Swiss Asset Management for Americans
Helping Americans Legally Hold Wealth in Switzerland
We first started helping US clients invest in Switzerland in the early 1990s. Since then, we’ve helped clients invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the Swiss financial system while adapting to the many changes that have taken place along the way.
The rules may have changed, but the opportunity remains the same — the chance to establish part of your wealth in one of the world’s most stable financial systems.
Who This is For
Centuries of Experience Protecting Wealth in a Dangerous World
Switzerland appeals to the sort of investor who is looking for a safe place to keep a percentage of their net worth. It’s a jurisdiction well suited to conservative “wealth protection” portfolios. It may be for you if you are looking for one or more of the items on the right.
- You’re uncomfortable having all of your assets exposed to one country, one legal system, and one currency.
- You’re concerned about political, fiscal, monetary, or regulatory risk in the United States.
- You want professionally managed assets held at a Swiss private bank.
- You understand that Switzerland is primarily about stability, governance, and diversification — not maximizing short-term returns.
- You are willing to move at least USD $1-$2 million to a Swiss-managed mandate. (Smaller accounts rarely make financial sense once minimum fees are considered.)
THE PROBLEM
Concentrated Risk
For decades, most Americans have been perfectly comfortable keeping nearly all of their wealth in the United States.
Their investments are denominated in US dollars. Their bank accounts are in the US banking system. Their brokerage accounts are with US firms. Their retirement accounts, cash, and investment portfolios are all tied to the same country, the same currency, and the same financial system.
For a long time, that made sense.
But increasingly, smart investors are asking whether having nearly everything exposed to one country is really the safest approach.
Here are the reasons our clients set up an asset management account in Switzerland.
Dollar Diversification
A look at any reasonably long chart of the US dollar against other currencies (or gold) will show that the US dollar is in decline. In 2025, we saw the dollar drop sharply against many currencies.
In the short-term, we may see temporary rallies. But the mid- to long-term trend is clear. And it’s not looking great.
Financial System Risk
The US has one of the largest and most sophisticated financial markets in the world. But it is still one financial system subject to bank failures, government interventions and sometimes severe market stress.
Sometimes we can protect against those risks without leaving the system. Other times, having a percentage of your assets moved to another system entirely is the most prudent option.
Investment Concentration
Many Americans believe they're well diversified because they own hundreds—or even thousands—of stocks through mutual funds and ETFs.
But a closer look often tells a different story.
Today, many US market indexes are heavily concentrated in a relatively small number of large technology companies. If that sector performs well, investors benefit. If it struggles, a significant portion of many portfolios struggles with it.
For some clients, Swiss asset management is another way to diversify. Rather than relying entirely on US markets and US investment managers, they choose to have part of their wealth managed independently within a different financial system, using a different investment approach.
Why Switzerland
A Stable Home for Wealth that’s Open to American Investors
When people first start looking internationally, they may consider a variety of different places. But they will quickly realize that Switzerland is really the only feasible option for US clients.
Why?
Because successfully investing overseas requires three things.
First, you need banks that are willing to accept US clients and custody their investments.
Second, you need asset managers who are properly licensed to provide investment advice to Americans.
Third, you need professionals who understand both the Swiss and US regulatory systems and know how to keep everything compliant.
Very few jurisdictions have all three.
Over the past two decades, many foreign banks and investment firms decided it simply wasn’t worth dealing with the growing compliance burden associated with US clients. Others withdrew from the market altogether.
Switzerland took a different path.
Rather than abandoning American investors, a select group of Swiss banks and SEC-registered Swiss asset managers adapted as the rules evolved. Today, they continue to provide professionally managed investment solutions for US clients operating within a fully compliant framework.
That combination of banking infrastructure, experienced asset managers, and decades of cross-border expertise is difficult to find anywhere else. It’s one of the main reasons Switzerland remains the leading jurisdiction for Americans looking to diversify part of their wealth outside the United States.
