What does Vontobel hope for ins swallowing its Swiss rival Lombard Odier's U.S.  business? Vontobel's U.S. boss Patrice Humbel tells finews.com and outlines hiring plans.

Patrice Humbel, how much did Vontobel pay to buy Lombard Odier's business with U.S. clients? 

Both parties agreed not to disclose the deal price. But I can say the price is within the standard range for such transactions. 

Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors will manage at least 3 billion Swiss francs following the transaction. Is this enough to run the business profitably? 

We already are profitable, but the new clients from Lombard Odier will further strengthen us. We also expect some growth momentum from the strategic cooperation with Lombard Odier, which will recommend Vontobel as a wealth manager to its U.S. clients.

What are your growth targets, and how will you reach them? 

Vontobel as a whole and Swiss Wealth Advisors are mainly pursuing organic growth – the Lombard Odier deal isn't going to change that.

«We're not competing with North American banks»

The new clients will widen our basis for growing. North America is a focus market where we want to grow overproportionally – meaning more than our target of 4 to 6 percent target for net new money. Our goals is 5 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion) in managed assets in combined wealth management in North America by 2020. 

U.S. wealth management is fiercely contested. How are you different from your competitors?

We're not competing with North American banks. Our clients use Vontobel to diversify their funds internationally. We know the markets that a domestic S&P500 specialist doesn't. There is also the value in Swiss services like the Vontobel distinction that our parent is listed and thus transparent, and that the Vontobel family is a stable anchor investor.

«Vontobel never left, unlike many of our rivals»

That gives us security, and enables us to develop a long-term view. Vontobel Group has also been in North American since the 1980s. Vontobel never left the U.S. as many competitors did, and we intend to stay with our Securities and Exchange Commission-registered wealth manager.

Why should Americans let a Swiss bank manage their money? If they want to differentiate, wouldn't they take their money to Switzerland itself?

Our clients can opt to have their funds booked or be advised in Switzerland or in the U.S., and the assets are managed in Switzerland. But this type of diversification isn't what's important. It's more that clients want to invest more broadly than the North American market – they want to look internationally too. Swiss wealth managers are accustomed to thinking in global strategies, and this is where we believe we can add value.

How many people is Swiss Wealth Advisors, and do you plan to hire?

We have grown consistently and remain at the disposal of our clients with highly-qualified advisers this year too. We'll expand our team in New York with the Lombard Odier acquisition. The entire North American team is 35 people right now. 

«Hired five U.S. client advisers»

And yes, we do want to keep growing. Besides our new colleagues from Lombard Odier, we'll hire five more client advisers this year. It's less about sheer size for us than it is about finding the right colleagues to contribute their expertise and who fit with our culture. That's quite important to us: besides our skills, our values and our behavior are central for our clients.

Patrice Humbel was appointed as head of Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors, or VSWA, in March. He previously ran the Genevan arm of VSWA, which is specialized in North American clients. Before Humbel joined Vontobel in 2013, he was with UBS and Morgan Stanley in the U.S.