Lazard (LAZ) UBS Financial Services Conference 2026 summary

Leadership vision and priorities

• New CEO brings three decades of global investment experience and aims to drive improvement and growth.

• Top priorities are delivering investment performance, scaling existing products, and achieving profitable growth.

• Appointed a new CIO to foster collaboration, challenge portfolio managers, and enhance investment processes.

• Focus on leveraging the breadth of the platform and investing in technology and resources.

• Emphasis on rigorous cost discipline and ongoing review of product portfolio for efficiency.

Growth strategies and market opportunities

• Achieved $8.5 billion in net inflows in 2025 (excluding a major client term), with strong momentum continuing into 2026.

• Strategic focus on systematic equities, global listed infrastructure, emerging markets, and Japan.

• Exploring expansion in public markets, private markets, and wealth management, with a selective approach to M&A and partnerships.

• Active ETF business grew from 0 to $1 billion AUM across 7 products, with plans to expand in the U.S. and Europe.

• Intermediary and wealth channels are key growth vectors, supported by product innovation and enhanced client partnerships.

Financial performance and operational efficiency

• Margins are below industry average; improvement targeted through growth in scalable products and cost control.

• Ongoing rationalization of underperforming or subscale strategies, especially those under $100 million AUM.

• New COO with extensive operational experience is reviewing processes and cost structures for further efficiencies.

• Global footprint seen as an advantage, with opportunities to optimize global vs. local operations.

• Incremental investments prioritized for front-line distribution and sales to drive higher ROI.