Lombard Odier Group and Alpha Japan LO am (formerly Alpha Japan Asset Advisors – AJAA), a Tokyo-based specialist in Japanese equities, announced on Friday that they had formed a strategic collaboration agreement.

The agreement brings their respective asset management and distribution capabilities into closer alignment, according to a statement by the Swiss wealth manager.

The collaboration builds on the appointment in 2025 of Lombard Odier Investment Managers and AJAA by France’s Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR), the country’s public pension reserve fund, for a CHF 137m ($169m) decarbonised Japanese equities mandate.

As part of the agreement, Alpha Japan LO am has adopted its new legal name, and Vincent Magnenat, limited partner at Lombard Odier Group, will serve on the board of Alpha Japan LO am as its representative.

Founded in 2007, Alpha Japan LO am manages over CHF 1.17bn ($1.5bn) in assets across long-only and long/short Japanese equity strategies. Its flagship strategy is a high-conviction, all-cap, long-only portfolio, which Lombard Odier has distributed to its clients in Switzerland and across Europe since 2007. 

In Japan, Alpha Japan LO am’s licences will enable expanded distribution of Lombard Odier’s global asset management products to domestic institutional investors and wholesale distributors, with a focus on sustainable investment, private assets, and systematic strategies.

The collaboration supports Lombard Odier’s growth in Japan as demand rises for specialised, globally diversified investment capabilities, according to the Swiss bank.

In Europe and the United Kingdom, Lombard Odier will actively distribute Alpha Japan LO am’s Japanese equity strategies.

Jean-Pascal Porcherot, managing partner at Lombard Odier Group and co-head of Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said: “This new chapter strengthens our long-standing commitment to Japan by combining Alpha Japan’s deep investment expertise with Lombard Odier’s pan-European distribution and global investment capabilities.”

Michel Amsellem, founder and chairman at Alpha Japan LO am, added: “Partnering more closely with Lombard Odier is a natural next step: it broadens our reach in Europe through an established distribution network, while enabling us to connect Japanese investors with Lombard Odier’s unique investment capabilities.”