Expelled by the Nazis, now back in Frankfurt: Bankhaus Jacob S. H. Stern opens a financial boutique


Horacio Villalobos/Corbis/Getty
It's a return to the roots: 86 years after the Nazis forced the closure of the German-Jewish bank Jacob SH Stern, the family is returning to Frankfurt with an asset management boutique. Andreas Krebs, longtime Managing Director and partner of the French asset manager Mandarine Gestion, will head the German business of J. Stern & Co. Ltd.
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The boutique was founded in London in 2012 by Jérôme Stern and Christopher Rossbach. It is a partnership-based investment boutique headquartered in London with offices in New York, Zurich, and Malta, and employs 45 people.
Emotional returnJérôme Stern comes from the Parisian branch of the Stern family. He was born in Geneva, studied in St. Gallen, and speaks excellent German. The return to Frankfurt is fraught with emotion for the family. "But the reactions within the family were very positive, especially because our history in Frankfurt includes difficult chapters for us, too. But we're looking to the future and see great potential in Germany," says Jérôme Stern.
In the metropolis on the Main River, many reminders of the former Jacob SH Stern Bank and the family still stand, including the Theodor Stern Quay, the Theodor Stern Foundation, and the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. With the branch, the bank aims to once again become a trusted partner for investors in Germany, says Stern. In expanding the customer service and sales team, the bank is "building on my family's 220-year banking tradition."
Founded in 1805, the Jacob SH Stern Bank was one of Germany's largest private banks in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Although less well-known than the Rothschild and Goldschmidt banks, also founded in Frankfurt, it was no less important. Like the Rothschilds, with whom the Sterns are related, the Sterns also expanded abroad early on, for example, to Paris and London.
The bank originated as a winery founded at the end of the 18th century. Financial services were gradually offered. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the institution participated in the issuance of numerous national and international government bonds, including those for Portugal, Argentina, the Ottoman Empire, and China.
The bank was also involved in the extensive bond issue to finance French war reparations to the German Empire after the 1870/71 War. The securities specialist financed the reconstruction of infrastructure in Portugal after a devastating earthquake. The bank was also involved in the founding of renowned companies such as Metallgesellschaft and various railway companies.
The Jacob SH Stern Bank had a seat on the Reichsbank’s highest administrative and supervisory body, the “Central Committee,” and was a partner of Deutsche Bank in its international expansion.
Most of the family's wealth was lost after they were expelled from Nazi Germany. Partial compensation was later paid. The Sterns initially rebuilt their positions in New York with a very small portion of their remaining assets. In 1988, they sold their Banque Stern to Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) for 1.75 billion Swiss francs. Today, the family members live in Switzerland, France, the USA, and Great Britain.
Approximately 20 percent of J. Stern & Co. Ltd.'s assets are held by family members, partners, and employees. The family therefore shares the risk.
Consumer, IT, Health and IndustryJ. Stern & Co. Ltd. focuses on investing in global equities. The firm's flagship fund, the World Stars Global Equity Fund, was launched in October 2012 and has $2 billion in assets under management. In the first half of 2025, it recorded net inflows of $300 million. The fund's annual growth rate has been 11.5 percent since its launch.
However, J. Stern also invests in bonds issued by high-quality companies in emerging markets, has a fund exclusively dedicated to American stocks, and pursues a multi-asset strategy primarily for foundations and family offices. Clients also include pension funds, insurance companies, and institutional investors. The asset management boutique manages a total of $2.4 billion.
In the current challenging environment, the boutique is investing more than ever in large, high-quality companies with competitive advantages and good growth prospects. J. Stern is focusing on the consumer, IT, healthcare, and industrial sectors – companies that offer solutions to problems such as sustainable energy production or a secure water supply, says partner and Chief Investment Officer Christopher Rossbach.
The portfolio currently includes 30 stocks: Nvidia, chip machine manufacturer ASML, Amazon, Alphabet, the Swiss building materials group Sika, and Nestlé. "We invest in global market leaders with market capitalizations of over €25 billion," says Rossbach.
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