Ex-Credit Suisse Banker Joins Wealth Firm Azura in Global Push

(Bloomberg) -- Azura, a wealth manager focused on billionaire entrepreneurs, is opening an office in Switzerland.

Former Credit Suisse Group AG banker Frederic Turrettini joins the firm as a partner to oversee its Geneva office, adding to existing locations in London, Monaco and Singapore, according to a statement. Azura also recruited Robert Agnew -- a former managing director at Barclays Plc's private bank -- as a London-based partner earlier this month, the statement said.

Founded in 2019 by former Julius Baer Group Ltd. banker Ali Jamal, Azura's growth underlines the booming business of catering to the ultra-rich, whose fortunes have surged amid the pandemic. It's a rare bright spot in an industry where many larger players are battling higher regulatory expenses, growing legal risks and pressure on fee margins. The world's 500 richest people added $1.8 trillion to their combined net worth last year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Turrettini spent more than two decades at Credit Suisse and helped to lead the Swiss bank's local unit for ultra-high-net worth individuals before leaving around the start of 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile. Between 2019 and 2020, he worked as a financial consultant based in Geneva. Switzerland had average wealth per adult of $673,960 last year, the highest worldwide, according to research from Credit Suisse.

Jamal, 39, started Azura after leaving Julius Baer with about $2 billion of advisory assets under management. By the end of June this year, that amount had reached about $2.5 billion, according to the statement.