Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank

Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank

Founded in 1796, Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank emerged from the merger of three storied German private banks: Hauck & Aufhäuser, Bankhaus Lampe, and the later addition of the historical Bethmann Bank lineage. The entity operates dual headquarters in Frankfurt and Munich, with additional offices in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and a Luxembourg hub for international wealth management and fund services. The current legal form was solidified in 2019 when Fosun International acquired a majority stake, transforming the firm into a platform for cross-border asset management between Europe and China. The bank manages activities across traditional private banking, asset servicing, and a growing institutional alternatives franchise. Its flagship alternatives effort is HA-L Innovation, a venture capital fund-of-funds that writes commitments to early-stage and growth equity managers primarily across Germany, the Nordics, and broader Western Europe. The bank's investment model blends direct LP commitments to external VC funds with co-investment capabilities through managed accounts. Asset classes covered include venture capital, private equity, liquid alternatives, and real assets. Fosun's ownership provides a structural link to Asian distribution and co-investment opportunities, differentiating it from many domestically focused German private banks. With assets under management undisclosed publicly, the firm operates as a mid-tier European private bank with an institutional alternatives team built over the last decade. Madeleine Sander serves as CFO, maintaining a lean executive team that oversees both the wealth franchise and the alternatives platform. In May 2024, the firm announced a strategic partnership with Luxembourg-based fund administrator Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services to expand its European fund distribution reach. The Luxembourg subsidiary remains a core operational node for the bank's institutional and cross-border asset management activities. The defining architecture of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe is its hybrid status: a private bank with a controlling Chinese conglomerate shareholder, operating a venture capital fund-of-funds platform that sources European managers but distributes into Asian capital networks. This creates a triangular capital flow — German wealth, European VC fund commitments, and Asian institutional distribution — that is structurally distinct from other German private banks like Berenberg or Metzler.