insights.

The Brexit saga continues. The downside risks to sterling are materialising at a rapid pace, and have now become our near-term central scenario.

Sustainability is the recurring thread at DYSFUNCTIONAL, an exhibition at The Ca’d’Oro Palace during this year’s Venice Biennale. The sustainability movement is monumental and it affects all spheres, including art and design. Many world-renowned artists took to the stage to raise awareness on the climate crisis in the context of Venice and other pressing sustainability issues. DYSFUNCTIONAL seeks to compel the visitor to rethink their view of the world and art. Discover it for yourself here.

In the light of recent US-China tensions, we have modified our FX views. Close attention is given to the deterioration of the euro and GBP’s instability. We also discuss the ascension of the JPY as one of the main beneficiaries of the latest market events.

As 370 million European voters go to the polls to elect a new Parliament, two mutually exclusive visions for the world’s biggest trading bloc, reform or overturn, are increasingly polarising politics. What are the implications for the European Union?

Lombard Odier is pleased to announce the arrival of Mr. Stephen Kamp as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for private clients.

On May 19th, the Fondation Lombard Odier rewarded six young individuals with the 20th Extraordinary Voyages Prize, allowing them to achieve their dream travel experience and encouraging creative projects and initiatives.

What a week for Donald Trump. His tweets and ongoing trade war with China has resulted in a standoff. We do not expect a resolution by June, due to tensions on both sides, but at least both sides are willing to continue negotiating. Read more on our FX positioning.

As the US escalates trade tensions with China, a face-saving compromise is looking remote. Unless the world’s two largest economies can reach a solution, the trade row looks like the greatest immediate threat to global economic stability.

The earth’s oceans are in peril. Overfishing, oil exploration and other harmful practices have derailed their fragile balance. Now, in order to save our economies and ourselves we must work to preserve our oceans and help them regenerate. Welcome to the Blue Economy.

Patrick Odier, our Senior Managing Partner, looks back at the Lombard Odier’s long history of sustainable thinking. From the 90s to today, discover how our sustainability positioning has grown and developed into leading the bank into becoming a B Corporation.

Our Managing Partner, Frédéric Rochat, talks to Bilan about our DYSFUNCTIONAL exhibition, a collaboration with Carpenters Workshop Gallery, the Venice Biennale and our passion for preserving heritage, art and innovation.

Welcome to DYSFUNCTIONAL. Discover the 22 internationally acclaimed artists’ work inspired by the Ca’d’Oro palazzo. Sustainability plays an important role for this exhibition with pieces calling the visitor’s attention to the issues of rising sea levels and plastic pollution. From a flower made light installation to a 128 interactive mirror exhibit, go through a thought-provoking journey into the artists’ interpretation of nature, innovation, history, time and sustainability. With DYSFUNCTIONAL, we take you to a unique experience into Venice’s finest architecture setting, the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti.

Trade worries ahead? US President Trump’s latest threat to impose new tariffs on China has unsettled markets. In this note, we discuss the potential scenarios and analyse the respective investment implications.

Turkey’s currency reflects its political and economic weaknesses and investors fear that the country’s central bank is running out of reserves to defend the lira. Until Turkey’s central bank recovers some credibility, we see no fundamental argument for exposure to Turkish assets.

Will AI help us create people who are artificially smarter than others? Theoretical neuroscientist and entrepreneur Vivienne Ming believes it’s inevitable, but warns that our use of AI could have unintended consequences.

This April FX Monthly edition introduces our forecasts for Q1 20. We are bullish on the GBP as we expect a “no-deal Brexit” to be averted. Our bearish stance on the US dollar reflects its continued overvaluation, albeit to a lesser extent than previously. We are still cautious on the EURUSD, but risks are now skewed to the upside.

Our “Rethink Everything” campaign is not just a story of communication but embodies what lies at the heart of what we have been doing for 223 years. We, at Lombard Odier, have constantly rethought our place in the market and keep doing so by tackling today’s most challenging world issues. Fabio Mancone, our Chief Branding Officer, explains to Le Temps, how our identity, our history and our ability to adapt are central to what we represent today.

Men dominate the venture capital scene. A recent UK study found that less than one per cent of venture capital goes to businesses founded by women. As the FT’s Alice Ross explains, there's a strong business case for investing in female-founded companies, particularly if you are a woman.

A discussion of the state of philanthropy – and how charities should pay more attention to their investments.

Brexit woes continue as Theresa May struggles to secure a future for Britain and deadlines have come and gone. And Brexit isn’t the only concern in Europe. The global trade outlook is murky with Trump’s ongoing trade war. What’s next for Europe? And what will stimulate growth? Read more from Bill Papadakis, our Macro Strategist and Vasileios Gkionakis, our Global Head of FX Strategy.

Trump’s trade war, muted inflation and slowing US growth, could make many feel we are heading towards a recession. But with the Fed’s dovish decision in March this year, we imagine a scenario of no more hikes, from the Fed, in 2019. Discover the point of view of our Chief Economist, Samy Chaar.

Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd won numerous industry awards at the prestigious WealthBriefing European Awards 2019, held in London this Thursday 11 April. Discover more on the four accolades we were awarded : Best Marketing/PR Campaign, Best Private Bank – Investment Management Platform in both Europe and the UK and our Ultra- High Net Worth Team were highly commended in the UK Private Banking category.

