Already active in France and Belgium, the asset management company Lazard Frères Gestion is also setting up offices on Boulevard Royal, in the heart of the Luxembourg capital.

Part of the French group Lazard, this subsidiary, specialising in private banking and mainly targeting the upper segment of high net worth individuals, now wants to take advantage of the security offered by the Luxembourg marketplace as well.

Lazard Frères Gestion--present in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Brussels--specialises in investing in listed securities. It employs 180 people and manages €32bn in assets, including €12bn in private management alone, a figure that has doubled over the past five years.

First clients

The new Luxembourg branch is headed by Julien Thibault-Liger. Having arrived in the country from Paris in July 2020, he is laying down the foundations for the activity, step by step. The company’s registration was completed last November, and it received approval from the CSSF in April. “Our first clients joined us a few weeks ago,” he explains.

The subsidiary of the French bank made the decision to settle in Luxembourg in order to have a local presence, no longer having to manage its affairs from Paris, on which the new branch depends. And to find local talent:  "There is indeed a talent profile in Luxembourg that cannot be found elsewhere," the managing director points out. "Bankers who offer both a financial culture, but also an international culture. This double cap is quite unique.”

Coming with a long-term objective, he wants to take the time to develop his team, which will be comprised of both private bankers for the commercial side and portfolio managers. 

"We are, above all, recognised for our management activity under mandate which convinced 95% of our clients," adds Thibault-Liger. "We accept customers from €3m, but the average of our 2,000 customers is €6m."

Lazard Frères Gestion was initially developed as a family office for the managing partners of the bank. It then opened up to family friends, and now clients are primarily wealthy families and entrepreneurs.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam and has been translated and edited for Delano.