Our Role
Your Guide to the Swiss System
We help US clients design, implement, and maintain Swiss asset management arrangements.
We don’t manage the portfolios — that is handled by SEC-licensed Swiss asset managers.
Our role is to coordinate all of the pieces that make a mandate work.
That includes helping determine whether Switzerland makes sense, introducing suitable Swiss managers, coordinating with banks and advisors, assisting with implementation, and staying involved over time so the arrangement continues to work as intended.
In short, we help ensure your Swiss mandate is not just opened — but properly integrated into your broader financial, legal, tax, and estate planning.
A GOOD QUESTION
Why Not Simply Contact a Swiss Asset Manager Yourself?
You certainly can.
If all you need is the name of a Swiss asset manager, a quick online search will give you plenty of options.
The challenge isn’t finding a manager.
The challenge is finding the right manager—and making sure everything around the relationship is structured properly. Following is a list of why our clients choose us to help them set up and maintain a Swiss investment account.
We Know the Market
We've been working with Swiss banks and asset managers for more than three decades.
During that time, we've seen firms enter the market, leave the market, merge, change ownership, change investment philosophies, and stop accepting US clients altogether.
Some excel at managing conservative family wealth. Others specialize in more active portfolios. Some work well with trusts and retirement structures. Others don't.
Rather than asking you to evaluate dozens of firms on your own, we help narrow the field to the handful that are most appropriate for your objectives, assets, and circumstances.
We Save You Time—and Help You Ask the Right Questions
Many Swiss firms simply aren't interested in working with Americans. Others structure their fees in a way that doesn’t work for certain account sizes.
You could spend weeks contacting firms before finding one that's appropriate.
Because we already know the landscape, we can usually tell very quickly which firms are worth considering—and which aren't.
Just as importantly, we know what questions to ask. Fees are only one part of the equation. Investment philosophy, reporting, communication, banking relationships, and long-term fit often matter much more.
The Asset Manager Is Only One Piece
Choosing the asset manager is actually the easy part. The more complicated work is making sure everything around the relationship is coordinated properly.
- How should the account be owned?
- Will your CPA have the information needed for US reporting?
- Does the structure fit with your estate plan?
- Should your attorney or trustee be involved?
- How will your heirs deal with the account if something happens to you?
These aren't questions a Swiss investment manager is typically able to answer. (They usually refer out to firms like ours.)
That's where we come in.
We help coordinate the broader team—including your CPA, attorney, trustee, and other advisors—so your Swiss mandate fits properly into your overall financial, tax, and estate planning.
Our role isn't simply to introduce you to a Swiss asset manager.
It's to help ensure the entire arrangement works the way it should, both today and for years to come.
THE YIELD QUESTION
What Kind of Return Should You Expect?
A prospective client—we’ll call him Rob—recently asked what kind of return he should expect from a Swiss investment mandate.
That’s a difficult question to answer because Swiss portfolios are typically built around the individual client. Unlike an index fund, there is rarely a “standard” portfolio or expected rate of return.
What we can say is that Swiss asset managers are professional investment managers. Their objective is to build portfolios that work for a client’s circumstances, objectives, and tolerance for risk.
After explaining this to Rob, he told us he wasn’t interested.
He was earning 10–11% in the US and wanted us to “guarantee” that Switzerland would do better.
It was the wrong question.
For decades, the US has offered deep capital markets and strong investment opportunities. If maximizing returns is the only objective, keeping assets in the US often makes sense.
A few days later, we had a different conversation.
Another client – we’ll call him Werner – grew up in post-war Europe. His parents lost everything they couldn’t carry when the war ended. That lesson stayed with him. Decades later, after building a successful life and portfolio in the US, he’s chosen to move about 10% of his wealth to Switzerland.
Not necessarily to earn more — but to ensure that part of what he had built sits in a more stable system.
We tend to work best with people like Werner.
They understand that Swiss asset management is not about chasing returns. It is about protecting part of what already exists.
OUTCOMES
What You Ultimately Get…
Clients who work with us to set up a Swiss asset management account can expect the following results.
