Team

Advisory Committee / Board of Directors

Mario Almer

Function

Member of the Advisory Committee / Chairman of the Board of Directors

Education

lic. oec. HSG

Professional Experience

  • In his current role at IFS AG, Mario Almer is responsible for advising and supporting institutional investors as well as the conceptional development of investment themes.
  • Prior to that and for about eight years, Mario was Head Investment Consulting/Controlling & Client Relations, Member of the Management Board and investment consultant with Complementa where he covered pension funds, foundations and family offices in Switzerland and neighboring countries. Mario also previously acted as manager and project manager with Credit Suisse and various consulting firms.
  • Mario has been active for more than 15 years in the finance industry.

Daniel Franc

Function

Member of the Advisory Committee / Member of the Board of Directors

Education

Eidg. Dipl. Finanzanalytiker & Vermögensverwalter / CEFA

Professional Experience

  • Daniel Franc has a thorough understanding of financial markets, portfolio management, trading and structured products. He has been active in the finance industry for more than 20 years, with positions such as Managing Partner, Head of Trading, Deputy Head of Structured Products as well as Senior Global Macro Portfolio Manager amongst others.
  • He was also a trader and portfolio manager for different investment mandates with a focus on equity, commodities, warrants and derivatives, all on a long-only or arbitrage basis.
  • Daniel was employed with investment boutiques (RMF and Horizon 21) as well as banks (Credit Suisse First Boston, Nomura and Clariden Leu) in Switzerland and London. At the beginning of 2014, he joined Vicenda Asset Management as a Managing Partner and is currently a member of the Management Board with a specific responsibility for Asset Management of Private Debt and Secured Lending.

Mike Imam

Function

Member of the Advisory Committee 

Education

PhD thesis in Economics, Master’s degree in International Affairs (lic. rer. publ. hsg), University of St. Gallen

Professional Experience

Originally a co-founder, Mike now functions as CEO and Managing Partner of Silverhorn.

Prior to starting Silverhorn, Mike had an extensive background in banking and asset management, most recently as Director for Schroders Asset Management where he headed up their wealth management distribution in Asia and developed the business through private banks.

Mike has worked in the sector in Asia since the late 90s.

Reto Garzetti

Function

Member of the Advisory Committee 

Education

lic.oec. publ. / MBA University of Zurich

Professional Experience

Reto Garzetti is co-founder and managing director of Swiss Equities AG.
 
He has over 30 years of experience in real estate development, restructuring, real estate management and real estate financing.

In addition to his expertise in the main real estate and supply industry, Reto Garzetti has many years of experience as an internationally active manager in the mechanical engineering, medical technology and pharmaceutical industries.

Reto Garzetti is a member of numerous supervisory and control boards in Switzerland and abroad.

Investment Committee & Portfolio Management

Heinz Zimmermann

Function

Member of the Investment Commitee

Education

AZEK/CIIA & MAS PK Management

Professional Experience
  • Heinz Zimmermann joined IFS AG in 2004, and held a number of different positions during this time. In 2011, he was appointed to CIO, COO and Deputy CEO.
  • Prior to that, he lead the Portfolio Management unit, a function that he also held in previous private banks.
  • Heinz started his career with one of the larger Cantonal Banks, for which he covered domestic and international corporate credits as well a loan syndication.
  • He has been active for more than 25 years in the finance industry.

Simon Tschupp

Function

Member of the Investment Commitee

Education

HF Banking & Finance, CFA Level II candidate

Professional Experience
  • Simon Tschupp is a Portfolio Manager with IFS AG and shares co-responsibility for investment strategies and the management of discretionary mandates.
  • Simon started his career with Rahn & Bodmer Bankquiers and then joined the Wealth Management unit of Reichmuth & Co Privatbankiers. In his prior role, Simon was with Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank.
  • Simon has been active in the field of Portfolio Management for several years. Simon completed his studies at HFBF in Banking & Finance and is a CFA Level II candidate.

Patrik Jäger

Function

Member of the Investment Commitee

Education

lic.oec.HSG, CFA

Professional Experience
  • Patrik Jäger is in charge of the Asset Management unit at IFS AG. In his prior role, he was a fund manager and financial analyst with BZ Bank.
  • Patrik started his career in Equity Capital Markets with WestLB. Patrik studied economics at University St.Gallen and also holds a CFA Chartered Financial Analyst degree.

Mischa Kocsis

Function

Investment Manager Real Estate Debt

Education

Dipl. Immobilientreuhänder / Dipl. Betriebswirtschafter HF

Professional Experience

Mischa Kocsis, Investment Manager Real Estate Debt, is responsible for the individual financing of real estate projects.

Previously, he was at Empira Group responsible for the Real Estate Debt for the German-speaking region for various investment funds. He is well experienced in equity and debt financing of various real estate classes from land banking to project development.

Mischa Kocsis is a certified real estate trustee with 15 years of experience in the financial industry where he worked for large banks in Switzerland and independent financial advisory firms.

Nina Grahovac

Function

Investment Manager Real Estate Debt

Education

Bachelor degree in Banking & Finance

Professional Experience

Nina Grahovac is a manager in IFS's Real Estate team, responsible for the financing of investment properties and has extensive expertise in real estate finance and property valuation

Origination & Structuring / External Advisor

Roman Zulauf

FUNCTION

Origination & Structuring

EDUCATION

Bachelor and Master in Banking and Finance at the University of St. Gallen

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Roman Zulauf is part of the Origination team at Vicenda. His responsibilities include deal sourcing, structuring and placement of non-listed credit investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Vicenda, he worked as a global macro portfolio manager at Magma Capital and as an analyst in physical commodity trading at Trafigura Beheer BV. He gained further experience in asset management and trading at Morgan Stanley, Wiliam Blair and Merrill Lynch.

Herbert Michel

Function

External Investment Adivsor

Education

Business Economist

Professional Experience

Herbert Michel has been Managing Director of MIAG Mutschler Immobilien AG, Zurich, since 1999, specializing in real estate development in the residential, office and retail sectors as well as structuring and closing equity and debt financing transactions in Switzerland and the USA. At the same time, he is Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of the subsidiary Premium Property, USA Inc, Wyoming.

Previously, he worked for many years as a director and deputy managing director of the US real estate department for the listed Intershop Holding AG Zurich. 

Prior to that, he spent ten years in the U.S. in management positions at Bank of America in the areas of investment banking and private equity, as well as on the board of directors of NYSE-listed investment funds. 

Herbert Michel has many years of experience in setting up and managing real estate companies in Switzerland and the United States.

In addition, he advises various board memberships and advisory mandates in Switzerland and abroad.