The Swiss private bank has furthered its reach to high net worth clients in Asia’s onshore markets.

Lombard Odier has expanded its footprint to the Philippines through a strategic agreement with UnionBank to offer its investment services to onshore private clients in the country.

The agreement with the Philippines’ seventh-largest bank is the latest in a series of alliances forged since 2012 that have enhanced Lombard Odier’s presence in Asia. The bank entered into a similar partnership with Kasikornbank in Thailand in late 2014 following agreements with financial firms in mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

“In an environment where interest rates are not low, but negative, finding strategic partnerships like these to facilitate investors’ diversification of assets is vital,” Vincent Magnenat, Lombard Odier’s head of private clients in Asia, told WealthBriefingAsia. 

"The move aligns with our value proposition which is focused on discretionary fund management with a risk-based approach."

As part of the agreement, Lombard Odier and UnionBank will launch a global and diversified multi-asset fund with a risk profile matching the needs of UnionBank’s high and ultra-high net worth clients, the firms said in a statement.

Eugene Acevedo, senior executive vice president, retail banking and corporate banking at UnionBank, said: “We believe that our private banking clients in the Philippines will value access to a tailor-made investment offering developed by one of the world’s most financially solid wealth managers, which has a multi-generational investment horizon in mind.”