True Jurisdictional Diversification
A portion of your wealth is professionally managed outside the US legal and financial system.
Professional Management in Switzerland
Your assets are managed by licensed Swiss asset managers and held in established – often centuries old – Swiss private banks.
Better Coordination
Your Swiss mandate fits into your tax, legal, estate, and financial planning instead of being treated as a standalone account.
Fewer Mistakes → Compliance Focused
The account is structured with US compliance, reporting, ownership, and succession issues in mind from the beginning.
Long-Term Continuity
As your circumstances change, you have a team familiar with your Swiss arrangement and able to help coordinate changes over time.
Family Support
If something happens to you, your heirs, executors, or trustees are not left trying to understand a foreign account on their own.
Our Expertise
40+ Years of Experience Helping US Clients Internationalize
As a bit of background, our firm traces its roots back more than 40 years. Our work in Switzerland goes back almost as long to the early 1990s.
We’re known as a place that puts a strong focus on compliant and fully legal options that follow the rules.
This is an important point because the rules of the game have become more complex over the years.
Regulations around foreign advisors, Swiss banks, and through laws like FATCA have caused many firms to exit the market. Others were forced out after cutting corners. We’ve continuously adapted by adjusting our services instead, staying within the law as it changed.
We have also been direct with clients about what a Swiss mandate does and does not offer. Switzerland provides stability, professional management, and assets held under a different legal system. It does not provide secrecy, tax avoidance, or guaranteed returns. We have never sold it that way.
That discipline is why we are still here.
Our History
Our History in Switzerland and International Planning
1984
Founder Mark Nestmann begins writing about international diversification, including Swiss banking.
1986
Mark opens his first Swiss bank account and begins educating US clients on how to legally open accounts in Switzerland.
Early 1990s
The Nestmann Group teams up with a Zurich-based insurance firm to offer Swiss annuities to US clients.
Early 2000s
As interest in foreign diversification continues to grow, The Nestmann Group starts introducing US clients to Swiss wealth managers who can build them a comprehensive foreign portfolio.
2004–2011
US regulators progressively tighten and clarify SEC registration requirements for non-US investment advisors serving American clients. This includes the 2004 hedge fund adviser rule and culminates with Dodd-Frank–related changes in 2010–2011.
Many foreign managers choose to exit the US market rather than register.
Late 2000s
US authorities indict several Swiss banks and asset managers for assisting US tax evasion. The Swiss private banking industry undergoes a structural shift toward transparency and regulatory compliance.
During this period, many firms and investors were caught up in enforcement actions. We are not aware of any Nestmann clients being involved, which reflects our long-standing, conservative approach to compliance.
July 2013
Brandon Roe joins The Nestmann Group, bringing long-standing relationships with Swiss asset managers, banks, and other international advisors.
January 2014
FATCA enters into force, requiring foreign financial institutions to report US account holders to the IRS. The majority of foreign banks withdraw from serving US clients.
2014–2020
Switzerland commits to remaining a compliant jurisdiction for US clients. A limited number of major Swiss banks and SEC-registered asset managers continue operating in this space — relationships we maintain today.
Since 2025
Increased concern over US fiscal and debt policy and dollar exposure leads to a sharp rise in requests from Americans seeking to hold assets outside the US.
Common Structures We Support
We offer support for a wide range of US and international structures.
Individual Ownership
The simplest structure, where the account is held directly in the client’s name.
Joint Ownership
Often used by spouses or family members, depending on legal, tax, and estate planning considerations.
US Trusts
A Swiss mandate may be coordinated with a US living trust, family trust, revocable trust, irrevocable trust, or other domestic trust structure.
US LLCs or Entities
In some cases, a US entity may be involved, depending on the client’s broader planning and reporting requirements.
Retirement Structures
IRAs, Roth IRAs, and rollover-eligible 401(k) can be used to fund a Swiss asset management account.
