Wealth management companies, PROBUS and PLEION, filed a request at the end of August for approval of relevant regulators to proceed with their merger, which will bring the newly formed independent Group – PROBUS Group – to in excess of USD 4 billion of assets under management. Probus has an important operation in the DIFC with 25 people under the leadership of Bernard Bonvin.
Bernard Bonvin, senior partner of PROBUS group, one of the Group's main shareholders and managing partner of the Dubai office since 2012, said, “For many years our international private and institutional clients have benefited from our team’s expertise and global outlook, and now through PLEION, they will receive additional advice from an outstanding team. Our combined efforts will ensure our clients can at all times make the best possible financial decisions.”
When the founder of PROBUS and the main shareholder of PLEION first met in 2018, it was meant to be a simple discussion around a tactical opportunity in Monaco, but Antoine Darioli (PLEION) and Georges de Preux (PROBUS) immediately discovered common values between their companies and a mutual understanding on their future potential.
Both companies have four decades of experience in wealth management (PLEION was founded in 1980, PROBUS in 1984) and have developed complementary skills. With six Swiss offices, PLEION is very close to its clients in Switzerland with a strong expertise in certain asset classes, an advanced IT infrastructure and in-house development of proprietary applications while PROBUS has developed a proven expertise in emerging markets, asset management, financial planning and private structuring (trusts, estate planning).
In addition to their offices in Switzerland, PROBUS and PLEION have developed internationally with offices in Dubai, Luxembourg, Monaco, Moscow and Bangkok. The clients of the new group will benefit from the onset of a proven, efficient, international and broad spectrum of investment solutions.
To support this vision, the historical holding company of the PROBUS Group will become the umbrella of the two groups and will bring together the entities at a global level, including in Switzerland the wealth management company PLEION SA, the consulting company Probus Advisory S.A. and Probus Trustees S.A.
The new entity will have 4 main shareholders: The family of Georges de Preux and Bernard Bonvin from PROBUS, Antoine Darioli and Patrick Héritier from PLEION, and will be administered by a board incorporating them and whose essential function will be to supervise the orientation and development of the future group in Switzerland and abroad. Both Antoine Darioli and Bernard Bonvin are currently residents in Dubai and employed by Probus Middle East Limited, a DIFC entity regulated by the DFSA, highlighting the very strong commitment of the group to the DIFC, the UAE and the broader Gulf region.
This joining force on an equal basis will give the new group a competitive edge in an increasingly regulated environment. The formalization of the transaction remains subject to the approval of local regulators.