Launch of ISFB x SPHERE training program for GFIs

September 15, 2025

Geneva, September 15 - The Institut Supérieur de Formation Bancaire (ISFB) and SPHERE, The Swiss Financial Arena, have joined forces to develop an innovative training program specifically designed for independent asset managers (IAMs). With this partnership, ISFB and SPHERE intend to establish a structured, recognized curriculum tailored to the specific needs of IAMs, thereby contributing to the professionalization and competitiveness of the sector. This program, entitled GFI ISFB x SPHERE Program "Starting in November, the program will offer short, targeted modules that can be applied directly to day-to-day business.

A logic of complementarity

ISFB, a renowned center of competence for continuing education in banking and finance in French-speaking Switzerland, brings to the partnership its pedagogical expertise, its network of field-based trainers and the certified quality of its programs. SPHERE, a media and events platform serving the Swiss financial center, brings to this initiative its unique ability to mobilize and unite its community of independent asset managers through its publications, digital channels and flagship events, notably the EAM Days.

The GFI ISFB x SPHERE program consists initially of four four-hour modules, covering the key themes that structure the GFI business: law and compliance, cybersecurity and IT, financial products, strategy and business development.

A shared ambition: to professionalize and support GFIs

"We now offer independent asset managers short, targeted training courses that can be immediately applied to their professional reality. This partnership with SPHERE marks a further step in the ISFB's strategy of expanding into the banking and finance markets in French-speaking Switzerland", emphasizes Mathias Baitan, ISFB General Manager.

For SPHERE, this alliance extends its long-standing commitment to independent asset managers. "We are delighted to be moving forward together with the ISFB on the fundamental theme of training. The high quality of its programs in the banking sector, which have become benchmarks, makes it an essential partner. Our ambition is to put this know-how at the service of independent asset managers, whom we have been supporting for almost ten years in the evolution of their profession through our events and publications. With the GFI ISFB x SPHERE Program, we are providing them with an accomplished solution, laying the foundations for future standards, at a time when continuing education has become an essential lever for their development", emphasize Souad Dous and Jérôme Sicard, the founders of SPHERE.

Official launch in autumn 2025

The program will be officially presented at the EAM Days in Geneva on October 7, 2025, with the first pilot module scheduled for November.

Mathias Baitan - ISFB General Manager

Jérôme Sicard and Souad Dous - Founders of SPHERE

Christophe Nicod - ISFB Training Manager