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THE WINNERS
INDEPENDENT. AUTHORITATIVE. INDISPENSABLE. #APBAFD2018
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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018 provided Asia’s private banks with a sharp dose of reality. After a record run in 2017, markets bit back, confounding investors who reined in their trading activities, deleveraged, and upped cash allocations. In turn, the industry endured a torrid time in terms of revenue generation and money gathering. Those that were in a position to do so leaned heavily on group-connected activities to buffer topline erosion and a number of banks resorted to offering unsustainable deposit rates to attract assets to the chagrin of those that chose to hold the line. In short, 2018 will go down as one of the industry’s most challenging on record and a timely reminder that this business, for better or worse, remains excessively market dependent for performance.
At the same time, we were encouraged by the real progress banks are making in product and service development, operational streamlining and digitalisation, and strategic implementation. Indeed, last year was noteworthy on a number of fronts, a select few I will mention here. Private banks continued to build out their managed solutions offerings. DPM remains a priority growth area, and while performance was an issue in 2018, a number of banks posted strong — even record — inflows in Asia, increased client penetration, and expanded product shelves. There was also genuine rise in demand for flat-fee advisory. Hong Kong’s regulators are obviously playing their part, but credit must go to those banks that have spearheaded the push from the outset. The fact that we saw some chunky ticket sizes for advisory mandates in 2018, including from the UHNW segment, suggests questions over demand hold less weight. Expect to see more banks reveal their hands in 2019. On the funds side, demand centred on thematic equity strategies, notwithstanding performance woes, and there was a notable wind change in the conversation around ESG investing led by senior management and product providers. We also saw strong momentum in alternatives businesses amid the return of volatility. Demand returned for hedge funds — especially for ‘big names’ and high concentration baskets — and long/short liquid alts, while still a ‘tough sell’, garnered some traction at those banks that don’t offer Cayman structures. Elsewhere, private debt is an area of promise and demand for global real estate remains robust. Indeed, a number of private banks took the opportunity to revamp and streamline their alts platforms and processes in 2018, suggesting that this is a key priority area for the industry going forward. On the strategic front, banks continued their push into onshore markets through a variety of approaches, inking partnerships and JVs and establishing rep offices in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, and a number of major players turned their attention to improving the balance between their Hong Kong and Singapore activities. Thus, while suboptimal business performances translated into bottom-line pressure, the industry’s willingness to invest in growth opportunities remains undeterred. That extends to some timely work being done around client segmentation and, in particular, understanding the needs of specific groups, including women, millennials, and Chinese entrepreneurs. Accordingly, our annual Awards for Distinction programme seeks to recognise best-in-breed private banks at the intersection of performance, proposition, and execution — three sides of the same coin that do not always work in lockstep but are fundamental to robust client relationships and, by extension, business sustainability. We were truly impressed by the sheer quality and transparency of the 160-plus submissions we received in 2018, and as always, we pledge to further raise standards and scrutiny going forward to ensure that the Asian Private Banker Awards for Distinction remain the most rigorous of their kind.
Cheers,
Sebastian Enberg Editor Asian Private Banker
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
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CONTENTS 3
Letter from the editor
7 About the Asian Private Banker Awards for Distinction 2018
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CEO Andrew Shale Editor Sebastian Enberg Editorial Richard Otsuki Benjamin Yang Charlene Cong Tin Tin Sze Alice So Rebecca Isjwara Tiffany Hopkins Gigi Lam Managing Director Paris Shepherd Research Stratos Pourzitakis Lisa Cheng Shunta Kamba Business Development Sonia Lam Sam Chan Olaide Ogungbesan Charis Tse
Digital Alice Wong Sanya Amin Marketing Vivian Chong Evy Cheung Jacqueline Kwok Jordan Yim Patricia Jover Events Koye Sun Aleck Kwok Finance & Operations Karman Wu Martina Ngai Anthony Yau Yuki Chan Xenia So Head of Europe Madhuri Chatterjee Production DG3
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Private Banker of the Year François Monnet, Credit Suisse
