The Handelsblatt Elite Report is the largest and most important industry review conducted in the German-speaking world for private banking and wealth management. At the end of November 2020, the elite among asset managers were selected for the 18th time. A total of 261 banks from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein were reviewed in detail by experts and independent test customers for this year’s test. Schoellerbank once again achieved the highest number of points and won first place for the nineth time in a row as the only Austrian asset manager in the group of the top ten.
The editorial team of the Handelsblatt Elite Report examined a total of 358 candidates for this testing and auditing season. After the first two rounds of audits, the number of contestants dropped to 261, with ultimately only 18.7% or 49 banks achieving positive results in the 40 practice parameters and making onto the elite list of “recommended” banks. Of these, 41 banks were from Germany, four from Austria and two each from Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Depending on the number of points, the awards were conferred “cum laude”, “magna cum laude” or “summa cum laude”, with Schoellerbank being at the top of the golden pyramid of the top achievers yet again.
Expertise and emotional intelligence
Apart from the editorial team, a large number of readers willing to act as test customers and who were looking for new asset managers also participated in the review, providing valuable individual assessments gained from their advisory experiences. This made it possible to test the competence of the banks with respect to their personal advisory services in addition to their expertise. “One of the most important success factors for banks – apart from their expert competence – is the emotional component. Asset managers that provide personal services and pay attention to the wishes of customers are very popular. This is also the core area of competence of Schoellerbank”, explained Hans-Kaspar von Schönfels, editor-in-chief of the Handelsblatt Elite Report.
Original quote from Handelsblatt Elite Report 2021 on Schoellerbank
“Schoellerbank has been the best performing bank for several years. And not just for any reason. The bank specialized in asset management decades ago and its excellent services have placed at the top of the golden pyramid for many years. […] Anyone can experience it for themselves: the customer is still king at this bank. This private bank concentrated its activities in the complex area of asset management a long time ago, thereby creating a stable foundation for its business. And it is constantly investing in its own research and customer-oriented advisors. This quality helps it to achieve growth and is attracting customers in droves. At Schoellerbank, reliability and performance are integral elements of its philosophy.”