Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Mizuho Securities Singapore, part of Japan’s Mizuho Securities, the brokerage house of Mizuho Financial Group, has signed a cooperation agreement with Lombard Odier for wealth management services in Asia. The partnership is the first ever by a Japanese securities group with Lombard Odier (Singapore), which is a unit of the Swiss asset manager Lombard Odier Group. The cooperation agreement is the second deal of the prestigious Geneva-based private banking group in Southeast Asia this year after entering Indonesia in April. Lombard Odier has defined the Asia-Pacific region as its key area for future growth.
Wealth management in Asia
“Through the alliance with Lombard Odier in Singapore, with cutting-edge technological wealth management infrastructure provided by Lombard Odier group and broad access to global investment products, Mizuho Securities Singapore will provide our valued clients with more advanced wealth management services than ever,” Mizuho said in a statement.
Mizuho Securities would aim to uncover and meet the diversified and sophisticated wealth management needs of clients in the Asian region including Japan, and will continue to serve as their most trusted wealth management partner, the Japanese asset manager added. Mizuho Financial Group established its Singapore wealth management just three years ago as part of a broader diversification push into Asia.
Logo of Lombard Odier, Geneva
Focus on strategic partnerships
Since 2012, Lombard Odier has entered into a number of “strategic onshore partnerships” to expand its network and client base in the Asia-Pacific region. In December 2014, the Swiss banking group unveiled a partnership with Kasikornbank in Thailand. This was followed by a similar deal with UnionBank in the Philippines in August 2016.
In April this year, Lombard Odier entered into a strategic agreement with Indonesia’s Bank Mandiri. It would “support Bank Mandiri’s efforts to develop its private banking arm, through investment and family services”, the Swiss group said, as Indonesia would be a “really exciting market in terms of onshore wealth management”. Earlier, Indonesia had introduced a major tax amnesty to encourage a repatriation of assets from abroad.
“Three core pillars” in Asia
In addition to these Southeast Asia-focused partnerships, Lombard Odier has also already forged strong alliances with financial firms in mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. In 2017, the wealth manager celebrated 30 years of business in Asia. The expansion of the Swiss group in the region is principally based on “three core pillars”.
These are 1) managing global wealth through its business hubs in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo; 2) entering into partnerships with regional private banks, which offer onshore investment solutions for private clients managed according to the expertise and risk-based models of Lombard Odier; and 3) family services and related wealth planning services.
About Lombard Odier
Lombard Odier, a leading global wealth and asset manager headquartered in Switzerland, was founded in 1796 and offers wealth management services for individuals and corporations. The group employs 2,400 staff and managed around JPY 30 trillion ($ 271bn) in assets at the end of December 2017. Through its extensive global network, it offers clients a range of innovative investment solutions and cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art wealth management solutions which enable clients to easily review their assets from a variety of aspects.
About Mizuho Securities
Mizuho Securities (Singapore) was established in 1985 and has been serving the primary and secondary bond and equities needs of investors and issuers across Asia and the Oceania region, M&A advisory and clearing services for futures. It also launched wealth management services for business owners and high net worth clients domiciled in Singapore from November 2015.
Text: SCCIJ with material of Mizuho Securities and Lombard Odier; Photo: Lombard Odier