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS 10 Best Private Bank – Asia Pacific UBS 13 Best Private Bank – Hong Kong UBS 15 Best Private Bank – Singapore Credit Suisse 16 Best Wealth Manager – Singapore Crossinvest 17 Best Private Bank – Australia Credit Suisse 19 Best Private Bank – China Domestic China Merchants Bank 20 Best Wealth Manager – China Domestic Noah Holdings Limited 21 Best Private Bank – China International Morgan Stanley 23 Best Private Bank – India Domestic Kotak Wealth Management 25 Best Wealth Manager – India Domestic Edelweiss Private Wealth Management 26 Best Private Bank – Global Indians BNP Paribas Wealth Management 27 Best Private Bank – Indonesia Domestic Bank Mandiri 28 Best Private Bank – Indonesia International Credit Suisse
Published by Key Positioning Limited 13/F Greatmany Centre 111 Queen’s Road East Wanchai, Hong Kong
29 Best Private Bank – Japan Credit Suisse
Tel: +852 2529 1777 Fax: +852 3013 9984 Email: info@asianprivatebanker.com
31 Best Private Bank – Middle East & North Africa Bank of Singapore
ISSN NO. 2076-5320 4
30 Best Private Bank – Malaysia International Credit Suisse
33 Best Private Bank – Philippines Domestic BDO Private Bank
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34 Best Private Bank – Philippines International Julius Baer
55 Best Private Bank – Wealth Planning Services HSBC Private Banking
35 Best Private Bank – Taiwan Domestic UBS
56 Best Private Bank – Next Generation Services Credit Suisse
36 Best Private Bank – Taiwan International xxxx UBS 37 Best Private Bank – Thailand Domestic KASIKORNBANK PCL. 38 Best Private Bank – Thailand International Credit Suisse
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS xxxx 57 CIO Office of the Year - xxxx Deutsche Bank Wealth Management 59 Best Private Bank – Investment Advisory BNP Paribas Wealth Management
BUSINESS AWARDS
60 Best Wealth Manager – Investment Advisory Waterfield Advisors
39 COO of the Year Sudhir Nemali, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management
61 Best Private Bank – Fund Advisory Credit Suisse
40 Employer of the Year Goldman Sachs
62 Best Private Bank – Equity Advisory Morgan Stanley
41 Best Private Bank – Growth Strategy of the Year Maybank
63 Best Private Bank – Alternative Advisory Goldman Sachs
43 Best Private Bank – Learning & Development UBS
65 Best Wealth Manager – Alternative Advisory CreditEase Wealth Management
44 Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility Credit Suisse
66 Best Private Bank – Fixed Income Advisory HSBC Private Banking
45 Best Private Bank – Digital Innovation Credit Suisse
67 Best Private Bank – FX Advisory Indosuez Wealth Management
46 Best Wealth Manager – Digital Innovation CreditEase Wealth Management
68 Best Private Bank – Sustainable Investments UBS
47 Best Private Bank – Client Experience UBS
69 Best Private Bank – Discretionary Portfolio Management BNP Paribas Wealth Management
48 Best Wealth Manager – Client Experience Crossinvest
71 Best Private Bank – Bespoke Discretionary Portfolio Management Goldman Sachs
SERVICE AWARDS
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‘Excellence’ and ‘One to Watch’ Winners 2018
49 Best Private Bank – High Net Worth Services UBS
EDITORIAL
50 Best Wealth Manager – High Net Worth Services CreditEase Wealth Management
22 Industry 8 exclusive data points that mattered in 2018
51 Best Private Bank – Ultra High Net Worth Services Credit Suisse
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52 Best Private Bank – Family Office Services UBS 53 Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services Credit Suisse
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Straight Talk: Martin Blessing, co-president, UBS GWM
79 Morgan Stanley PWM flexes research muscle and ideas amid Asia expansion 81 Regulations 2019 regulatory outlook: What’s in store for Asia’s private banks?
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
EDITORIAL
ABOUT THE ASIAN PRIVATE BANKER AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018 Since 2011, the Asian Private Banker Awards for Distinction have set the benchmark for excellence in private wealth management in the Asia Pacific region. And just as the industry has evolved drastically over these years, so have the Awards, which now more than ever are recognised for the independence and rigour of the adjudication process, the calibre of participating institutions, and the global recognition they bring. The Awards for Distinction are designed to recognise private banks, institutions with private banking services, and, for select categories, independent wealth management firms for their achievements within a given year across categories spanning market segments, business and operations, client services, and investment solutions. This year, over 160 submissions were made by 40 private banking and wealth management institutions. METHOD OLOGY Winners are selected by the Judging Panel on the basis of any and all information submitted. The Judging Panel assesses submissions based on quantitative and qualitative data with a focus on relative (year-on-year) performance. Full details of the methodology and criteria are defined by the Submission Guidelines, which are accessible at apb.news/afd2018. TH E J UD G IN G PA N E L The Awards for Distinction are judged by members of Asian Private Banker’s editorial team and chaired by Sebastian Enberg, Editor. Today, the editorial team is the most experienced and connected bureau of journalists covering private banking and wealth management in the Asia Pacific region.
