A boutique firm specialising in strategic financial advisory, deal origination, wealth management, and off-market real estate — operating with absolute discretion for a select clientele.
Combret & Co was founded in 2005 by François Polge de Combret, following 25 years at Lazard in New York and Paris. As a former Secrétaire Générale de l’Élysée — the French equivalent of White House Chief of Staff — François brought an extraordinary network and institutional knowledge to private advisory work.
Today, the firm operates at the intersection of strategic finance, deal origination for Private Equity, wealth management, and ultra-prime real estate. We serve a carefully selected group of clients who value confidentiality, access, and results above all else.
Combret & Co works exclusively off-market. No listings, no advertising. Discretion is not a promise — it is our method.
François Polge de Combret founded the firm after 25 years at Lazard. Drawing on a career that shaped some of France’s most significant transactions — including introducing Bernard Arnault to Lazard to secure Dior, and participating in the creation of Safran, Renault-Nissan, Airbus, and Kering — he established Combret & Co as a confidential boutique in M&A and strategic advisory. In 2008, the firm became managing partner at UBS Paris, and in 2010 signed with Crédit Agricole Investment Bank.
When Alpha Condé was elected President of Guinea in 2010, François was among a small group — alongside Tony Blair and George Soros — called upon to help develop the country. In 2011, Combret & Co signed with Rio Tinto to advise on the Simandou iron ore project, a relationship François shared with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The firm secured $700 million in downpayments for Guinea and laid the groundwork for Rio Tinto’s planned $20 billion investment. In 2015, Combret & Co signed with Mubadala, bringing further billions in investment to the region.
In 2020, Augustin Polge de Combret joined the firm. A graduate of Emory’s Goizueta Business School and HKUST, Augustin began his career at Credit Suisse in Basel as a private banker. He subsequently managed the family office, Combret Ventures — with $1 billion in assets under management — and joined Philippe Ménager and FEAU in Paris to embrace a career in real estate, including the sale of La Villa Les Cèdres in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, sold for $250 million as the most expensive private residence in the world.
We work with a select number of clients across four interconnected disciplines. Every mandate is handled with the same commitment: access, precision, and absolute confidentiality.
We help our clients identify and access the best possible opportunities for acquisitions, disposals, strategic partnerships, and co-investments. Our network spans governments, sovereign wealth funds, and the world’s leading institutions.
We source and originate deals internationally for Private Equity funds, acting as a trusted introducer and intermediary. Leveraging decades of relationships across industries and geographies, we connect funds with opportunities that never reach the open market.
Grounded in our single family office with $1 billion in assets under management, we bring long-term experience in wealth management and private banking. We advise on fund selection, portfolio strategy, and private bank relationships — with a perspective built over generations.
We operate internationally across luxury residential and ultra-prime retail real estate. All transactions are off-market. Our footprint is global, with consistent opportunities in Paris and New York. We do not advertise — we advise.
We take on a very limited number of mandates each year. If you believe there is an opportunity worth exploring, we welcome a conversation.
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