20 years of Arabella Asset Management
20 years
of Arabella Asset Management
October 2022
On October 5, 2022, FINMA – the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority – granted Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG authorization to operate as an asset manager within the meaning of the new Financial Institutions Act (FinIA).
July 3th, 2014
Stake in Aquila AG
(Exit 2019)
Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG has been operating in Chur since 2003. In addition to providing asset management services for private and institutional clients, the company assists companies with their financial management. The company is now entering into a business partnership with the Zurich-based financial services company Aquila & Co. AG. Arabella Vermögensverwaltung is taking this step to ensure that the business is well positioned to meet the demands of the future. As the company stated in a press release, “Higher regulatory hurdles and therefore compliance and risk management costs are on the horizon for independent asset managers.” Aquila AG is an association of independent Swiss asset management companies, which acts as a service provider for affiliated partner companies. Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG is expected to be represented on the Board of Directors of Aquila & Co. AG soon.
Extract from the “Bündner Tagblatt”, July 3th, 2014.
March 2nd, 2013
"The network with crystal in its logo"
In Graubünden, the name Arabella brings to mind a network composed of hotels, a holding company, the hotel management school in Passugg, an asset management company, and two names: Schörghuber and Niggli. It represents a ten-year success story.
Trust is one of the core values in asset management. And trust is exactly what the Schörghuber family from Munich placed in Albert Niggli from Malans. The story of Arabella Schweiz AG, founded in 1996 by the Munich-based brewery and hotel entrepreneur Stefan Schörghuber, is closely linked to the Niggli name.
Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG was established under this umbrella in 2003. A closely-knit tourism network was created through the Arabella Seehof and Waldhuus hotels in Davos, stakes in the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in Passugg, a salmon processing company in Chile, and Frostag AG in Landquart.
The sustainability of this network was put to the test in November 2008 when Stefan Schörghuber died of heart failure at the age of only 47. His widow Alexandra Schörghuber appointed Albert Niggli to the Board of Trustees of the Schörghuber Group’s management company. Albert was already Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of Arabella Schweiz AG at that time.
Yesterday in Chur, Alexandra Schörghuber was able to look back on “interesting, emotional, and successful years” at the 10th anniversary of Arabella Vermögensverwaltung. “Graubünden has become my second home,” explains Munich-based Alexandra, who was recently honored with the Bavarian Order of Merit.
“A crystal player in the industry”
However, Arabella Vermögensverwaltung, which has been headed up by Patrick Niggli as CEO for the past five years, did not remain a mere appendage of the Arabella Group, but developed into an independent company.
In 2010, the business was rated by the business journal Bilanz as “very good.” “This means we have moved up into the Champions League of Swiss asset managers,” Albert Niggli proudly announced yesterday in front of a crowd of guests at the anniversary party in the GKB Auditorium.
Among the anniversary well-wishers were cantonal councilor Christian Rathgeb, City Mayor Urs Marti, and Alois Vinzens, CEO of the Graubündner Kantonalbank, where Albert Niggli was Head of the Private Banking Department in 1998. Alois Vinzens referred to Arabella Vermögensverwaltung as the “crystal player in the industry,” alluding to the quartz crystal in the logo. Cantonal councilor Christian Rathgeb highlighted the significant contributions made by the Schörghuber family of entrepreneurs to the hotel industry in Graubünden and the hotel management school in Passugg, as well as their important role as patrons and investors.
City Mayor Urs Marti was pleased to hear that the three Arabella companies feel very much at home at their headquarters in Chur. The well-known musician Marie Louise Werth and band, who reprised her 1989 Eurovision song “Viver senza tei”, and the catering provided by SSTH Passugg, ensured that the guests had an enjoyable time at the party.
Article from the “Bündner Tagblatt”, March 2nd, 2013
October 9th, 2010
Arabella manager secures second place
The business journal Bilanz ran approximately 2,000 asset managers based in Switzerland through an aptitude test. Around 150 independent asset managers registered to take the test designed by the Institute for Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich. 102 of the tests could be evaluated. Ten were rated “very good” and twenty were rated “good.”
Graubünden firm Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG based in Chur was able to make it into the top ten. Patrick Zoller passed the test with flying colours and even made it onto the podium, finishing in second place behind Erwin Röösli from Lucerne firm ER-Finanzberatung.
