Geneva’s Bedrock Group has long been one of the most respected names in Swiss independent wealth management.
Founded in 2004 by Ariel Arazi, Maurice Ephrati and David Joory — who continue to run the firm — it built its reputation serving ultra-high-net-worth families with a rigorous, family office-grade approach, managing 8.4 billion Swiss francs in client assets across offices in Geneva, London, Monaco and Lisbon.
A Different and More Dramatic Path
In 2017, Bedrock announced plans to expand into Zurich, an initiative led at the time by Alexander Classen — as reported by finews — who has since become president of EFG International. That expansion never materialized.
Instead, Bedrock has chosen a far more dramatic path: joining forces with Corient, the Miami-based firm rapidly assembling what it believes will be the world’s first truly global wealth manager.
Corient, Stonehage Fleming, Stanhope — and Now Bedrock
On Thursday, Corient announced the acquisition of Bedrock, adding the Geneva firm to a portfolio that already includes Stonehage Fleming — the largest independent wealth manager in Europe — and London-based Stanhope Capital Group, founded by Daniel Pinto, which has maintained a Geneva office for many years.
The three transactions together will add approximately $220 billion in assets to Corient, lifting its combined managed and administered assets to around $468 billion once all deals close — creating a global firm with roughly 12,000 employees.
Meet the Architects
For the Swiss external asset manager scene, this is the most significant deal in years. Nothing of comparable scale — in terms of assets, ambition or strategic intent — has been seen in the Swiss independent wealth management space for a very long time.
Finews spoke at length with the two men driving Corient’s European expansion. Kurt MacAlpine, 44, is the founding partner and chief executive officer of Corient, a firm he launched in 2020 after leading the transformation of CI Financial and, before that, heading global distribution at WisdomTree and spending nearly a decade as a partner at McKinsey, where he led the North American asset management practice.
On expansion path: Kurt MacAlpine, founding partner and CEO of Corient. (Image: Courtesy)
A Transatlantic Strategy
MacAlpine has spent his career studying the structural flaws of the wealth management industry — and is convinced he has found a way to fix them.
Pinto, 58, founded Stanhope Capital in 2004 and built it into one of the largest independent wealth management groups in Europe. A Harvard Business School alumnus, he previously ran a CVC-backed venture capital firm and spent seven years at UBS Warburg in corporate finance.
The Problem They Are Trying to Solve
Pinto is also a published author — his book «Capital Wars» examined the new East-West challenge for entrepreneurial leadership — and has been recognized as a top-five wealth manager in the UK by Spear’s. Under the transaction announced in September 2025, he becomes Corient’s partner and chief executive for EMEA.
Behind Corient’s expansion logic lies a clear diagnosis. «I personally do not believe there are any truly global wealth managers that exist in the market today,» MacAlpine says. «There are wealth managers that have offices in multiple different jurisdictions, but none serve families across geographies in an integrated way.»
Friction at Every Border
The structural problem runs deep. «Whether it’s the structure of the banks they operate in, the compensation systems that create friction between collaboration, or other conflicts — these prevent clients from getting a truly global experience,» MacAlpine says.
He illustrates the point with a striking example. «If a billion-dollar family decides to consolidate all their assets in one jurisdiction, the advisor there quadruples their compensation — and everybody else who serves the client goes to zero. That is not a structure that lends itself to truly global client teams.»
Scale to Invest
Pinto frames the same problem from a different angle — one that resonates particularly in the Swiss context, where about 1,300 independent external asset managers co-exist with some of the world’s largest private banks.
«The wealth management market is barbelled,» he says. «On one side you have all the banks — with every resource imaginable but still too many conflicts. On the other end, you have hundreds of independent firms that don’t have those conflicts — which is why they thrive. But they don’t have the scale to invest globally or access the top funds and strategies.»
Daniel Pinto, founder of Stanhope Capital and incoming EMEA chief at Corient. (Image: Courtesy)
Finding the Best of Both Worlds
His conclusion is direct. «Let’s find the best of both worlds. Take the good features of independent wealth management — the alignment, the quality of service, the complete dedication to clients — and add the scale that enables us to serve high-net-worth clients better. To me, that middle ground is Nirvana.»
MacAlpine did not rush the global expansion. Corient spent more than five years building its model in the US before making its European move — and when it did, three conditions had to be met simultaneously.
The Conditions for Going Global
«The first was real local scale in each market that we operate in,» MacAlpine explains. «The second was having true multi-jurisdictional capabilities, enabling us to serve clients wherever they live today and choose to live in the future. And the third was globalizing our unique Professional Services Partnership — the first of its kind in wealth management.»
That partnership structure is Corient’s most distinctive feature. Unlike traditional wealth management firms — or the large private banks — advisors at Corient are compensated collectively, not individually. There is no incentive to hoard a client relationship, no friction when a family’s assets move across borders. «We want to be the first firm that can truly serve global families, regardless of where they live, anywhere in the world, without any friction whatsoever,» MacAlpine says.
Switzerland as a Global Hub
The Bedrock acquisition carries important lessons for the broader Swiss wealth management industry. Switzerland is not simply one market in Corient’s European expansion — it is one of only two locations the firm regards as a genuine global hub.
«We don’t view Switzerland just as a Swiss market,» Pinto explains. «We view it as a hub that can serve the needs of global clients, whether they come from other countries in Europe, the Middle East or Latin America. London and Switzerland are the only places in Europe which stand out as global hubs.»
200 Swiss Employees
The combined Swiss footprint resulting from the three transactions is striking. Stanhope Capital and Stonehage Fleming together already bring around 160 people based between Geneva, Zurich and Neuchatel. Bedrock adds roughly 40 more in Geneva.
The result: a combined Swiss operation of around 200 people under the Corient umbrella — a scale without precedent by the standards of the local industry. The largest independent players in the market typically employ 50 to 60 people. Corient will be four times that size.
One Brand, One Business
Pinto also challenges the assumption that size and quality are in tension. «Very often people associate size with low quality. In our mind, it’s exactly the opposite. When you have the size — and with the tools that AI can bring — you can actually provide a luxury experience to clients at scale.»
All of this will operate under a single brand. Stanhope Capital, Stonehage Fleming, Bedrock — they will all become Corient. «We will carry one brand for the firm globally,» MacAlpine says. «Stanhope will be Corient on day one, Stonehage Fleming will be Corient on day one, Bedrock will be Corient on day one.»
More to Come in Switzerland
The founders of Bedrock — Arazi, Ephrati and Joory — will become partners in the Corient partnership alongside MacAlpine, Pinto and more than 250 others. That equity ownership, Corient argues, is the mechanism that aligns everyone’s interests with those of clients.
Neither MacAlpine nor Pinto suggests that the Swiss chapter is now closed. Asked directly whether Corient’s acquisition appetite in Switzerland is satisfied, MacAlpine is unambiguous: «We will absolutely keep growing — organically and inorganically. Switzerland is a fantastic domestic market and an incredible global hub, and we intend to build a very strong position here.»
The Vision Ahead
For an industry long characterized by fragmentation, boutique scale and a certain pride in independence, this is a signal worth taking seriously. Corient is building what it believes will become the defining global wealth manager for ultra-high-net-worth families.
Switzerland, with its unique combination of domestic wealth, international client base and deep financial infrastructure, is central to that vision. The Corient-Bedrock transaction and Corient’s acquisition of Stanhope Capital Group are both subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
