Lombard Odier has climbed aboard the philanthropic train. The Geneva-based private bank will collaborate with an organization financed by tech billionaire turned philanthroprist Bill Gates.
Lombard Odier and the Swiss-based Global Fund have signed a strategic partnership. The goal is to help investors achieve their financial goals while also making a favorable contribution to society, the Geneva private bank said in a press release.
Lombard Odier joins a growing number of banks that are tapping into the philanthropy market. Achieving performance and doing good - analog the goal of UBS, for example, as finews.com reported last week.
$20 Billion Gap
The Global Fund, founded in 2002 and fed to a large extent by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and build a strong healthcare system. Every year, the fund invests as much as $4 billion.
But the the fund has a financing gap of $20 billion for the period through 2019. Lombard Odier is now helping to leverage private sector funds for the work of the Global Fund. One solution would be for investors to share some of their investment gains with the Global Fund, it said.
Patrick Odier, the private bank's senior managing partner, said investors no longer want just returns, but also to play a role in contributing to society. «As public finances come under increasing pressure, there is an urgent need to open up new routes that enable private investors to engage in the battle to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges,» he said.
