous soft factors that are not considered by our competitors, fostering cooperative teamwork based on fairness.
Technical expertise at Leo Trust ranges from international wealth and estate planning, to trust, foundation and company formation and management, including services relating to cryptocurrencies. In this context, the key technical expertise are the experienced management and staff members, who have the technical know-how in structuring and facilitating state-of-the-art set-ups for individual and institutional clients in numerous legislations, management of crypto, project and change management, mediation and recovery, legal and fiscal analysis, topic-specified presentations and webinars of client interest and residence analysis for relocation purposes. The company has experienced and dedicated specialists for the Swiss, LATAM, Eurasian and Russian markets, fluent in the respective languages. We also have considerable technical inhouse expertise in certain jurisdictions such as Channel Islands and Liechtenstein. In respect to continuing professional development and education, all employees are highly encouraged and supported to pass the STEP Certificate in International Trust Management and the route towards TEP accreditation. Furthermore, all employees are encouraged to participate in webinars and conferences, if possible organised by STEP and other experts in the industry. In addition, Leo Trust supports education and specified certifications in finance, including CIWN (Certified International Wealth Manager), CIIA (Certified International Investment Analyst) or similar qualifications. Progress in continued education is measured and discussed on a regular basis during reviews between the CEO and the respective employee. New talent identification and development is an important instrument used to ensure continuity of quality service at the company. We also provide qualified individual internal training sessions.
Leo Trust has applied for full membership at the Swiss Association of Trust Companies (SATC) in view of its commitment to quality and reaching out to a wider profession. In Switzerland, the licensing of trustees by FINMA is a relatively new process and we belong to the first movers. We are full member of VQF, which is the leading and largest officially recognised self-regulatory organisation in the Swiss financial sector. Certain employees of the company are actively involved in the ongoing governmental discussions with regards to the introduction of a Lex Trust in Switzerland, alternative approaches in this context and the latest Swiss CRS guidelines, which are of importance to trustees and other competitors working in the Swiss financial services industry. In these new times of increased transparency, where governments all over the world receive detailed financial information about private wealth, financial flows, where the reporting of relevant information is important and the implementation of structures are put into question, Leo Trust Switzerland AG is committed to support all these processes by informing its clients on a continuous basis.
Family office trends are changing the face of the financial and fiduciary services industry. Shifting family office preferences require the accommodation of practitioners’ services and an adapted mindset. In this STEP Journal article Dr Roderik J. P. Strobl, TEP from Leo Trust Switzerland surveys the global family office landscape and analyses its trends.
Moncucchetto 2024, co-hosted with EFG Bank, featured insightful presentations by Dr. Daniel Murray on the influence of politics on investments and Prof. Dr. Paolo Bernasconi on AI and cybercrime.
