Pictet in the 20th century

Between 1890 and the First World War, the Bank went through 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 relations in New York and in England and its solid reputation in Bern, 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.

Following a period of relative stagnation marked by the Depression of the 1930s and two World Wars, the Bank began to develop extensively from the 1950s as the Western world entered a prolonged period of prosperity and economic growth. Geneva became one of the world's leading 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 & Cie employed more than 300 staff, compared with just 70 in 1945. While developing its headquarters in Geneva, Pictet & Cie also pursued its expansion abroad by opening offices in Montreal in 1974 and acquiring a seat on the Boston Stock Exchange the same year.

Over the last thirty years from 1980, the Bank has continued to grow rapidly. As Pictet & Cie has expanded over the years, the proportion of institutional clients among the client base has increased steadily. Indeed, since the end of the 1970s, a growing number of institutions throughout the world – mainly pension funds – have chosen Pictet to manage their assets. Equally important, Pictet has developed as a major force in mutual fund management and administration. Together, the institutional and mutual fund assets of the Bank today amount for half of the total under management and custody.