Gold Bags to Gold Points — Liquidate at Peak

“The year 1876 was a decisive turning point in the history of the Lazards: the partners of the firm realized that the golden age of fabric and hardware trade was over. Their energy and expertise, they believed, would be better utilized in a strictly banking business. A firm that could skillfully manage this triple domicile in Paris, San Francisco, and London. Their decision was quickly made. They liquidated their assets by auctioning them off. "They ended their careers as merchants with the biggest annual profit they had ever made," notes Charles Altschul. "The firm had accumulated more capital than it could advantageously use in its business."”

“Until World War I, the Bank primarily engaged in discounting trade drafts between France and the United States. It also profited from what would be called today foreign exchange and what was then known as the "gold points," a system that prevailed until the establishment of the Gold Exchange Standard, in other words, the universal acceptance of the gold standard. Another source of profits for Lazard house: managing a few private portfolios, few in number but well-chosen. Finally, it is probable that it was in these years 1900-1910 that it took its first stakes in industrial companie”