What’s the largest Swiss family office by AUM?

According to the research of our experienced familyofficehub.io team, B-FLEXION and further investment vehicles of Ernesto Bertarelli and his family are the largest family office in Switzerland, with assets under management over €10bn. The family sold its biopharmaceutical firm Serono in a $13bn sale to Merck KGaA in 2007, which served as foundation for establishing the B-FLEXION family office.

How does the Bertarelli family invest?

Founded by Ernesto Bertarelli, B-FLEXION operates as a multifaceted investment firm with offices in Europe and the United States, supporting a combination of principal investments and partnerships across diverse sectors. The group’s activities span life sciences, financial markets, technology, real estate, and infrastructure. Healthcare remains a central focus, with targeted investments in diagnostics, biopharma, and medical services through subsidiaries such as B-FLEXION Life Sciences and Gurnet Point Capital. In financial markets, the family is active via Kedge Capital, which specializes in hedge funds and private equity, as well as through Longview Partners and Capital Four, firms focused on global equities and European credit strategies respectively. Real estate investments are pursued through Crosstree Real Estate Partners in the UK and Roxbury in Switzerland, while infrastructure exposure is maintained via Vantage Infrastructure. In the technology sector, Forestay Capital—a venture fund backed by B-FLEXION—invests in enterprise software and AI-driven firms, and recently closed a second fund of $220 million. The family also supports early-stage consumer ventures with sustainability angles, such as the plant-based food chain Neat Burger.

Alternative candidates for the Swiss family office ranking by AUM

For the creation of this article, our team also analyzed alternative Swiss billionaires and their family offices. The Aponte family – known for owning the major shipping company MSC – is worth dozens of billions of dollars. However, there is no known dedicated family office entity. While Swiss billionaire Ivan Glasenberg operates his own family office too, it remains a low-profile and is likely to be smaller than the Bertarelli investment vehicle. However, it has to be noted that Glasenberg is an active investor. For instance, in 2023, the family office acquired bicycle producer Pinarello in a €200M deal. The affluent Martullo-Blocher family has the majority of their wealth allocated in the chemical company EMS and does not have a dedicated family office. Probably the second-largest, active, and large-scale Swiss single-family office is Spectrum Value Management Ltd., the single-family office of Thomas Schmidheiny and his family. Overall, the familyofficehub.io team notes that there is a growing number of key family offices in Switzerland, which we closely track.

Picture Source: Ilia Bronskiy, Unsplash+ (16.05.2025)