'At ordinary banks, personal attention is increasingly disappearing'

Eand build personal relationships with clients. That is the beauty of the wealth management profession, thinks Marian Dessing, managing director of InsingerGilissen on Alexanderstraat. "We listen, think along and help make financial goals come true.

Marian Dessing, the new managing director of InsingerGilissen, together with her predecessor Jelmer Siersema.

On a driveway lined with lush greenery lies the stately, pearly white office villa of InsingerGilissen. In days gone by, Queen Emma used to drive here in her carriage to do banking at the predecessor of today's bank.

Asset manager InsingerGilissen

The villa is without doubt the most beautiful office building of asset manager InsingerGilissen in the Netherlands, argues Jelmer Siersema, Marian's predecessor, who is also at the interview. The property - which the bank moved into in 2015 - suits the clients, Marian believes. "This just belongs here." One of her intentions is to do more with the atmospheric building. To organise networking evenings there with talks and music. "So people can get to know us in an informal way."

Marian and Jelmer do the interview for this magazine as last year together, only now the roles are exactly reversed. Back then, Marian was Client Advisor and Jelmer Director of InsingerGilissen's The Hague branch. In conversation, they complement each other fluidly; they always seem to be in complete agreement. "That's also true," says Marian. "That's how we work here, very much together."

The Hague

Marian was working at headquarters in Amsterdam until corona broke out in 2020. The pandemic brought her to The Hague, which Jelmer said was "a gift at the right time". A good collaboration developed between them and soon Jelmer, who had been toying with the idea of stepping down for some time, realised that Marian would fit in perfectly in The Hague.

The villa is without doubt the most beautiful office building of asset manager InsingerGilissen in the Netherlands.

Jelmer: "Someone else might not be so quick to give up their position, but I saw that it had benefits for everyone." He can now fully focus on his clients in the last years before retirement, where his heart lies. "Those clients I already had and then they stay with you. As a director, I had to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time."

Marian did not have those regular customers and can fully focus on her role as director. "I really want to be there for our customers and the team, to be there for them," she said.

Professional partner

InsingerGilissen focuses on individuals, companies and foundations or associations with assets who are looking for a professional partner in managing their assets. Marian: "The core of our services is the investment of assets, but in addition, InsingerGilissen's clients can also go for financing, financial/estate planning, outsourcing financial administration and guardianship or execution." The company wants to be the bank "that stays involved in a family for generations".

Jelmer: "And if we do that well, at some point we may sit at the kitchen table with the customer."

Marian Dessing knew from an early age that she wanted to become a financial adviser. Two years ago, she came to InsingerGilissen. It felt like a warm bath right away. Previously, she worked as a private banker at one of the big banks. "There, that personal attention is disappearing more and more," she says.

Jelmer Siersema: "Here we conduct private banking as it was once intended."

www.insingergilissen.nl