Success Stories
Bringing Scattered Banking Relationships into One Consolidated View
Client Profile
International family with approximately CHF 240 million across five banking relationships in four jurisdictions.
The Situation
Over time, the family had built up a broad network of private banking relationships, each established for a different purpose. Reporting arrived in different formats and on different schedules. Some portfolios overlapped, some mandates had drifted, and their fee levels were not always aligned with the quality of service being provided.
At group level, there was no reliable way to see the full position in one place. Liquidity, asset allocation, and banking exposure had to be pieced together manually.
What Rapier Ventures Did
Rapier Ventures consolidated the reporting across all five institutions and reviewed the role of each relationship in the wider set-up. The firm assessed portfolio overlap, manager concentration, mandate terms, custody arrangements, and fee structures, while also considering the family’s future liquidity needs and international footprint.
Discussions were then opened with the banks involved. In some cases, relationships were strengthened through sharper terms and more suitable mandates. In others, the case for keeping the relationship had weakened and change was recommended.
The Result
Two relationships were retained as core providers, one was restructured, and two were exited.
The family moved to a single reporting framework covering 100% of financial assets, with a clearer allocation picture, faster decision-making, and a material reduction in the administrative burden.
Annual banking and management costs were reduced by approximately CHF 1.4 million, while the overall structure became easier to supervise at family level.
Post-Exit Wealth After a Business Sale
Client Profile
Entrepreneur following a business sale, with net proceeds of approximately €85 million.
The Situation
The client moved quickly from operating wealth to liquid wealth. Several institutions approached with investment proposals, private market opportunities, and lending ideas, but there was no agreed framework for how the capital should be divided or what role it needed to play over the coming years.
Part of the wealth was intended to support future ventures. Part was expected to fund a higher standard of living. Part needed to remain invested for the longer term. Without a proper framework, each new opportunity risked being judged in isolation.
What Rapier Ventures Did
Rapier Ventures worked through the client’s expected cash needs, future commitments, appetite for new business activity, and their tolerance for market drawdown. From there, the firm designed a structure that separated capital into distinct pools with different purposes and time horizons.
Existing banking proposals were reviewed, unnecessary products were set aside, and a more disciplined investment approach was implemented across the relevant mandates. The client also received regular reporting that made it easier to assess new ideas against the broader position.
The Result
The client adopted a defined capital framework with separate allocations for long-term investment, near-term liquidity, and opportunistic deployment.
Within the first year, approximately €22 million was ring-fenced for new ventures and private opportunities, while €18 million remained in readily available liquidity to support the client’s tax, property, administrative and personal requirements. The balance was allocated to a long-term investment program built for continuity.
The result was a stronger sense of control and an investment structure better suited to the scale of the proceeds.
Aligning Family Structures with Current Needs
Client Profile
Multi-generational family overseeing approximately €310 million through a mix of companies, trusts, and legacy holding structures.
The Situation
The family’s ownership arrangements had developed over many years. Some entities were still useful, but quite a few others only remained in place because no one had revisited them properly. Administration had become heavy and certain decisions were slowed by a structure that no longer reflected how the family was operating.
There was also a growing need for a more formal governance framework as younger family members became more involved.
What Rapier Ventures Did
Working alongside external legal and tax advisers, Rapier Ventures reviewed the operating purpose, cost, and relevance of each structure in the context of the family’s current priorities. Rapier Ventures helped establish where simplification was possible and where the governance needed to be strengthened.
The firm then coordinated the process of restructuring, acting as the central point between family members and advisers so that the work progressed in an orderly way and with proper continuity.
The Result
The family reduced the number of active entities by more than 30%
Annual administration and advisory costs were lowered by approximately €900,000 and moved to a more coherent governance model with clearer responsibilities and reporting lines.
The family received a significantly lighter administrative burden and a more durable operating framework for the family’s wealth, ownership interests, and future decision-making.
