This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, our weekly guide to Net-Worth Investor and Consumer. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox. The number of wealthy Americans is growing as part of the “de-Americanization” of their portfolios, according to investors and banks. Swiss banks say they have seen a surge in interest and business from high-net Americans opening investment accounts in recent months. “It’s going to be a wave,” said Pierre Gabris, CEO of Swiss financial consulting firm Alpen Partners International. “When (former President Barack Obama) was elected, we saw a big wave. Then Covid was another wave. Now, tariffs are causing a new wave.” Gabris said various clients have different motivations to open accounts. Many people want to diversify away from the dollar. Swiss neutral politics, stable economy, strong currency and reliable legal systems are all tied. Others are motivated by politics and what is considered a decline in the US rule of law under the Trump administration. Others still open Swiss accounts and buy physical gold in Switzerland, famous for its gold storage and refineries. Gabris said many people are also looking for European residencies and second citizenship and would like to buy the property. “It’s Plan B,” he said. Opening a Swiss bank account is fairly easy, but you must follow strict US disclosure laws. Although major US banks cannot open Swiss accounts for their clients, most are registered with the SEC and are featured as a small number of Swiss companies that are permitted to accept US investors. Vontobel SFA, considered to be the largest Swiss bank registered with the SEC for its US client, declined to comment. Swiss Private Bank Pictet said it saw a “significant increase” in requests from clients of Switzerland-based Pictet North America Advisors, registered with the SEC. You may have opened a Swiss bank account decades ago, but there were traces of tax evasion in the area, but today it is highly regulated and more widely used, with tax forms and reporting. “Many Americans realize that 100% of their portfolios are in the US dollar, so they think, ‘Maybe I should diversify,'” Gabris said.
A Swiss flag located on Lake Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.
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This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, our weekly guide to Net-Worth Investor and Consumer. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox.
The number of wealthy Americans is growing as part of the “de-Americanization” of their portfolios, according to investors and banks.
