Julie Kohlmann, Senior Wealth Manager at MIRABAUD & Cie is our Advisor of the Month

Julie Kohlmann is Senior Wealth Manager at MIRABAUD & Cie (Europe) SA in Luxembourg. Julie graduated from History of Art and Business School in France. She decided to start her career in a consultancy firm in Paris. She then worked in the private jets industry until 2014 ; and finally started as a private banker in Luxembourg 8 years ago servicing clients worldwide, with a focus on Europe and Middle East. Julie is also 4x4 rally racer. She enjoys this discipline for more than 10 years, participating to rallies, particularly in Northern Africa and China. Her best ranking was in 2021, with a 2^nd place among 155 crews!

What made you want to work in Wealth Management? Was the financial industry always attractive to you?

I started my career being a junior consultant in sales and marketing. Chance led me to business aviation industry, where I was in charge of accompanying private jets owners and users with their very specific requests linked to business jets management. I had never really thought about becoming a private banker. My mother was a banker, and when I was young I used to hear: “you will do like your mother!”. To which I would answer: “Me? A Banker? Never…”. And finally, I became a banker, and I can even add, a happy banker! Actually, the Banking industry is not so far from business aviation industry: it is technical, detail focused, there are comprehension and regulation mechanisms which are quite similar; and in both cases, you need to deliver a 5-star service to your client.  All this makes me passionate about my job.

How does a normal day look like in your role as Senior Client Advisor – Private Banking at Mirabaud?

When I arrive at work, my first reflex is to read the financial news prior to the opening of the markets. Then, my day consists in being in contact with my clients. I prefer calls rather than emails or messages. So I spend a lot of time on the phone. I like voice contact. It is a perfect way to discuss more than their financial needs. Then, of course, we need to stay up-to-date with our environment : regulatory, AML, Mirabaud’s policies, asset allocation changes, …. My job consists in implementing all this on a daily basis. And last but not least, I work in collaboration with our teams of experts on our clients’ projects such as financing, portfolio management, wealth planning, investment sourcing, … My mission is to provide them with a full support to make their projects come true.

What are your clients more interested in at the moment ? What would you advise to someone that comes to you under the current situation of the markets?

Currently and since covid-19 started in March 2020, my clients are very focused on the markets. As markets are very volatile and emotional, some have a very opportunistic approach with a high number of trades; some others are more conservative and prefer to stay cash or liquid until they feel more comfortable. I also have a category of investors who prefer to invest into alternative strategies such as Private Equity. Private Equity is more and more of interest to our clients: the direct involvement of this asset class in the real economy allows for a concrete and measurable impact on our society through the integration of ESG criteria. Mirabaud is well positioned on Private Assets with a range of in-house funds and co-investment opportunities.

My best advice to my clients would be to trust their intuitions, and to select with great care their sources on information. I am there to advise them, with always their best interest in mind, and help them achieve their goals.

Have you seen a change on the profile of your clients? How would you describe your average client?

My feeling is that my clients have not changed. Usually they are entrepreneurs, extremely busy, over-active, and sophisticated financially speaking. My clients don’t have traditional banking needs, they need a banker to help them design solutions thanks also to the many in-house experts I can place around the table.

I have myself worked in various environments prior to banking, and this helps me a lot for being solution driven and attentive to the client’s needs. I feel fortunate to work at Mirabaud, a bank which services clients thanks to over 200 years of private banking experience and provides them with a ‘family office’ approach, with a unique blend of heritage and innovation.

My leitmotiv is : Let’s make it happen!

Which themes or sectors do you think are particularly interesting at the moment?

I particularly like 3 thematics: Ageing of population, climate transition and the digitalization of the  economy. In terms of sectors, my current favorite bets are value and cyclical sectors (banking, industrial, auto, mining and commodities for instance) with attractive valuations and a natural inflation hedge. On top of covid 19 and its collateral consequences, we are now facing economic perturbations due to Russian-Ukrainian war giving us uncertainty and leaving little room for visibility. This has an impact on the assets allocation. A good compromise would be to focus on more defensive sectors such as healthcare in general and pharma in particular. But of course, that is a general outlook, and a good diversification is the safest way to navigate current choppy markets. At Mirabaud we have a bespoke investments management approach. So we adapt permanently to our clients, their preferences and profile.

How would you define yourself in 3 words?

Passionate, creative, caring.

How do you see the role of women in the asset management industry? Has it changed with the years?

I can refer to my personal experience to answer this question. First, being a woman in this industry is clearly a strong asset, although I think we are not enough represented. A woman adds this little something more that frequently makes the difference. Women have shown they can handle both private and professional life very efficiently. They are kind of modern-time wonder women. Also, we see more and more women being in executive committees of large finance companies. Our CEO at Mirabaud, for example, is a woman! This is very inspiring. Performance and abilities matter more than gender. That is something recent and very motivating to me.