insights.

“The World Bank estimates that intangible capital may make up between 60% and 80% of total wealth in most developed countries. Ignoring this immense source of wellbeing is to act blindly”, states Dimitri Zenghelis, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute, LSE. We cannot measure the wealth of a nation based only on its annual income, we need to look at natural and social capital.

Unless tensions in the Gulf between the US and Iran can be quickly defused, the situation is compounding existing trade risks to the global economy. All eyes are now on the G20 and OPEC meetings ahead.

We held a round table debate on the merits of B Corp certification. Why do firms do it? Does it help their business? At Lombard Odier, we are proud of our B Corp certification and to be a part of the corporate sustainability revolution.

The odds of the Fed moving closer to an easing cycle have increased. What does it mean for the US dollar and other major currencies? We expect a gradual EURUSD appreciation, maintain a constructive view on the yen and substantially revise our forecasts for GBP. Read more in our June 2019 FX Monthly.

As vacations draw nearer, we should seriously consider opting for sustainable fashion. The fashion industry has a dark side that contributes up to 8 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is why some eco-conscious entrepreneurs have decided to shake things up and rethink the industry. From bags made with pineapple leaves to sustainable swimwear, we met Allure Sauvage and Julienne, two Swiss entrepreneurs committed to developing sustainable fashion.

Conventional methods of catering to basic human needs such as housing and clothing will have to be reimagined and new sustainable materials, often from unexpected sources, are promising to make a dent in the challenges facing humanity. Find out more here on how sargassum, a seaweed most likely found on the beach, hemp, mineral wool derived from volcanic rock, pineapple leaves and recycled plastic might well be the new norm in these industries.

Nobel Prize Winner, Jean Tirole, discussed solutions to market failure and carbon pricing at our LO Generation Summit, held in Venice. Concrete answers to global warming, carbon emissions and rising inequality were debated amongst prominent thought leaders.

Germany, Switzerland, two export-dependent economies with varying fortunes. While Germany’s economy has come close to recession, despite a weak euro and needs concerted investment in the country’s infrastructure, Switzerland’s exporters have proven resilient and adapted to a strong franc.

At the Venice Biennale 2019, sustainability plays an important role as many artists took to their craft to comment on the state of the world. The Nordic pavilion depicts human negligence towards other species, Anthony Hernandez points out the obsessive over-consumption that is plaguing our society and Jimmy Durham displays the drastic near extinction of our ecosystem. It's time for a change. More here.

Global trade disruption, escalating as the US applies more tariffs, remains the single greatest threat to the world economy. It increasingly looks like the wrong weapon and the wrong target.

The European Central Bank has started to acknowledge the adverse impact of negative interest rates on banks. Can the eurozone’s monetary authority implement more easing policies at this stage? In our view, the ECB will most likely focus on TLTROs and a tiered reserve system.

On World Environment Day, our Head of Corporate Sustainability Bertrand Gacon, discusses how we should rethink our consumption and production models. From eliminating waste to eco-design, he explains how consumers and businesses can stand to benefit and help protect our planet for the future. Read his thought leadership piece here.

Faced with a choice between backtracking on election pledges and further destabilising Italy’s coalition government or a fight with the European Commission over budget deficits, the Italian government looks set for confrontation with the eurozone’s guardians.

While investors might be concerned about prospects for a yuan devaluation, we believe that the bar is set high for such a move. Opting for the currency stability seems like a more plausible scenario for China. Find out why in our latest investment strategy bulletin.

Why Lombard Odier is sponsoring the ground-breaking UK life sciences sector.

What do the EU elections mean for markets? In our latest investment strategy video, we analyse the outcome and shed light on the next risk events, Brexit and US-China trade tensions.

We hosted our inaugural LO Generations Summit where thought leaders were invited to find concrete solutions to conquer the climate crisis. Nicholas Flanders talked about converting CO2 into valuable produce, architect Alfredo Brillembourg builds cities for communities and David Rosenberg takes vertical farming to the next level. Read more here.

The European elections took place but the fear of a wave of “populist” parties emerging, in a way that would alter the path of European politics, has failed to materialise. The results suggest that the EU two party majority might have been broken and anti-establishment parties did make gains but were quite limited. Read the full article here here.

Three emerging democracies, India, Indonesia and South Africa, have returned incumbent leaders to office, delivering opportunities for reforms. Once the geopolitics between the US and China are resolved, we believe that there will be opportunities for investors to re-build positions in emerging market assets.

Designer Mathieu Lehanneur explores our relationship with the natural world and the ocean in his work for his exhibit for DYSFUNCTIONAL, at the Ca’ d’Oro Palazzo, unveiled during the Venice Biennale 2019.

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.