The question of where wealth comes from is among the most sensitive in dealing with wealthy families — and among the most important. Source of wealth does not ask about a single transfer but about the history of the entire wealth: how did it arise, and does that story fit what exists today?
Difference from source of funds
The sister question is source of funds: where do the specific funds now being deposited or moved come from? An entrepreneur may have plausible total wealth from a company sale, and yet a particular deposit may come from an account that does not fit that story. The two questions complement each other; neither replaces the other.
Typical sources
Entrepreneurial activity and company sales, inheritances and gifts, employment income from senior positions, returns and capital gains from investments, real estate, and in individual cases lottery winnings or compensation payments. Family wealth usually has several sources across generations. The file should tell this story in a few clear sentences and state for each material source what the statement rests on.
Useful evidence
For a company sale, a share purchase agreement or a public announcement. For an inheritance, a certificate of inheritance or an estate division agreement. For employment income, a tax return or salary statement. For entrepreneurship, a commercial register extract and annual accounts. Public sources such as media reports or company registers can complement this. The goal is plausibility, not a complete archive of the last fifty years.
When plausibility is not enough
For relationships with higher risks, the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act requires additional enquiries (Art. 6). Relationships with foreign politically exposed persons are always considered higher risk. Here the client’s narrative is not enough; the material statements must be documented, and the assessment belongs with a responsible function. That is the core of enhanced due diligence.
Non-bankable wealth
The review is especially demanding when much of the wealth sits in non-bankable assets — real estate, direct participations, art. Here not only the origin but even the size is harder to evidence, because no bank provides a statement. A traceable valuation with date and method then becomes part of the answer.