1805

Beginnings and growth

It was against a hardly auspicious economic and political backdrop that two young bankers, both under 30, Jacob-Michel-François de Candolle and Jacques-Henry Mallet, ancestors of the Pictet family, took the bold step of signing a "partnership deed" on 23 July 1805. This partnership moved into premises in Cour St-Pierre at the heart of Geneva’s old city.

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 Geneva’s bankers, all of whom had started off by trading goods. Very early on, however, the bank abandoned trading to concentrate on helping clients with their financial and business dealings as well as advising them on the art of managing their wealth. Even at this early stage, this involved giving investment advice and conducting foreign exchange transactions.

1856

The Ernest Pictet Era

Shortly before his death, Jacob de Candolle appointed his nephew to succeed him; Edouard Pictet (1813- 1878) was thus appointed as a Partner in 1841. His son, Emile Pictet, born in 1845, became a Partner in 1875 and held this position until his death in 1909. Following in his father's footsteps, Emile worked together closely with Ernest Pictet, Jacob de Candolle's grandson, who was to become a Partner in 1856, occupying the position for 53 years. With his strong sense of business acumen, Ernest Pictet injected fresh life into the bank. Between 1890 and World War I, the bank went through a period of substantial growth. In the space of 30 years, the number of employees increased from twelve to more than eighty.

1889

Guillaume Pictet, Trailblazer for Investment Funds and Architect of Internationalisation

The second son of Ernest Pictet, Guillaume Pictet (1860-1926), became a partner of his father in 1889, at the age of 29. Under his influence, the bank became a major company, employing some 60 people by the time he reached the end of his career.

In 1921, he introduced a profit-sharing scheme for bank staff, which was revolutionary at the time and is still in place today. Moreover, Guillaume Pictet was chairman of Ateliers Piccard, Pictet & Cie, which produced hydraulic turbines, and later built the famous Pic-Pic motorcars.

Guillaume Pictet was succeeded by his eldest son Aymon (1886-1928) in 1926. And when Aymon died suddenly just two years later, the baton passed to his cousin, Albert Pictet, who remained a partner until 1951.

1950

Expansion and Diversification

Following Albert Pictet’s departure, other partners went on to leave their mark on Pictet & Cie’s substantial development between 1950 and 1980. Edouard Pictet, the youngest son of Guillaume Pictet, Alexandre van Berchem and Jean-Pierre Demole, among others, all proved that they were able to meet the challenges of a profession that was already undergoing major changes at the time. Confronted with so many challenges, the partners of Pictet & Cie set about expanding the bank’s offering of services by, for example, developing its institutional management skills ahead of time; this activity now represents half of the assets managed by the Pictet group.