Profiles

1. 

   Top market strategist issues market storm warning

   Just when you thought market sentiment could not possibly get worse, one of the UK’s top strategists, Percival Stanion, has warned it is about to do so.

2. Frank Asbeck solar billionaire

   Frank Asbeck can afford to look on the sunny side of life. The 48 year-old chairman and founder of Germany’s SolarWorld has delivered shareholders a return of more than 10,000% in the past five years -- the best performance by a European company with significant family ownership, according to Credit Suisse. The 25% stake in the business held by the Asbeck family was worth about €1bn at the end of April.

3. Swiss private bank proves partnerships move with the times

   Geneva-based Mirabaud & Cie, established in 1819, is out to show that Swiss private bank partnerships can move with the times, while retaining an air of exclusivity.

4. Ex-UBS private banker agrees to plead guilty in tax probe

   A former UBS private banker, facing prosecution for participating in a U.S. tax-evasion scheme, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea next month in federal court and people familiar with the matter said the banker will aid a US Justice Department probe aimed at UBS.

5. Superrich family take knock with investment vehicle results

   Caledonia Investments, the investment trust owned by one of the UK's wealthiest families, the Cayzers, has announced a 4.6% fall in net asset value on the back of "a difficult year for markets."

6. In search of global trends

   French-born Virginie Maisoneuve, head of global and international equities at Schroder Investment Management, was only five years old when she became fascinated by China. "Even now, I really can't explain why," she says. "Something about the country just captured my imagination."

7. Wealth-Bulletin’s 40 Rising Stars in European Wealth Management 2008

   Boris Collardi, chief operating officer of Julius Baer’s private banking unit, has topped the inaugural Wealth-Bulletin 40 list of the Rising Stars aged 40 or under in European wealth management in 2008.

8. Syz puts a premium on talent

   In his search for talent, Eric Syz, managing director of Geneva-based banking group Syz & Co, never settles for second best.

9. Hunter warns the going is getting tougher

   Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter is getting worried about the credit crunch: “We’ll all have to work a bit harder and things will take a bit longer,” he told a reception hosted by networking group Pi Capital last week.

10. Wegelin emerges as Switzerland’s best-kept secret

    The country's oldest bank has become a haven for investors seeking shelter fromt he credit crisis