The banker who once worked for Coutts, the private bank of the Queen, seems not to regret his move to Lombard Odier in 2015. After seven years in charge of the firm's UK office, Duncan MacIntyre can boast of appealing results despite Brexit, Corona, geopolitical uncertainties, and the interest rate turnaround.

Lombard Odier’s U.K business «has succeeded in significantly increasing client assets across its UK business, which have climbed by around 25 percent in the past two and a half years,»  MacIntyre said in an interview with finews.com. 

Positioned for Expansion

MacIntyre is positioning the bank for further expansion, saying «we have also increased the number of bankers by a quarter and would like to double this number over the coming years, which will position us for sustained growth.»

Assets under management are split evenly between on- and offshore, and serve clients from London, Geneva, and Zurich.

His team is not only based in London but also in Geneva and Zurich, the latter becoming «particularly important as a location; we were recently able to hire some key staff here and are seeking further additions to the team,» he said.

Two Camps

In the UK business, the bank positions itself between two emerging camps.

One includes the universal banks that offer the full range of services to high net worth clients, and the other hosts Mayfair boutiques that focus primarily on wealth management for international families. 

«We focus on private banking with the goal of wealth preservation: we offer access to our own investment research for wealth management clients and a leading technology platform, which only a few providers can offer as they need to source their research and IT from other providers. This approach and our deep bench of capability is proving to be very successful for us,» he said.

Breaking Down Barriers

Internally, the manager has also succeeded in breaking down barriers since his arrival at the Geneva-based private bank. 

MacIntyre says Lombard Odier's approach to serving clients from a single source is unique - with the same team serving them for onshore and offshore bookings. Additionally «we have also broken down the internal rivalries and hurdles that often exist in banks' international business. Recently, we have even been able to automatically map the entire cross-border bookings with the bank's own IT. This is particularly important for the UK business, as resident non-domiciled clients in the UK are only taxed on the income they earn there,» he said.

Two Separate Camps

Also clear to Lombard Odier's client advisors is what the private bank stands for in its U.K. business. Indeed, Lombard Odier positions itself between the two industry camps that are increasingly emerging: On the one hand, the universal banks, which offer wealthy clients the full range of services, and the boutiques, such as those found in London's posh Mayfair district. The latter aim at asset management for international families, but have to buy in research and IT externally.

Brexit and Switzerland

He appears somewhat sanguine about the consequences of Brexit which came into effect on February 1, 2020.

«I perceive the consequences of Brexit to be less negative than feared. We are also not seeing a decline in client interest in our business. It turns out that London is very difficult to replace as one of Europe's leading financial centers,» he said. In fact, the City has even benefited as a safe haven for funds from abroad. 

Thanks to Brexit, the British and Swiss financial centers are moving closer together, and «I firmly expect an official agreement to be reached this year,» said MacIntyre, who sits on the British equivalent of the Swiss Bankers Association.