Pictet & Cie will only grow organically and will remain independent in the face of increasingly high offers from potential acquirers.

Pictet & Cie will only grow organically and will remain independent in the face of increasingly high offers from potential acquirers according to Heinrich Adami, managing director, and head of the Swiss private bank’s London operation, talking to a group of journalists.

“Our strategy has always been to leverage of our areas of expertise and grow where we have specialist products,” said his colleague Nicolas Campiche, the bank’s Geneva-based head of manager selection, pointing to Pictet’s success with emerging markets products.

The bank is owned by eight partners whose ages range from 35 to 60. This, along with each of the partners having to agree to a constitutional change, will be sufficient for the bank to retain its present partnership structure, said Mr Adami.

“In the face of many tempting offers for us to sell, it’s more tempting for us to stay as we are,” he said.

Last year, in what the bank described as one of its boldest moves for 200 years, Pictet promoted 12 of its staff to a new level below that of partner, to reward them with a small amount of the bank’s equity. The management of the bank remains firmly with the partners, though, Mr Adami confirmed.

Mr Adami said that last year's move would not lead to further share ownership within the bank, but had been designed to keep certain key staff motivated and within the bank.

Pictet now has $300 billion in assets under administration, an increase of 25 per cent over last year’s figure, $190 billion of which are managed (up 36 per cent, year on year).

And, for the first year ever, institutional asset management has overtaken private asset management at the bank.

According to Mr Campiche, Pictet has a particular focus on hedge funds. “Some of our clients invest only in hedge funds,” he said.

But, mainly for technical reasons, the bank has chosen not offer its clients managed accounts or structured products, said Mr Campiche.

Staff numbers at the Swiss bank are planned to increase by 270 this year, 60 per cent of whom will be based at its new high-tech office in Geneva.

Around 20 new staff are planned for Pictet’s Asian private banking operation in Singapore and Hong Kong.

A new office is planned this year for Dubai, to be opened in early summer.