Short history of Pictet

Since the early 19th century, Pictet has been a mainstay of Geneva’s financial sector and its history is closely linked to that of the city. Because of its exceptional financial solidity, the Bank has consistently received excellent ratings from the most reputable credit rating agencies in the industry.

1805 : Beginnings 

Bank de Candolle Mallet & Cie was founded on 23 July 1805. At that time, it had two managing partners, Jacob-Michel-François de Candolle and Jacques-Henry Mallet, as well as three limited partners, Jean-Louis Mallet, the latter’s brother, Paul Martin and Jean-Louis Falquet who was a member of government after the Restoration. The fledgling bank was located at the Cour St-Pierre in Geneva until 1819.

According to its memorandum of association, the new bank’s purpose was “to trade in goods and articles of all types, collect annuities and undertake speculation in commodities”. This status reflected the general nature of business conducted at the time by Genevan banks, which had all started out as traders in goods. Very early on, however, the Bank abandoned trading to concentrate on assisting clients in their financial and commercial business and advising them in the art of managing their wealth. The services provided already included investment advice and foreign exchange trading.

1830

Account books and documents show that in the 1830s, the Bank already held a broad enough range of securities on its clients’ behalf to ensure that risks were properly spread: sovereign bonds issued by foreign states, lottery tickets (in fashion at the time) and shares in local and foreign companies, and tontine annuities from Ireland, Orleans and Turin.

1850

In the 1850s, industrial development in Switzerland, Europe and the United States boosted investment opportunities. Portfolios began to include bonds from the North American railways, as well as shares in real estate, mining and insurance companies.

From 1890 to early 20th century

Between 1890 and the First World War, the Bank experienced a period of substantial growth. In the space of thirty years, the number of employees grew from 12 to more than 80.

As investments became more and more global, two fund companies specialising in US and Mexican securities were founded, in 1900 and 1910 respectively. Thanks to its business contacts in New York and in the United Kingdom and its solid reputation in Berne, the Bank was responsible for negotiating three federal loans in the United States on behalf of the Swiss Confederation between 1915 and 1920. These loans amounted to USD 70 million, quite a considerable sum in those days.

1930 : Post-war years

Following a period of relative stagnation marked by the Depression of the 1930s and two World Wars, the Bank's staff was reduced by half. In the post-war period, however, Pictet experienced a prolonged period of economic growth. Despite the negative outlook in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Western world experienced a period of prosperity and economic growth. Geneva became one of the world’s major diplomatic and financial centres.

In the late 1960s, Pictet embarked on the new business of institutional asset management, gaining its first pension fund account in 1967.

The Bank continued to expand rapidly. In 1980, Pictet employed more than 300 staff, compared with just 70 in 1945. While developing its headquarters in Geneva, Pictet also pursued its expansion abroad by opening offices in Montreal in 1974 and acquiring a seat on the Boston Stock Exchange the same year.

Since 1980 : A period of extraordinary growth

Over the last 30 years since 1980, the Pictet Group has continued to grow rapidly. As Pictet has expanded over the years, the proportion of institutional clients among the client base has increased steadily. Indeed, since the end of the 1960s, a growing number of institutions throughout the world – mainly pension funds – have chosen Pictet to manage their assets. Today, the assets of these institutional clients account for half the total assets under custody at the Bank.

Proud of having stood the test of time, Pictet celebrated its bicentennial in 2005 after weathering the storm of political upheavals and financial crises for over two hundred years. One year later, another milestone was reached with the inauguration of the Group's headquarters at 60, Route des Acacias in Geneva. The new building combines ecological economy with state-of-the-art technology and shows both a traditional and a contemporary face to the world.

Pictet is committed to managing its operations in accordance with the principles of sustainability and, above all, to offering its clients a wide choice of quality products in the area of sustainable investment. In 2008, the Bank launched the Prix Pictet, the world’s first and premier prize dedicated to the theme of sustainable development.

2014

In 2014, Pictet's legal structure changed from a simple partnership to a corporate partnership ("société en commandite par actions"). This adjustment became necessary because of the Group's growth and development, and enables Pictet to manage its business more efficiently in an international environment. The seven Partners can thus continue to run the company by carrying on a tradition of ownership that has remained unchanged for more than 200 years. Pictet today employs more than 4900 people worldwide. The Group is pursuing its international expansion and currently has 30 offices in some of the most important financial centres around the world, with Monaco, New York and Shanghai being the most recent office openings in 2020.

Jacob-Michel-François de Candolle 

Since 2008 : The Prix Pictet

IIn 2008 the partners of the Pictet Group created the Prix Pictet award to draw worldwide attention to, and stimulate action on, issues of environmental sustainability through photography. The award is considered one of the most prestigious prizes in global photography.

In eight themes since foundation, the Prix Pictet has tackled Water, Earth, Growth, Power, Consumption, Disorder, Space and Hope. The prize is currently awarded on a two-year cycle. The final award for the next theme, Fire, takes place in December 2021 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

In a statement on behalf of the Prix Pictet Jury, Sir David King, Chairman of the Jury, said: “We were inspired by the words of our founding President, the late Kofi Annan, who in his final Prix Pictet address spoke of mankind’s potential to find hope in adversity, and of his profound hope that it was not too late to reverse the catastrophic damage that we have visited on the natural world and its most vulnerable inhabitants. Let’s be under no illusion that in these past two years the crisis we are facing has deepened. Yet hope remains, albeit fragile and elusive. ’

Submission is by nomination. Over 325 nominators— independent experts in photography from 60 countries and six continents —may recommend recent portfolios from several photographers each.

The prize jury comprises curators, critics and practitioners with an expertise in the visual arts or sustainable practice. They are required to select a shortlist of twelve, whose work is powerful visually and in the message conveyed on the given theme.

The portfolios submitted must have narrative drive, and are likely to be deeply researched and several years in the making. Since the Prix Pictet accepts work ranging from documentary or photojournalism to fine art and conceptual photography—and the shortlist is widely exhibited—the selection is in effect an act of curation.