An industry source suggested Frontini may have been a victim of a clash between shareholders due to a trend of increasing tensions between foreign and domestic owners of Sino-foreign joint ventures.

While tensions were less common during bull markets, as a result of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the company at the time had experienced a decline of 20% of its assets under management in the latest quarter.

Lombarda China's strategy as a boutique fund house in a highly regulated and immature market was seen as inappropriate especially given the limited investment tools available.

In 2014, Zhong Ou claimed to be the first fund house in China that allowed members of the management team to hold an ownership stake.

[1][5] In June 2011, Xu Chunmao, a former vice president at Lombarda China was put in police custody for investigation after he was found to be involved with insider trading.