Our online life pollutes the planet. How? Every interaction we have on the web is saved on data servers. The servers overheat and to cool them down, the solutions employed today use an astonishing amount of water and energy. As a consequence, the carbon footprint of data equals that of the aviation industry, 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, solutions exist and entrepreneurs, such as Immersion 4, are taking the lead to develop sustainable products to tremendously decrease our data pollution.

Henrik Henriksson, Scania’s CEO, one of the most prominent heavy-duty trucks and buses manufacturers, joined our Senior Management Conference in Geneva to discuss the importance of shifting to more sustainable business models in order to solve the environmental problems that the transport sector has caused.

Wealth strategies with a focus on sustainable investing greatly appeal to women and they are keen to shift their strategies to be more responsible. The growing wealth of women is driving a change in social and environmental matters. Read more about our event in Zurich that focused in the role of women in building significant sustainable investing opportunities.

Lord Adair Turner, a sustainability champion, shared his vision for how the transition to a low-carbon world can be achieved, at our Senior Management Conference in Geneva. He gave us compelling insights on how the future will develop.

What is at the heart of today’s slowdown? It is not just Brexit. It’s Trump trade war with China that set off a sudden and sharp trade recession. US and China must strike a deal for activity to rebound. In these unprecedented times, we focus on making the most of this “low growth but easy money” context.

Our children’s future depends on our choices. As humans, we might find it hard to think for the long term but it is imperative to act now for the next generations. This is why at Lombard Odier, we go beyond the ESG analysis and use a three-pillar approach to embed sustainability into all our investment decisions.

Will Artificial Intelligence help build a sustainable future? Everything leads to it. However, in order to build a sustainable digital world, social principles mustn’t be forgotten. It is only through maintaining human values that artificial intelligence has the possibility of improving healthcare, infrastructure, banking, medicine and eradicating inequality for all of society.

Can we address climate change and environmental sustainability and leave a future that is cleaner, quieter, safer, more technologically advanced and prosperous than the alternative? The answer is yes, but many mainstream economists have neither understood nor contributed to this process well.

Meat production has increased six fold since the 1950s. As a result, land used to feed the growing population is putting pressure on natural resources such as rivers and forests. Tackling these problems is central to building sustainable companies across all industries.

Dinner is printed: the future of food?

3D food printing could help address some of the biggest challenges facing the food industry, including waste and climate change.

At our inaugural Rethink Investments Summit Asia on 2 April, our thought leaders and experts discussed the macro environment and sustainability with 250 clients, banking partners and their clients from around Asia. The forum covered fixed income, private equity, technology and investment trends.

Record debt levels leave investors trying to spot the next market tipping point. The problem may be quality, not quantity, as monetary policy adjusts to highly indebted, low growth economies.

The first global wealth and asset manager to receive renowned B Corp award.

Would you buy a micro-home? Where traditional housing models are pricing out young professionals, micro-homes could offer affordable, safer and greener options across the world.

While maintaining a bearish medium term view for the US dollar, we have downgraded our EURUSD forecasts for this year.

How is trade shaping markets and our investment strategy? Is market optimism justified? Our Q22019 investment outlook video is out.

The UK is still a long way from escaping its Brexit purgatory. While the European Union’s patience for the UK’s Parliament fades, real risks remain in play.

New developments in artificial intelligence could have important implications for industry, technology, investing and our future.

Researchers are working out how cities can repair themselves. From robotic worms to pothole- patching drones, the goal is to slash maintenance costs that run into billions.

Fabio Mancone talks to COMINMAG.CH magazine and discusses the reasons behind the Firm’s “Rethink Sustainability” campaign and marketing activity. Lombard Odier is rewriting the rules of private banking, by taking a holistic approach to clients. The strategic transformation is expressed through branding and new headquarters.

The European Central Bank’s newest guidance might prove to be a game changer for the EUR. We revise substantially lower our EURUSD forecast for 2019.

Historically trade negotiations were all about opening markets. The US-China trade dispute and Brexit are about shutting down trade. That is having a noticeable impact on flows, and economies.  

An important recognition of our leading digital wealth solutions, Lombard Odier wins prestigious PAM Award.

Surging demand for niche metals is setting off a race to mine the deep seas. Miners say it could diversify supply, but environmentalists fear it will do irreparable damage to the sea floor.

There’s a pharmaceutical goldmine beneath the waves just waiting to be tapped. However, human activity is having a debilitating impact on our potential to prevent, treat and cure everything from inconvenient ailments to the most ruinous maladies of our age. The future of medicine is at stake.

Blockchain is becoming increasingly important, both globally and in Switzerland. The technology is expected to transform the value chain in capital markets and the way participants trade and hold securities. It is crucial for companies to grasp the importance of certain technological advances and anticipate the impact these will have on their business models. And Switzerland and Geneva have a major part to play.

Operating income for 2018 was CHF 1.2 bn, up 6% from a year earlier. This was driven by an increase in client activity across the business, accompanied by solid growth in net new money.

South Africans are expected to elect the ANC to the National Assembly on 8 May, making Cyril Ramaphosa president for the next five years. A structurally weak economy hands Ramaphosa challenges in public spending, land ownership and mining reforms that are key to attracting foreign investment in Africa’s financial centre.