At Guyerzeller Bank, a Zurich based Swiss private bank which is now part of HSBC, we identified Asia outside Japan as the focus of our investment activities. We started managing a number of large equity portfolios under the theme, quality bridge to Asia.

We launched Asia Investment Corporation (AIC) and opened our Hong Kong office.

We established HSZ Group in a management buyout from HSBC Guyerzeller Bank.

We launched China Investment Corporation (CIC) at a time when an increasing number of privately controlled Chinese corporations opened up to institutional investors.

We launched Asia Opportunity Fund (AOF), a long-short equity hedge fund.

Hansrudolf Schmid moved from Zurich to Hong Kong. We upgraded the legal structure of CIC by converting it into HSZ China Fund, a Swiss investment fund.

Ahead of the world financial crisis, we decided to liquidate AIC and AOF each producing considerable gains for many investors.

Our focus has been entirely on HSZ China Fund. China is the economic locomotive of Asia, if not the entire world. Its policy of "controlled release" is key to its progress, and the basis of our strategy to focus on privately controlled companies in the universe of listed Chinese companies.