Sebastian Enberg Editor
Richard Otsuki Deputy Editor & Head of Investment Coverage
Alice So Senior Reporter
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Tin Tin Sze Senior Reporter
Ben Yang Editorial Director
Charlene Cong Senior Reporter
Rebecca Isjwara Reporter
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PRIVATE BANKER OF THE YEAR
FRANÇOIS MONNET head of private banking, North Asia Credit Suisse
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
PRIVATE BANKER OF THE YEAR
There’s a certain irony in the fact that a Swiss banker is pushing the envelope in terms of what constitutes effective Asian private banking. But François Monnet, Credit Suisse’s head of private banking for North Asia, is no conformist and, in fact, one suspects he revels in red teaming long-held beliefs about how the craft should be plied. To be sure, Monnet represents an institution whose integrated model and culture promotes out-of-the-box thinking and agility in decision-making and execution. One only need look at Credit Suisse’s performance over the better part of this decade to see just how potent the regional business is in terms of delivering performance across market cycles and imbuing leadership with a high degree of agency to pursue a vision for the business. And Monnet is a standing case of what can be achieved when the right tools are put in the hands of a leader with a penchant for strategy, an obsession with detail, and the resolve to execute. Under his leadership in Greater China, the private bank has rediscovered its mojo after an earlier period of instability. In the past few years alone, the business has posted significant double-digit growth in AUM, record NNA inflows, pronounced increases in PTI and revenues across all streams, and, fundamentally, an improvement in operating efficiency. Monnet has driven this growth in large part by bringing greater discipline to the business, with his systematic approach to key account management yielding impressive results, both in terms of reactivating dormant or under-realised UHNW relationships and driving up banker productivity. No mere administrator, Monnet also leads from the front when it comes to demonstrating what can be achieved through effective cross-collaboration. His track record in marshalling the organisation’s full firepower has led to a litany of major successes over the past 24 months and a significant increase in the bank’s share of entrepreneur-led activity in Greater China. Furthermore, Monnet has cast an indelible imprint on the bank — and, we dare say, the wider industry — by challenging long-held assumptions about clients’ willingness to engage digitally with their private banking providers. As the bank’s APAC COO between AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“It is an absolute honour to be named the Private Banker of the Year. I am privileged to be a part of Credit Suisse, and all the achievements from the Asian Private Banker awards go to all my colleagues across the bank who worked tirelessly to drive the successes we have achieved, even during challenging market conditions in 2018. The opportunities in the wealth management industry are boundless and the private banking business is still at a nascent growth stage. I look forward to capturing these growth opportunities together with my team.” - François Monnet, head of private banking North Asia, Credit Suisse 2012 and 2016, he played a central role in planning, developing, and delivering Credit Suisse’s marketleading Digital Private Banking platform in Asia. A bona fide game changer, the bank’s digital private banking platform is noteworthy for its ever-expanding set of functions and high rate of adoption among Credit Suisse’s ultra-skewed base. That it resonates so strongly with the bank’s clients is testament to Monnet’s obsession with problem-solving common pain points. Thus, it was unsurprising when Monnet threw his weight behind thirdparty account aggregation solution Canopy, recognising that Credit Suisse’s multi-banked clients demand a consolidated view of their holdings across institutions. His thesis is bold: if clients are aware of any sub-optimality in their overall asset allocation and are provided with the means to compare performance between banking providers, then they will ultimately concentrate their activities with one or a few preferred wealth managers. Monnet welcomes the scrutiny Canopy brings, such is the degree of his conviction in Credit Suisse’s offering. He firmly believes the decision to encourage peer comparison is necessary for the private bank’s relationship with the client, a chance for Credit Suisse to demonstrate its relative contribution, and a welcome opportunity to expose the bank to competition. François Monnet is Asian Private Banker’s Private Banker of the Year for 2018. 9
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
