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«You can’t join Lombard Odier without knowing what the bank stands for,» Vincent Magnenat tells finews.asia in his first interview as the new CEO in Asia of an institution that has weathered 40 crises.

Vincent Magnenat, you have been in Asia for 16 years now and joined Swiss bank Lombard Odier in 2012. How has the firm changed since then?

I would call it more of an evolution due to the changes in the market. When Lombard Odier expanded from Switzerland to Asia over 30 years ago, to Hong Kong, it was simply to provide investment knowledge of the markets in Asia to its customers – who were at that time mainly in Europe.

And today?

A big change started about 15 years ago, when clients in Asia began to diversify their newly acquired wealth and seek offshore solutions in the region. Before, this had not been possible. So it became important for international banks to offer a value proposition, because this is the only way to keep these customers. Proximity to clients has always been a key point for us.

«Lombard Odier has never stood still or stopped changing for 222 years»

In fact, Lombard Odier has never stood still or stopped changing for 222 years. As a wealth manager, it has grown stronger through 40 financial crises by constantly re-evaluating and re-thinking the world around us.

Where does Lombard Odier stand nowadays in Asia?

About five years ago, we decided to focus our business. Today we have four main areas of focus in the region; managing global wealth through our business hubs in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo; partnerships with regional private banks; family services and related wealth planning services; and managing non-deposit accounts.

In our locations in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, we have roughly 140 employees representing over 20 nationalities. Our largest presence is in Singapore, where we have roughly 70 staff and a merchant banking licence, whereas our Hong Kong presence is based on our asset management licence.

«We have built a series of strategic alliances across Asia Pacific»

In the past few years we have registered double-digit growth in terms of assets under management year on year – Asia is one of our fastest-growing regions. Nevertheless, today to have critical mass is less about AuM and more about whether you have the right value proposition.

What does that mean for your client relationships?

We are here to help entrepreneurs, families and private individuals preserve, grow and transmit their assets over time. That has been the sole purpose of Lombard Odier, which was founded 222 years ago.

In reality, this is less about how much money our clients want to make and more about understanding how much they are willing to risk losing. It is our belief that this is the only way to manage client assets properly.

Lombard Odier has partnered with various local banks in the region recently. What is the logic behind it?

In Asia, more than 80 percent of wealthy peoples' assets are managed by the region’s local banks. As such, we have built a series of strategic alliances across Asia Pacific, and more recently in Southeast Asia, aimed at supporting efforts by local players across the region to develop strong private banking businesses, as changing regulations ramp up a shift to keep assets onshore.