Fiduciary Specialist

Julius Baer Group has announced that Olga Zoutendijk will step down from its board at the annual general meeting on 9 April 2026, after seven years of service. The Swiss wealth manager plans to nominate Urban Angehrn and Colin Bell as new board members. Bell, formerly group chief compliance officer at HSBC and UBS, brings extensive experience in compliance, risk management and regulatory relations. Board chairman Noel Quinn praised his expertise in building compliance programmes and business transformation. The changes mean Julius Baer will temporarily fall short of its gender diversity targets. The company is actively seeking qualified female candidates and aims to meet diversity requirements before the 2027 AGM. Julius Baer recently reported a 25% decline in net profit for 2025 to SFr764 million, attributed to one-off charges and credit losses.

Bar nominates major bank compliance specialist for board of directors. Colin Bell, who has served as Chief Compliance Officer at both HSBC and UBS, is set to become a member of Julius Bar's board of directors. As he replaces a woman, the committee will become more male-dominated - the bank promises swift improvement. Colin Bell is to become a new board member at Julius Bar. (Image: LinkedIn) Monday, March 16, 2026 08:39 At Julius Bar, which presented its business report on Monday, there will be a change in the board of directors. Olga Zoutendijk will not stand for re-election at the general meeting on April 9, 2026, the group also announced on Monday - and immediately proposed Colin Bell as a replacement. In the communiqué, Bell is described as 'a highly qualified banking industry leader' with extensive experience in corporate governance and excellent expertise in anti-money laundering, financial crime compliance, and non-financial risk. Good connections with supervisory authorities and military career Bell recently ended his operational career to focus on advisory roles and board mandates. He previously served as Group Chief Compliance Officer at HSBC and as Group Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Non-Financial Risk at UBS. However, he did not start his career in the financial sector but rather in the British Army, where he held various leadership positions for 16 years, likely why Bar also highlights his 'geopolitical knowledge'. Bell has a good network with British supervisory authorities, the Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority, and the European Central Bank. During his time at UBS, he also worked closely with Finma. Double with Urban Angehrn Noel Quinn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Julius Bar Group, commented on the nomination: 'He has extensive experience and will make significant contributions with his skills acquired in building and implementing demanding compliance programs, as well as his significant competencies in corporate and technology transformation.' Already in early February, Bar announced plans to propose Urban Angehrn (former director of Finma) as a new board member. Gender diversity: Target not achieved The group now notes that with these planned changes in the governing body, the self-set goals and guidelines regarding gender diversity 'unfortunately' would not be met. This is to change: 'The board of directors is actively engaged in searching for and selecting highly qualified female candidates who will further strengthen the expertise of the board and support its commitment to diversity.' Suitable nominations are to be submitted to shareholders 'preferably before the next ordinary general meeting in 2027.'

Julius Baer has launched a suite of model portfolios for UK financial advisers, led by Gareth Johnson, who previously spent 14 years running the Model Portfolio Service at Brewin Dolphin. The offering includes "active" and "passive+" portfolios covering risk profiles 3-8 as classified by Defaqto, Dynamic Planner and EV. A UK-based team will manage the models with support from Julius Baer's network of 600 investment professionals globally. The Swiss private bank cited rising demand for outsourced investment solutions driven by evolving client expectations and increasing regulatory complexity. The portfolios will launch on several platforms including Fidelity, Morningstar, Aberdeen, Quilter, Transact and Aviva. The move follows similar action by Edmond De Rothschild, which entered the UK model portfolio space in January.