Choosing a private banker in Montreux and on the Vaud Riviera

Montreux, a municipality on the Vaud Riviera

Montreux is in the canton of Vaud, whose official language is French (Vaud cantonal constitution, art. 3). The municipality describes itself as some twenty villages, from the lakeshore up to the heights: Clarens, Territet, Chernex, Glion and Caux are among them. Two hotel schools have their campus in the heights: Glion Institute of Higher Education in Glion, and Swiss Hotel Management School in Caux, in the former Caux Palace, which it has occupied since 1994.

Your move to the Riviera may be linked to your work, in hospitality, tourism, education or a company in the region, or to your retirement, whether you came from another canton or from abroad. Your situation may then have an international side: another nationality, family or accounts in another country, documents you would rather read in a language other than French. These points matter when choosing a banker.

This page is for people who live in Switzerland, in Montreux or elsewhere on the Riviera, or who are preparing to move to Switzerland, and who are considering entrusting substantial financial assets to a private banker. It applies to Swiss nationals and to people of other nationalities living in the region alike. We wrote it primarily for available financial assets of more than one million Swiss francs. This figure is a guide, not an entry requirement: each institution sets its own criteria for taking on new clients. The selection criteria that apply across Switzerland are set out on our page on Swiss private banks.

Institutions with an office in Montreux

In our database, the choice of verified offices in Montreux itself is limited: at the date of our last check, we record two institutions there serving private clients, the cantonal bank and a universal bank. The list below shows them in alphabetical order. Being an AlpineCompare partner changes neither the order of the list nor whether an institution appears in it.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lists ‘Private banking advisors’ among the services of its branch on the Grand-Rue; UBS lists wealth management (‘Wealth Management’) among the services of its branch on Place de la Paix. A branch page does not describe every service an institution offers, nor does it say where the people who would look after your assets work: ask about it in your first conversation.

This list does not cover every institution active in Montreux: it covers those in our database whose presence in Montreux is published by the institution itself. The information published on institutions is indicative and must be confirmed with the institution concerned.

Beyond Montreux: Vevey and Lausanne

On the Riviera, our database also records an office of Lombard Odier in Vevey, which the institution lists among its offices for private clients. To compare more institutions, our database records more of them in Lausanne; they are presented on our page on private banks in Lausanne.

An office close to home makes meeting in person easier, but your banker may be attached to another office, and some exchanges may take place remotely. Whether you live by the lake or in the heights, ask each banker where your meetings would take place, how often, and what can be done by phone or video.

What matters when choosing a banker in Montreux

Here are the criteria to look at, with the question that lets you check each one in a first conversation.

These criteria match the questions of the AlpineCompare simulator: your project, the amount involved, your canton, your language and what you expect from your banker.

A few situations on the Riviera and the questions they raise

The examples below are illustrations: they do not describe real clients and do not call for a standard answer. They show which points to clarify with a private banker, depending on your situation.

Whether you draw a pension or a lump sum from your pension fund is decided before the payout, under the fund's regulations, and is not the subject of this page. Vaud tax questions, for example on wealth or inheritance, also belong with specialists: ask the institution whether it handles them with its own teams or works with your fiduciary or tax adviser.

Different types of institution

In Montreux, the list brings together a cantonal bank and a universal bank. A wealth management relationship can also be held with a private bank or an independent asset manager; what distinguishes these models is explained on our page on types of institution and selection criteria.

If you are considering an independent asset manager, you can check that it appears on the list, published by FINMA, of portfolio managers licensed by FINMA and monitored by a supervisory organisation.

Preparing your first conversation

Before a first meeting, a few points prepared in advance make the conversation more useful:

• the amount you are thinking of entrusting and what it consists of: cash, securities already invested, pension capital already paid out, the proceeds of a sale;
• what you expect from the relationship: management of your investments, organising capital you have received, preparing to pass on your wealth;
• your timetable, for example your retirement date or the date on which funds will become available;
• your residence permit and the date you arrived, if your move to Switzerland is recent;
• the accounts, assets or family members you have in other countries;
• the contact details of your other advisers: fiduciary, notary, tax adviser;
• the language you wish to use, spoken and written, for yourself and, where relevant, for your spouse.

Then note each banker's answers on the same points: you can compare several proposals on a common basis.

How AlpineCompare puts you in touch from Montreux

AlpineCompare is an introduction service and has no office in Montreux or elsewhere on the Riviera. The simulator asks you about your project, the amount involved, your canton of residence, your language and what you expect from your banker. Once your phone number is verified, you obtain a selection of private bankers from our partner institutions, with the option to be put in touch with one of them or to ask to be called back; nothing is passed to any partner until you have confirmed one of these two requests. A banker's direct contact details, where the banker provides them, are shown only after you have confirmed the introduction to that banker or asked that banker to call you back: this confirmation is your agreement to your request being passed to that banker and their institution, which receive it at that moment; AlpineCompare records this agreement and may rely on it with the institution to establish that the relationship arose through its introduction.

For each banker, the selection shows their institution, city and languages, so you can see whether a banker is based in Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne or another city, and whether they list English among their languages. If you send them a request, that banker and their institution may contact you; the arrangements for a meeting are then agreed with them.

• AlpineCompare is paid by the partner institution, under a business-introduction agreement, when a client it introduced signs a contract with that institution; the service is free for you.
• Only private bankers of partners can be presented to you; institutions without a partnership are described on the site in the same way as the others.
• Remuneration plays no part in the selection of the profiles shown or in their order.
• The selection depends on the partner bankers whose profile matches your request; it may include bankers based in other cities.