The investment DNA
Protect the portfolio as far as possible so that it can grow. The objective, above all, is resilience: to do better than the market in periods of correction. Priority goes to preserving capital, so that compounding can build outperformance over time. The bank describes this as the philosophy it has applied to its own family and to its clients for almost two centuries, which is consistent with a house whose partners carry unlimited personal liability for the firm.The target
The aim is not to win the rally. It is to lose less in the fall, and to let compounding do the rest. A portfolio that gives up less ground in a downturn starts the next recovery from a higher base, and over a full cycle that difference accumulates.Risk-adapted strategies
A client’s personal circumstances decide the appropriate strategy, not the other way round. Bordier runs four, ordered by rising risk and lengthening horizon:
Definitions used above:
- Risk assets: equities, high-yield corporate bonds, real estate, gold, commodities, hedge funds, private equity and similar.
- Fixed-income investments: money market, sovereign bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds and similar.
Indicative volatility bands, expected-return ranges and stated time horizons attach to each of these strategies in Bordier’s own materials. They are deliberately not reproduced here, because forward-looking return figures are a regulated communication that differs by jurisdiction. Ask your banker for the current figures applicable to you. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Portfolio construction
Diversification is what preserves wealth, and the way it is achieved scales with the portfolio.- Smaller portfolios use investment funds, Bordier funds, ETFs and other collective vehicles, which maintain diversification and keep costs controlled.
- Larger portfolios progressively add single lines, which allows greater customisation while keeping diversification solid, and can incorporate private equity.
Open architecture
Bordier does not distribute its own product shelf. The open-architecture model means the bank is free to select the most appropriate solution across asset classes and geographies, and it does not issue its own structured products, which is what allows it to select competitively on a client’s behalf. With no external shareholders and no cross-selling, there is no structural pressure pulling the other way.Related
- Investment solutions, the asset classes the strategies draw on.
- Sustainable investing, how sustainability preferences enter a mandate.
- The Swiss private-banker model, the ownership structure behind the philosophy.
General information only. Not investment advice, not a solicitation and not an offer. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments can fall as well as rise. Speak to your banker about your own circumstances.