Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie Dubai UAE

According to the Family Enterprise Institute, family business firms make up two-thirds of total businesses around the globe. It is also a fact that most family businesses do not survive the third generation of ownership: according to John L. Ward, one of the world's leading authorities on family business governance, 12% of such businesses will still be viable into the third generation, with 3% of all family businesses operating at the fourth generation and beyond.

As a family business with over two centuries of experience, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch understands and shares the values that guide all family-owned business entrepreneurs with a wish to pass their companies down future generations: individual commitment, high ethical standards, long-term vision, sense of responsibility and excellence.

These values have shaped and built Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch's long-term client relationships that are founded on trust and discretion. Its eight Managing Partners, who currently represent the seventh generation of Private Bankers running the Firm, are as much involved in the bank's business strategy and management as in serving its clients.

As an independent Firm, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch takes pride in its freedom to judge, in the best interests of its clients.private and family business owners," said Christophe Hentsch, Managing Partner and Head of the Middle East. "They have full confidence in our ability to offer them what is close to their hearts. And that is, to grow the assets entrusted upon the bank, and to help pass them down to future generations."

Having served the region with its suite of unique private banking services and solutions over the past 50 years, setting up a representative office in Dubai is a natural progression for Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. In addition to building and deepening existing relationships, the Firm is now able to offer its highly personalized private banking service to private individuals and families, corporate institutions and financial intermediaries. In addition, clients will have ready access to the Firm's full range of services in financial and succession planning, legal and tax advice, occupational pensions, philanthropy advice and the establishment and administration of foundations.

Furthermore, with Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch's commitment to sustainable development and socially responsible investment since the early 19th century - when Alexandre Lombard's reflections on the New World were guided principally by his discrimination among states which prospered without the institution of slavery, and those whose attachment to slavery produced suffering - clients can be assured of engaging with a Firm that has an environmental and social sensitivity in its DNA.

Up till today, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch's first priority is to deliver From left to right: Pasha Bakhtiar, Stèphane Oberer, Sasan Arbabha, Pradeep Chandra, Chanelle Woodham, Benson Loyola superior returns and the Private Banker believes that the best way to do this is by considering a broad range of factors (economic, environmental, social, governance and ethical). This philosophy had culminated in a landmark exclusive partnership with Generation Investment Management (Generation), a Firm co-founded by former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore; and former CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset management, David Blood; to promote sustainable investing as a mainstream investment alternative aiming to deliver superior investment returns over the long-term.

With Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch being the privileged partner for the distribution of Generation's products, Middle Eastern investors can enjoy access to exclusive expertise in the field of sustainable investing, one of the most important long-term trends.

While Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch operates out of a single representative office in the United Arab Emirates, it remains mindful of its social responsibilities. The Firm has committed to promote both excellence and the exchange of knowledge and experience among future generations of Emiratis. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) to further develop promising Emiratis in the field of banking and financial services, the Firm has offered fully sponsored work placement opportunities to the university's students with its bank in Geneva.

In 2007, a pioneer batch of Emiratis students completed a comprehensive curriculum that covered all aspects of private banking, including but not limited to private asset management, equity research, hedge funds selection and investment strategy. For Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, this inaugural success marks the beginning of an ongoing long-term program to groom a new generation of Private Bankers from the Middle East. At the same time, the presence of Emirati students at the bank's headquarters also offered its European graduates valuable insights to Middle Eastern cultures and values. The success of the first exchange program has led Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch to open its two-year Graduate Trainee program to the Middle Eastern students who have completed an internship with the Firm. These graduates' success in securing a position will be determined by the usual internal recruitment process that the Firm applies to all applicants.

With portfolio managers who are experienced and reputed for their high regard for client confidentiality, the team in Dubai has set its sights on bringing solid financial advice with long term perspective, preservation and growth as the ultimate goal; to its pool of existing and prospective clients in the Middle East. With a team that offers nine different languages to cater to a multi-ethnic environment that is a characteristic of the region, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch certainly appreciates that each person's life story is different, and each client is a privilege to serve.