Schoellerbank

The bank, which has several times been presented with the award "best private bank in Austria" by the Elite Award, invited the CdH to visit in March.

Director Mag. Stephan Maxonus gave the trade delegates a warm welcome in the traditional "Rothschildsaal" which has been restored to its original state, in contrast to the rest of the bank's headquarters, in the Viennese Renngasse, which was completely rebuilt in a more modern style.

Schoellerbank, which was founded 1833 and belongs to the UniCredit Private Banking Division in Austria, has one of the longest traditions of all private banks in the German-speaking region. Diligence, stability and customer orientation were values of great importance to Alexander von Schoeller when he founded the bank.

High quality standards are still part of Schoellerbank's tradition. Only the best shares, bonds or investment funds make it onto the bank's list of recommendations. Risks are consistently avoided and the main focus is on long-term yield prospects and high security. The bank's rating principles arose from experience and proved themselves time and time again, even in times of crisis. Schoellerbank regularly exceeds the market benchmarks with is portfolio investments. The longer the observation period, the better the recommended investments develop.

"Of course, arbitrary individual investments (or "hot tips") from more or less profound sources can also lead to short-term success", Mag. Maxonus stated: "In general, however, if this unplanned procedure is followed, the failures will eventually be significantly predominant. The majority of the capital to be invested must be invested on the basis of a sound investment concept, which will be followed in a disciplined manner, with no influence from short-term fads."

The investment philosophy is Schoellerbank?s trademark

"Schoellerbank's investment strategy follows the motto "invest, don?t speculate" and focuses on accommodating the customers' wishes as best as possible in the fulfillment of their investment requirements" he said: "It focuses mainly on security, has a long-term focus, is comprehensible, transparent and objective - even recommending an external product is not "excluded" for us."

The timing and the amounts of investments in stocks, bonds or money market instruments are decided by the Schoellerbank portfolio managers. 55% of the bank?s customers are based in Austria and 45% are international customers with a focus on CEE countries.

Asked, what minimum investment comes into question, Director Maxonus answered: "If you have a minimum of EUR 400,000 to 500,000 to invest, we can offer you portfolio management with individual securities, with a choice between investing internationally (Global) or on a European basis (Europe). On your behalf, we invest directly in top-rated shares and bonds as well as in money market instruments and investment funds. The securities are selected in accordance with the strict quality criteria embodied in the Schoellerbank?s own ratings."

In making equity investment decisions Schoellerbank pays particular attention to well-balanced diversification across different sectors (including precious metals, especially bullion) and regions."In line with our investment strategy, we never select sectors or regions that are temporarily fashionable and are therefore likely to be overvalued. In the long term, this ensures that one will benefit from investing only in companies like consumer goods producers (e.g. Coca Cola) with definite prospects of success."