Why don’t you wear a suit? A world where shoes set the tone

The financial world remains one of the last bastions of formal dressing and asset managers can tell a lot by a person’s shoes.

As Michel Schwarz, chief investment officer (CIO) at Corum Vermögensverwaltung, puts it: ‘If somebody’s coming in with dirty shoes all the time and speaking about the billions they have, something is wrong.’

This emphasis on footwear underscores the deep cultural adherence to traditional sartorial standards within asset management, where appearance is closely linked to perceptions of professionalism and trustworthiness.