House No. 02 · Merchant Banking & Private Capital
Assaf Finance is the Group's merchant bank. It invests the family's own balance sheet alongside a small number of outside families, buys private companies to hold rather than to flip, lends where a bank's model cannot see the borrower, and manages the private wealth of clients it expects to serve across generations.
Practices
The house does not operate funds with fixed lives. Every commitment is made from permanent capital, which means we are never a forced seller and never obliged to deploy by a date. Clients are told at the outset which of their money we are investing beside.
Control and significant‑minority stakes in profitable, founder‑led businesses in industrials, logistics, healthcare services and speciality manufacturing. We do not run auctions, do not use covenant‑heavy structures, and have never sold a controlling stake we acquired outright.
Discretionary and advisory mandates for families, foundations and principals of the Group's own houses. Fees are flat and disclosed in francs, not basis points. We hold no proprietary product and earn nothing from the instruments we select.
Senior secured lending to mid‑market operators that banks price by category rather than by knowledge — trade finance, asset‑backed working capital and acquisition debt. Every loan is originated, underwritten and held to maturity by the same team.
Custody, multi‑currency accounts, payments and treasury management for the Group's eleven houses and for wealth clients who prefer their banking and their advice under one roof. Deposits are held against a reserve ratio well above the regulatory floor.
Allocation
Consolidated position at 31 December 2025, across the house's own balance sheet and discretionary client mandates. Cash is deliberately heavy: it is the only asset that buys the others when they are cheap.
Audited consolidated position · 31 December 2025 · CHF billions
Approach
These are not marketing positions. Each is written into the house's charter and can only be amended by unanimous consent of the Trustees of the Assaf Family Trust.
i.
The house commits its own capital to every strategy it offers, at no better terms than the client receives. Where we will not put our own money, we do not offer the mandate.
ii.
No performance fees, no placement fees, no retrocessions, no spread on execution. The annual fee is a number the client can read on a single line, agreed before any capital moves.
iii.
Permanent capital means no fund life, no gate and no forced exit. A holding is sold when selling is right for the asset, not when a vintage reaches its tenth year.
The bank that must sell in March is not managing money. It is managing a calendar.
Contact
New wealth mandates are accepted by introduction or direct approach, and begin with a meeting in Zurich or Geneva at which nothing is signed. Company owners considering a sale, and borrowers seeking committed credit, should write to the desks below.
Assaf Finance AG, Zurich, regulated by FINMA. A wholly owned house of Assaf Industries. This page is information about the house and its practices; it is not an offer, a solicitation, or personalised financial advice. Capital at risk.
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