Why Bankers Go to Basel

Katya Kazakina sets the scene for Art Baselwith this quote from Robert Mnuchin:

• “In the last several years, more art has been bought as an investment than ever before,” said Bob Mnuchin, whose New York gallery is showing a $12 million painting of a gun by Andy Warhol at its booth. “Other assets seem to be less certain to people, so art, which has an international, not national identity, seems like a more comfortable place to be.”

If you’re dealing with assets, you’re going to find bankers milling around. Sure enough, Kazakina speaks to several on why they go to Basel in June:

• “Our clients are here, so we are,” said Deepak Soni, chief executive officer of Zurich-based Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors.
• “You have to be able to offer content,” said Dan Desmond, a private wealth adviser at Morgan Stanley. “No one is going to Basel to have dinner with their banker unless that banker knows about art.”