Work Overview
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The Reversed Model
VERSO: rethinking alternative asset management and building
the world's most daring Merchant Banking Platform
What Makes Us Special
A Firm Unlike Any Other
We invest. We advise. We execute.
Introduction
Long in the making, VERSO's reputation has been built in sweat, trust and performance. Behind the day-to-day work of its international partners and its daring investment proposition to its sophisticated clients, VERSO is first and foremost a name, a brand, a reputation.
Let us share what makes VERSO, the deeply felt making of a reputation.
The Reversed Model.
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As managing partner at VERSO, I regularly get asked about our brandname, VERSO. A little bit of background and a short introduction of our Reversed Model. The definition of verso in the latin dictionary tells you about what felt so immediately relevant when we thought about it back in late 2017.
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verso (n.) "reverse, back, or other side of some object," especially a printed page or book, 1839, from Latin verso (folio), ablative singular neuter of versus, past participle of vertere "to turn" ("to turn, bend").
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Hidden behind this ancient root, VERSO symbolizes the reversed side of our business. At VERSO, we are mandated by our UHNW clients and their families to manage their investment strategies and operations. The "recto" model was that of 300-year old Swiss Private Banking. After years as a Private Banker at EFG Bank, currently acting as managing partner at VERSO, I felt the importance of accompanying his private clients, not only on their liquid assets but also on their real assets. Private Banking certainly fails to capture the essence of wealth by sheltering itself from what constitutes the evident and most sizeable contribution to a UHNW client's total wealth.
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VERSO focuses on 100% of its clients' wealth and structures, not limiting itself in scope and in the essential mission. Our team works day and night with our clients and we get actively involved in some of the most exciting opportunities our clients lead: in their real estate restructuring, in their corporate groups and their M&A events, in their desire to explore new technologies through venture capital opportunities.
A Business. A Family.
It certainly took me a long time to realize a fundamental concept, intrinsically part of the intended design and functioning of VERSO. We are Family. We are a business run by partners who work hard for their Family.
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When I started VERSO back in late 2017, my overwhelming intensity and dedication hurt my family in ways I could not understand at the time. The lack of free time for family, the regular sleep depravation and, in a world that did not know COVID-19, the constant flying around the world certainly did not help my case. My story is nothing bizarre or rare; I let work take over my entire life and create a terrible, irreversible void in my home. It is said that one may find the light in the darkest hours.
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VERSO is truly about Family. It would not exist without the initial sacrifice I made. I dare say it and recognize it, certainly with a feeling of sadness and shame - while I today represent
we are Family and we as VERSO should pledge to always protect our Family. The initial hardship guided VERSO to stride away from obstacles and from the fear of failure.
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At this point, it would not surprise anyone to learn that VERSO is organize around its proprietary Partner Model, which includes the issuance of lifelong shares for its Partners (read "equity partners", not simply "people working together") and the built-in mechanism for inter-generational protection (read whatever happens, the partner's family is automatically entitled to the same status and protection) - perpetually.
Proprietary Human Capital Model.
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When back in late 2017, I found myself thinking about getting help, I took a step away from the so-standard model of employment. I ABSOLUTELY did not want to build up a team of employees, stratas of junior to senior people, in their respective functions and departments. So I didnt.
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The VERSO Human Capital Model was born out of the desire to focus on our clients and on optimizing our time for the things we love to do and for the people we care about. That meant several daring initiatives (again, COVID-19 at the time was not part of our daily consideration):
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(a) no employees, instead only have a team made of senior, seasoned equity partners
(b) no obligations, instead work with commitment
(c) no schedule, instead freedom to operate
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Our Human Capital Model triggers a very special mix: it gathers self-motivated, highly capable and resourceful individuals who realized there was so much value in their own skills and knowledge. In addition, the same individuals tend to continue to increase their value by developing new skills, training themselves in new areas and grow their trusted network made of qualitative relationships over decades. Each and every equity partner brings exponential value to VERSO; unlike an employee who tends to create a more linear, increasing or decreasing contribution to a company with a more classic model.
In other words, at VERSO, an equity partner does not need to engage in politics to climb up the ladder. There is NO ladder. There is NO politics. The only HR principle engraved in our marble is caring about what we do and place Loyalty, Resilience and Execution, our three corporate values at the heart of it all.
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Technology as N+1.
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You certainly heard about Software as a Service. At VERSO, we consider Software as a Team Mate or an additional member of our group. Our most daring goal yet this year is the development of CONCLUDER, our proprietary deal-management platform - a solid pack of code that will cleverly use automation to provide a supportive solution to each equity partner and our clients. Every minute we save on easily-duplicable or replicable tasks can be shift back to the people we care about and the actions that deliver the most value to our mission.
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Conclusion.
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This piece publicly presents VERSO in an unprecedented way. VERSO is the collection of several innovations: its Reversed Model, its Partnership Model, its Human Capital Model and CONCLUDER. VERSO is committed to its mission and its vision for better financial professional management. The building of our brand is inevitably tied to every single brick that comes to make us a solid wall.