Charles-Henri Sabet Founder and CEO of Synthesis

Online trading attracts private investors

Switzerland’s banking sector is synonymous with privacy, stability and the protection of customer information and assets. Most people think a Swiss bank account is the preserve of the super-rich, and while the country’s financial system has long attracted the world’s wealthy, the reality is that its benefits are open to a wider public. As Charles-Henri Sabet, founder, majority owner and CEO of one of the best-known and most competitive Swiss online investment banks, Synthesis, points out: “Around 90 per cent of our clients have between €9,000 and €180,000 in their accounts.”

With nearly 400 banks in Switzerland, ranging from giants like UBS and Credit Suisse to institutions that serve single communities or selective clients, it is the world's largest offshore financial centre. Swiss financial institutions manage more than a third of the world’s private wealth, while insurance firms such as Swiss Re, Swiss Life and AXA Winterthur are among the global leaders.

Last year, the financial sector accounted for almost 15 per cent of Switzerland's GDP – and 16 per cent of all tax revenues – providing some 200,000 skilled jobs (5 per cent of the total workforce).

But the rate of wealth creation in Switzerland has slowed since the 1980s while in the largest markets, New York and London, growth has rocketed by up to 9 per cent.

In response, a new generation of financial institutions is helping to develop Switzerland’s commodities trading, hedge funds, and online foreign exchange trading, or Forex, which has undergone phenomenal growth worldwide since the late 1990s.

The Forex market is a nonstop, 24-hour, five-days-a-week cash market where international currencies are traded, typically via brokers. Foreign currencies are constantly and simultaneously bought and sold across local and global markets and trader’s investments increase or decrease in value based upon currency movements. Foreign exchange market conditions can change at any time in response to real-time events.

As Mr Sabet points out, currency dealing is highly attractive to private investors. “You make your own decisions, you are not influenced by somebody else. Online trading is very easy. Firstly, prices are transparent. Also, your account information is online along with your position and margin utilization, making it straightforward to manage risk.”

Although recently voted Switzerland’s most competitive bank in terms of pricing, Mr Sabet says cost isn’t everything. “A bank has to look at the tools it offers. I would say our trading platform is in the top three globally. Also, accounts can be opened via the Internet in a matter of minutes.” Which isn’t to say that Switzerland’s banking regulations don’t require detailed identification.

On September 13, 2007, Saxo Bank acquired Synthesis after a four-year partnership in a move that will create a potent trading entity. Saxo Bank’s trading platform, winner of the e-FX Best Online Trading Award for three consecutive years, combined with Synthesis’ market acumen and local knowledge have given Mr Sabet rise to envisage a fruitful future for all parties. “For me, this transaction is the perfect match between two partners that know and trust each other. Becoming one bank will create so much synergy and opportunity that it can only benefit clients, employees and shareholders.”