UBS Asia’s private banking industry buckled under the pressure of confounding markets in 2018. Top lines were hit hard by a slump in transactional activity, deleveraging was widespread, and clients demanded intensive hand-holding, quality ideas, and capital preservation. No bank was immune, and yet some fared better than others for the simple fact that they were able to offset revenue pressure and keep clients engaged. Yes, business models matter, but not as much as a bank’s philosophy towards wealth management which to a large extent determines how it prepares and guides clients through such turbulence. Few banks have gone to greater lengths than UBS to espouse an investment philosophy that centres on wealth growth and preservation across life stages. And fewer still, particularly of the universal variety, have had more success in imparting upon Asian clients the virtues of long-term house-aligned investing. Thus, in a year when investors and their private banking providers were put to the test, UBS underscored its credentials as APAC’s consummate global wealth manager by virtue of its disciplined CIO-led guidance and advice, compelling solutions suite, and a willingness to break new ground. Nowhere had this been more evident than in the robust growth of UBS’s managed solutions business in 2018. In particular, its mandates offering — the broadest and deepest in the region — bested most peers in terms of performance consistency, and in 2018 had the welcome effect of providing a revenue buffer amid the downturn in brokerage activities. On the discretionary side, UBS’s flagship Systematic Allocation Portfolio mandate proved its worth amid two signal changes, while advisory mandate inflows reached record levels, showing the way forward for an industry that is still getting to grips with the fee-for-advice model. Moreover, UBS remained at the forefront of a sustainable investing wave by launching and
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successfully distributing the industry’s first truly sustainable cross-asset solution for private clients in Asia, in the process demonstrating the bank’s ability to mobilise its resources around a new initiative to great effect. Indeed, where others have struggled to stimulate client uptake of sustainable investment mandates, UBS achieved a client advisor participation rate of over 90% in APAC off the back of client and advisor education and training, and the deep partnership between its sales management and investment specialists teams. This success is emblematic of UBS’s ability to engage and prepare clients of all tiers via incisive information and research, and to follow up with relevant solutions. Such was the case with the bank’s ‘Volatility is Back – Are You Prepared?’ campaign that framed the investment environment for clients at the outset of 2018. Accordingly, UBS’s HNW clients benefitted from access to a best-in-breed hedge funds offering that delivered in terms of performance and dovetailed perfectly with the bank’s SAA, which at one stage called for an 18% allocation. Similarly, UBS, recognising that clients were keen to follow the bank’s funds advice but would perhaps struggle to do so in an organised manner, was quick to rollout a ‘best ideas’ fund selection mandate, garnering north of US$100 million in a relatively short time frame. UHNW clients, too, were well-furnished with thematic-based research and insights that captured the zeitgeist of current investing trends and spoke to their own business interests — specifically around disruptive technology and healthcare. Indeed, UBS’s vaunted UHNW business fired on all cylinders in 2018, with the bank utilising its full firepower to provide solutions spanning personal and corporate advisory and execution. At the same time, UBS has stayed true to its ‘less is more’ mantra by focusing on selective, quality opportunities of strategic import — an approach that clearly resonated with clients, with
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Edmund Koh president, UBS Asia Pacific
the division registering double-digit profit growth, improved efficiency, and a healthy increase in wallet share from existing clients, with APAC contributing the lion’s share of global ultra NNM in 2018 (as at Q3). With an eye on the long-term sustainability of the business, UBS also embarked on a number of longterm strategic initiatives in 2018, headlined by the merger of its international and Americas wealth management units which should unlock growth opportunities and shore up operational efficiencies, including here in Asia. While this falls outside the ambit of these awards, what does deserve particular mention is the steady progress UBS is making in China. Make no mistake: this is a long play that is strategically significant and not yet material in terms of financial contribution. But again, UBS deserves credit for achieving a number of milestones including becoming the first foreign financial institution to take a majority shareholding in its onshore securities partnership, receiving licences for insurance and funds distribution onshore, and more importantly for these awards, taking the initiative to launch an asset allocation for onshore Chinese investors.
