


                           DISCRETIONARY ACCOUNTS

               If you have something on the order of $100,000 to
          invest (depending on the bank, more at most of them),
          you might consider a discretionary account with a Swiss
          bank. The bank will manage the investment for you,
          according to criteria you define. The investment will
          move among markets and currencies and instruments,
          according to the bank's best judgment.
               For this sort of operation, you should consider
          Geneva's private banks, rather than the large
          nationwide Swiss banks. Most of these banks require a
          $250,000 minimum investment. Remember that most of the
          smaller Swiss banks (except for Baer and Vontobel,
          which are listed on the Swiss stock market) do not
          publish their balance sheets. Many of them will not
          accept business without an introduction. This is not a
          matter for a first-time overseas investor to undertake
          with only a book as a guide.
               The leading Swiss private banks are Pictet,
          Lombard Odier, and Hentsch in Geneva. (Hentsch will
          take an account with $100,000, but the others probably
          will not.) They do not welcome walk-in clients. Two
          other private banks are a bit more accessible.
          Gutzailler, because it is a Eurobond issuer, and
          Vontobel, because it does corporate finance. It is
          possible to use a corporate banking relationship as a
          doorway to private banking services at these banks,
          which is why they are included in the listings at the
          end of this chapter.
               Swiss banks have developed the gold storage
          business into a fine art. Although the days of sales
          tax-free gold buying in Switzerland are over, the fee
          for storing your gold in Switzerland is still quite
          low. The minimum for having a Swiss bank store your
          money is one kilogram (2.2 pounds) or 30 gold coins. It
          is perfectly legal for Americans to buy and store gold
          outside the United States. You do not have to declare
          to any authorities that you own gold abroad in any
          amount. However, you should declare for U.S. taxes any
          capital gain from a sale of gold.
               Despite these options, most foreigners in
          Switzerland have simple bank accounts. Most of these
          are not numbered accounts, but ordinary name accounts.
          The minimums for ordinary accounts (which vary by bank)
          are much lower. You can arrange for your bank to keep
          your statements for you or send them in a plain
          envelope once a year. You can work out a code with your
          bank to be sure that, when you call, the person on the
          other end of the telephone actually is you. Most common
          is to give your mother's maiden name.
               The largest banks operate throughout the country.
          Private banks are concentrated in Geneva because most
          of their clients historically were French.
               Many Swiss bankers (and even bank employees at the
          bottom of the totem pole, such as tellers and
          switchboard operators) speak English. They also speak
          German, French, and Italian as a matter of course and
          frequently speak other languages as well, such as
          Spanish.




