Cape's Client Support Assistant Kristijan Roskovic shares his evolution from brick-laying to the world of wealth management.
Working in finance is completely different to being on a construction site: as a bricklayer you definitely don’t need to go to the gym. On a more serious note, no-one is born a finance expert. Everyone has their story, and mine began growing up in the small Swiss village of Seon. My uncle had his own construction company, and I was always impressed by the honesty of hard work and seeing real results at the end of each day. Having tried an office job for a week and construction for a week, I decided that I liked working with my hands and being outside. Even then – and it’s still true now – I couldn’t imagine spending nine hours at a time in front of a computer screen. I have too much energy for that.
I did three years of training in the family bricklaying business, then worked in the industry full time for another two years, until 2021. There were just six of us building houses and we did everything apart from the electrics. I learnt so many transferrable skills: precision and perfection in tasks, teamwork, problem-solving and how to cope with deadlines and pressure. I loved the work because you start from scratch and at the end of the month, it was really satisfying to see tangible progress towards completing a house. What I did miss though, was the chance to meet new people.
It’s funny because my boss had planned to train me up to the next level in the company but first, I had to do 18 weeks of military service. I didn’t really like my time in the army but while I was there, I realised that I didn’t want to go back to the construction site. I had a growing sense of wanting something more, and to break the pattern of being a family of bricklayers. So, I quit. I had to quite quickly decide what to do next and I came across Minerva Zurich, a vocational college for people like me who want to take a different path. It’s expensive and of course, there is no guarantee of being able to get a job at the end of it, but I thought: let’s take the risk.
I began studying for my business diploma, and doing an internship was part of the course. When a friend of mine told me about the internships that Cape Capital offer, my first thought was that I know absolutely nothing about finance. Still, I decided to give it a try. The one-year programme aims to broaden horizons for non-traditional candidates, and I found so many other people here with their own stories to tell. I started alongside two others in 2022 and after three months I had a job offer – which I only realise now is very rare. From the beginning, everything just clicked; the vibe was on point, and everyone was super supportive. I felt like I could really be myself.
For me, there’s a lot of value in a company employing people from different backgrounds. You can learn so much from others that way.
As well as learning computer skills, one of the biggest challenges was adapting to being more formal in my clothes and learning how to speak to clients in the right way. Day-to-day, I learnt the basics of client support in wealth management, handling real tasks like client queries, IT, and operational workflows. I was also lucky because from almost the second or third week, Bobby, my mentor and the Head of Operations, trusted me to visit clients in Lausanne and Gstaad, and showed me the ropes. I think I impressed him by always trying to go the extra mile, such as in my preparation for meetings. Then he said he needed an extra person and offered me a position, starting once I finished my diploma in 2022. I think it was a perfect match for both of us.
In my client support role, I am a reliable hands-on resource for our customers – both in business-related and personal matters. What I love about the job is meeting the kinds of interesting people who I would never come across otherwise. It’s a completely different world; I’m broadening my horizons and, at the same time, I am studying for a business degree. The work culture is also incomparable to the early morning starts on a construction site and I find the work-life balance much better suited to me.
For me, there’s a lot of value in a company employing people from different backgrounds. You can learn so much from others that way. If everyone had the same background, training and skill-set, it would be boring. Cape is very inclusive and now, when new interns arrive, I tell them my story which I hope inspires them. If I was giving advice to someone thinking of starting out in the financial world, I would say that you don’t need to follow the expected path. Opportunities spread like ripples and are always there to be found: you just need to be brave and take them. And believe in yourself.
Kristijan Roskovic
Client Support Assistant, Cape Capital
Cape Capital