Advanced Planning Structures
For larger or more complex clients, Swiss asset management may be coordinated with broader international planning, including insurance-based structures or multi-jurisdictional arrangements.
Our service includes helping you determine which holding structure will be best suited to your needs.
Fee Structure
We believe in clear, upfront pricing for our services. Our fees cover strategic planning, coordination, and ongoing support.
Initial Review
Before taking on a new client, we may charge a one-time review fee to review your goals, existing structure, reporting considerations, and whether Switzerland makes sense.
In most cases, this review fee may be credited toward implementation fees.
Implementation
We work with all parties involved to guide your application from initial agreement to proceed all the way through to funding of the account.
Ongoing Referral Fee
This is a referral fee paid by the asset manager to us in exchange for providing ongoing planning, compliance, and governance support for your account.
You have full transparency on how we receive compensation, how much, and on what schedule.
It’s important to note that our receipt of any referral fee does not increase your asset management fees. At the same time, the removal of fees will not result in a lower fee either. Rather, it only affects how much the asset manager retains.
FAQ
Common Questions about Swiss Investing
Answers to common questions about our services.
What sort of fee should I expect to have my money managed in Switzerland?
Swiss advisors have structured their fees to be comparable to a full-service US-based asset manager. All-in, you can expect an annual fee ranging from 1.25%-1.5% for a minimum USD one million mandate, depending on asset manager and selected Swiss bank. Larger mandates will enjoy lower annual fees.
Are there tax benefits to investing in Switzerland?
No. Switzerland does not reduce US taxes. With the exception of retirement accounts, assets remain fully taxable and reportable in the US. The benefits are stability, governance, and jurisdictional diversification — not tax savings.
That said, there are advanced tax planning strategies that can incorporate a mandate in Switzerland and offer tax deferral or even outright exemption over your lifetime. However, that’s a larger planning discussion.
Can I get my money out when I want to?
Yes. Swiss investment accounts are not locked up. Assets can be sold and funds transferred subject to normal market conditions and bank procedures. In practice, transfers back to the US typically settle within a few days.
I just want a Swiss bank account. Do I need an investment mandate?
In theory yes, in practice no. While certain Swiss private banks may entertain a basic checking account, for US regulatory reasons, you will not be allowed to hold any asset considered a security. In other words, you may be able to hold cash, but nothing else.
For US clients, Switzerland works best as a professionally managed jurisdiction, not as a place to park idle cash.
Can I self-manage or trade investments in Switzerland?
In practice, no. It’s simply not cost-effective for Swiss brokerage firms to offer such services to Americans. The compliance cost is too high.
What is the minimum amount required?
You can typically get started with a minimum of USD $1 million. However, we’ve found that the best combination of fees, account options, and service professionals begin at USD $2 million. Most of our clients start with a minimum mandate of USD $1-2 million.
Do you provide investment advice or manage assets?
No. All investment management is provided by independent Swiss asset managers who are licensed to offer financial advice to US clients. Our role is structural coordination and oversight.
What happens if I die or become incapacitated?
Although never a pleasant topic, it’s important to have a plan if you pass away or are unable to make important decisions. Depending on the circumstances, we stand ready to assist executors, trustees, and other advisors as needed to ensure account changes are handled smoothly.
Don't see your question? Contact us - we're happy to help.
Schedule a Complimentary Introductory Call
Before moving forward with any Swiss investment project, the first step is a conversation with one of our associates. This gives us a chance to learn more about you, answer your questions, and determine whether we’re the right fit to help.
During the call, we'll:
Learn about your goals and what you're trying to accomplish
Discuss any international investments or assets you own (or are considering)
Answer questions about our services and how we work
Explain what working with Nestmann Group typically looks like
Determine whether it makes sense to move forward
There’s no obligation. If we believe we can help, we’ll explain the next steps. If not, we’ll tell you that too.
Schedule Your Introductory Call
The easiest way to get started is to schedule a conversation with one of our associates.
Call us directly:
(602) 767-1717
Mon - Fri, 8am - 5pm MT