Leonteq's stand-in boss Marco Amato is revving up his ambitions for the Swiss derivatives boutique. In an exclusive interview he tells finews.asia why investing in Asia is a priority, and what the firm has learned from painful lessons.
Marco Amato, you came into the job with a laundry list of priorities. Where does Asia figure?
It’s definitely one of our highest priority action points because it’s an area where we still have great potential. We’re keen to invest in Asia, and also we are working on onboarding a new banking partner allowing us to offer local credit risk for clients in Asia.
New partnerships haven’t always panned out for you in the past.
We’ve definitely shifted from the element of quantity to one of qualitative development: I’d prefer to have 6 to 8 larger partners with an integrated set-up rather than 30, half of which having considerable limitations in terms of available pay-offs and countries where products can be distributed.
How is your partnership with Credit Agricole going?
It’s also a focus area for us this year. Since the go-live at the beginning of last year, we’ve extended the scope of the partnership with Credit Agricole Corporate Investment Bank. Originally the cooperation focused on making our platform available for its own distribution.
«We’re in ongoing discussions with a pipeline of other partners»
Now, we’re allowed to distribute their products in certain markets, so that’s another area where we need to continue investing in 2018.
Who else are you talking partnerships with?
We’re in ongoing discussions with a pipeline of other partners, but our first priority is Asia.
Leonteq has also had a bumpy ride bringing new partners online.
In the past years, we’ve gained a lot of experience and learned a lot of lessons. We know exactly where the pain points are now when we enter new relationships, and which questions to ask before we start cooperating.
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