Monaco is attracting a smaller number of internationally mobile clients than rival jurisdictions such as Dubai, Milan and Switzerland – but those choosing the Principality are bringing considerably greater wealth, according to senior executives at CFM Indosuez Wealth Management.
The shift was among several international client trends outlined by the bank’s leadership during the presentation of its new six-point strategy in Monaco on Monday by new CEO Bénédicte Chrétien.
Jad Bardawil, Co-Head of Wealth Management, said CFM Indosuez had recorded a major influx of clients moving away from the United Kingdom. They were not exclusively British, he explained, but included international families who had previously used London as their base.
“Monaco has attracted a smaller number, but greater fortunes,” said Bardawil. “That is the real change we have seen.”
The arrivals form part of a broader movement of wealth towards jurisdictions perceived to offer long-term political and financial stability. But according to the bank, Monaco is emerging with a particular type of client: highly international, financially sophisticated and accustomed to premium levels of service in cities including London, Dubai and New York.
Anglophone growth accelerates
Bardawil described CFM Indosuez’s growth among Anglophone clients as “spectacular”, particularly among ultra-high-net-worth individuals relocating to Monaco.
The term Anglophone, however, disguises a much wider geographic mix. International residents departing London have included clients from countries such as Brazil who had used the British capital as a financial and residential base before moving to the Principality.
This has required banks in Monaco to look beyond nationality and consider the increasingly complex international structures behind each family’s wealth. Assets, companies, homes and family members may be distributed across several jurisdictions, creating demand for coordinated tax, succession, governance and investment expertise.
“Our clients are becoming increasingly multi-jurisdictional,” said Deputy CEO Sophie Armando. “We need transversal experts in order to provide a global, 360-degree approach.”
CFM Indosuez supports that reach through the wider Indosuez network, which operates across 18 jurisdictions. Within Monaco, its private-banking team represents almost 20 nationalities and speaks around a dozen foreign languages.
“We are a bank that is profoundly Monegasque through our history and roots, but resolutely international through our organisation and our clientele,” said Vincent Cartillier, Co-Head of Wealth Management.
Its bankers regularly travel to markets including the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, Switzerland, Latin America, the Middle East, South Africa, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.
Monaco gains from global uncertainty
CFM Indosuez is also seeing rising interest from the Middle East. Bardawil said some clients who had previously chosen Dubai as a base were now reconsidering Monaco as uncertainty in the region continued.
For these families, relocation does not necessarily begin with an immediate permanent move. It can mean establishing what Bardawil described as a “Plan B”: opening a bank account in Monaco, purchasing an apartment in the Principality or acquiring a second home on the Côte d’Azur.
“Monaco offers political and financial stability at a time of uncertainty, when clients are looking for genuine diversification,” he said.
Bardawil argued that Monaco had benefited repeatedly from periods of international instability during the past decade. The current movement is not simply bringing more capital into the Principality, he added, but raising expectations across its banks, property market, hotels and other service industries.
Someone spending €15 million or €20 million on an apartment in Monaco after living in Dubai, London or New York arrives with established expectations concerning technology, amenities, views and service. The same applies to wealth management.
“These clients are accustomed to being served in high-quality jurisdictions with extremely demanding standards,” said Bardawil. “That is an opportunity for us, but it means every part of Monaco’s economy has to raise its game.”
Clients arrive better informed
The relationship between private bankers and their international clients is also changing. New arrivals increasingly conduct their own research before meeting an adviser and expect the bank to add insight beyond information they can obtain independently.
“They no longer come to listen to the bank as though it were delivering the only authoritative view,” Bardawil said. “They have already done their research and they arrive prepared.”
That shift is changing the role of the private banker from a source of information into an interpreter of increasingly complex choices. Technical expertise remains essential, but Bardawil said the relationship ultimately depends on whether clients trust the bank sufficiently to bring their wider network into it. At CFM Indosuez, one in two clients has recommended the bank to someone close to them.
The future of Monaco
For Monaco, the trend presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The clients now choosing the Principality may be fewer in number than those heading to rival jurisdictions, but, according to Bardawil, they are bringing greater fortunes and the high expectations formed in cities such as London, Dubai and New York. How Monaco responds to those expectations will help shape the next phase of its international growth.
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Photo credit: Benjamin Vergely, Tourism Department of Monaco
