SKN | Mosaik Capital Expands Virtual Family Office with Top Private Banking Hire

Mosaik Capital, a Zurich-based wealth advisor known for extreme discretion, is expanding its leadership team with the appointment of Felix Oeschger. This move signals a growing trend among ultra-high-net-worth individuals who are increasingly seeking independent, strategic oversight rather than traditional banking relationships.

Defining the Virtual Family Office

Mosaik Capital operates on a “Virtual Family Office” model, a concept that is distinct from a traditional private bank. Instead of functioning as a custodian that holds a deposit or manages a standard checking account, Mosaik acts as a strategic service provider. They offer an “investment office as a service,” meaning they oversee the architecture of a family’s wealth without selling proprietary products. Founder Thomas Herrmann and new addition Felix Oeschger liken their role to sports coaches: they do not play on the field, but they guide the “club owners” (the families) to ensure the game is played correctly by the various banks and asset managers involved.

Unbiased Strategy for Wealthy Families

For clients, this model offers a distinct advantage: the elimination of conflicts of interest. Traditional wealth managers often face pressure to distribute specific financial products. Mosaik, however, is paid directly for advisory services, ensuring that their guidance on asset allocation is neutral. Whether a family is navigating a complex mortgage for real estate holdings or structuring commercial loans in a volatile interest rate environment, the firm sits exclusively on the client’s side of the table. This approach allows them to select the best specialists from the open market to create a “tailor-made investment mosaic,” prioritizing performance and fit over institutional loyalty.

Disrupting the Traditional Banking Model

The growth of firms like Mosaik Capital presents a structural challenge to the traditional banking sector. As wealthy clients migrate toward independent “gatekeepers,” banks are increasingly relegated to the role of utility providers—handling custody, execution, and credit rather than advisory. This shift is accelerated by digital banking innovations, which allow independent advisors to easily aggregate and monitor assets across multiple institutions.

Consequently, traditional banks must compete harder on pricing and execution quality, as they can no longer rely on the “stickiness” of an advisory relationship to retain assets. This dynamic creates a more competitive ecosystem where banks must pitch their services to sophisticated intermediaries like Oeschger, who previously served on the board of the Single Family Office Association, rather than selling directly to the end client.

The expansion of Mosaik Capital highlights a maturation in the Swiss wealth management sector. It underscores a definitive shift away from the “one-stop-shop” banking model toward a specialized ecosystem where independence, transparency, and strategic oversight are the primary drivers of value.

Closing Insights:

• Economic Insight: The “Virtual Family Office” model lowers the entry barrier for professional wealth structuring, making institutional-grade oversight accessible to families with $50M-$200M who previously couldn’t afford a dedicated single family office.

• Professional Tip: For high-net-worth individuals, separating the “strategic advisor” from the “custodian bank” serves as a crucial risk management tool, preventing institutional lock-in and ensuring fee transparency.

• Broker Perspective: As independent advisors gain market share, brokers and banks must pivot their sales strategies to build relationships with these professional “gatekeepers” rather than solely targeting the asset owners directly.