33-year-old Patrick Zoller has worked as a portfolio manager at Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG in Chur since 2004. Patrick completed his commercial training in a bank, then went on to do a vocational diploma and a degree in financial services and information systems. The company employs seven people and, according to Bilanz magazine, manages assets of over 500 million francs. A third of the company’s customers are based abroad.
From the “Bündner Tagblatt”, October 9th, 2010
February 2008
Steady and positive growth
Since March 1, 2003, Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG has been based at Stadtgartenweg 6 in Chur. The company has grown steadily and successfully in its five years of trading. There are currently seven employees responsible for client services and administration at Arabella Vermögensverwaltungs AG. At the anniversary general meeting on March 3, 2008, the operational management of asset management was handed over to Patrick Niggli, who up to then had served as a member of the Board of Directors.
From a press release issued by Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG, February 2008.
January 2006
Strategic partnership in the finance and insurance sector in Graubünden
(Exit 2011)
Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG, Chur, has invested in the Chur-based insurance broker Godly & Partner AG through a share capital increase. The two companies complement each other as they jointly offer a broad range of financial and insurance products and services.
Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG, a holding company of the Arabella Schweiz AG Group, was founded in Chur in 2003. The company has performed extremely well over the past three years.
Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG is a member of the Swiss Association of Wealth Managers (SAM) and serves private individuals based both in Switzerland and abroad. These clients are looking for professional guidance in financial matters or want to entrust wealth management to an independent partner. Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG currently employs six people.
Godly & Partner AG has successfully operated for four years as an independent insurance broker for companies, administrations, and private individuals in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and especially in the canton of Graubünden. Nine members of staff provide clients with advice and support on all aspects of insurance and assist with the settlement of claims. Godly & Partner AG also continuously reviews the various offerings on the market and looks for the best solutions at the most advantageous prices for its clients.
Godly & Partner AG is a member of the Swiss Insurance Brokers Association (SIBA) and, as a licensee of FMH Insurance, specializes in providing advice for doctors and veterinarians.
Press release issued by Arabella Vermögensverwaltung AG, January 2006.
May 10th, 2003
A new name for the Arabella divisions
Rapid growth and the diversification of its subdivisions had prompted the Swiss Arabella Group to modify its management structure and place it under one umbrella. Munich-based entrepreneur and President of the Board of Directors Stefan Schörghuber and Vice President and Delegate of the Board of Directors Albert Niggli announced to the press in Passugg yesterday that the separate divisions have now been brought together under the umbrella of Arabella Schweiz AG, which is headquartered in Davos.
Hotels remain the company’s core business
The hotels, which currently comprise 880 rooms, remain the Arabella Group’s core business. Six hotels in Davos, Zurich, and Vitznau are owned by Arabella Schweiz AG. Five of the hotels fall under the ArabellaSherator Hotels & Resorts brand, namely the Waldhuus, the Seehof, and the Derby in Davos, the Vitznauerhof at Lake Lucerne, and the Neues Schloss in Zurich city. The portfolio also includes two franchises: the Atlantis in Zurich and the Président Wilson in Geneva.
Following the acquisition of a majority stake in the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in Chur – which encompasses the hotel management school in Passugg and the Bellavista training hotel in Davos – Arabella Schweiz AG has strengthened its presence in the training sector. The Group is also involved in the development of a specialist hotel college in Cape Town (South Africa).
The financial sector has become subsequently important. Arabella Vermögensverwaltung is the subsidiary responsible for the financial management and governance of Arabella Schweiz AG. German consulting firm Sineus AG joined the Group only recently. Arabella Schweiz AG is also active in the food sector through its partnership with Inversiones Stefal Ltda., which is headquartered in Santiago in Chile (fish farming and processing).
“Outstanding” results
Arabella Schweiz AG employs over 400 people. Eighty percent of the total workforce are employed in Graubünden, making the company one of the largest employers in the canton. While other tourism businesses are lamenting the effects of the economic downturn, Stefan Schörghuber described the hotel management company’s results in Switzerland in 2022 as “outstanding.” It was further stated that the Group aims to grow primarily in urban areas.
This article was published on May 10th, 2003 in “Südostschweiz”.
March 3th, 2003