“2018 has been another defining year for our business in APAC. This award is a reflection of the trust our clients and partners have in us, and the passion and commitment to excellence of our colleagues across the region. It remains our goal to stay at the forefront of the industry and, as a global player, to keep bringing the world to our clients in every market. We will continue to innovate together and equip clients with our diversified global products and integrated multi-shore offering to deliver to them the best experience and greater success.” - Edmund Koh, president, UBS Asia Pacific
Factor in the bank’s consistent investments into client experience spanning its digital offering, events and thought leadership, alongside investments into its staff pool, and UBS in 2018 sent a strong message that as Asia’s largest wealth manager, it is anything but complacent. Ultimately, UBS demonstrated just how robust its business is through market cycles with healthy increases in PBT underpinned by a double-digit growth in recurring revenues, continued NNM momentum, and a business-wide increase in productivity largely on account of platform investments as at 3Q18. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Asia Pacific for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Amy Lo co-head UBS Wealth Management, Asia Pacific
UBS UBS has been reticent to call Hong Kong a home market but it would be justified in doing so. Having maintained a presence in the city since 1964, the Swiss bank today ranks as one of Hong Kong’s largest private banks and is in many ways the de facto face of an industry that views the market as a jewel in the Asia crown and, accordingly, ground zero in the battle for clients and talent. UBS has continued to invest and innovate in Hong Kong where advantages are hard-earned and easily eroded. And, importantly, it has been unafraid to take calculated risks if the long-term upside points to a stronger, more sustainable franchise. Thus, though 2018 proved a challenging year for Hong Kong’s wealth managers amid heavy deleveraging and a pronounced slowdown in brokerage activities, the Swiss bank reaped the benefits of its consistent investment in the market. This is especially true in the case of UBS’s Kowloon office, which now contributes sizeably to the bank’s Hong Kong market business and serves as the nerve centre for client prospecting by way of targeted thought leadership and lifestyle events. Indeed, the decision to open a second location in Hong Kong and has exposed the bank to an underpenetrated client pool in the form of local entrepreneurs and millennials and given UBS a strategic foothold in a recently proposed ‘wealth management connect’ that encompasses the Greater Bay Area.
“We are immensely proud to win this award as recognition of our commitment to clients in Hong Kong and our passion to deliver excellence as we help them achieve their goals. In 2018, we further differentiated ourselves with innovation, market-leading solutions and robust advisory from our Chief Investment Office, which have empowered us to work closely with our clients to navigate the turbulent markets. We will continue to leverage the unique advantages of our platform to bring the best of UBS to our clients, and to further consolidate Hong Kong as a leading wealth management hub.” - Amy Lo, co-head UBS Wealth Management, Asia Pacific
NNM — up 30% YoY as at 3Q18 — and invested assets and revenue per client advisor rose markedly in 2018 despite a 10% YoY increase in full-time headcount. It also played a leading role in the uptake of discretionary and advisory mandates, thereby contributing substantially to a 25% YoY increase in fee-based revenue in Hong Kong. Moreover, client advisors registered a 100% participation rate in the sale of UBS’s flagship 100% sustainable investment discretionary mandate which raised north of US$400 million in the region as of January 2019, signalling a wind change in the way Asia’s private clients view ESG.
Not only did the Kowloon office break even in 2018 — two years ahead of schedule — it has benefitted from the addition of a new country team amid a wider focus on talent management that has included major internal promotions. The emphasis the bank places on talent is also well-exampled by its ‘Hunters Club’ initiative — unique to the Hong Kong market business — which focuses on cultivating the skills of high-performing younger talent.
Ultimately, this was a complete and dynamic performance by UBS in what was a challenging year for all those in Asia’s most competitive private banking market. In 2018, the Swiss bank reaffirmed its reputation as a forward-thinking bank whose commitment to clients is beyond question and proved its well of new ideas is far from exhausted.
These efforts are paying dividends. The Hong Kong team continues to lead the APAC franchise in terms of
UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Hong Kong for 2018.
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Young Jin Yee market group head for Singapore and Malaysia, and CEO SymAsia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE Amid stiff local competition, Credit Suisse’s Singapore business well and truly lived up to its claim to be the region’s ‘trusted entrepreneurs’ bank’ in 2018, reaping the benefits of near-seamless and nimble collaboration between its private and investment bank and a leadership team that is unrivalled in terms of experience and know-how in the city-state. Banking over 60% of Forbes Singapore billionaires and boasting longstanding relationships with major family offices and foundations, the extent of Credit Suisse’s reach into Singapore’s ultra community is only matched by the scope of its platform and offering, which is finely tuned to meet the complex needs of its clients. And these capabilities were put to good use in 2018 amid a pickup in M&A activity, a cooling property market which prompted clients to invest through the private bank, and demand for financing. A landmark M&A deal that brought into play the entire machinery of Credit Suisse stood out to the Judges, not only for its complexity, but for the degree of collaboration between the private and investment bank in delivering a trust setup, multiple new accounts, and sizeable new advisory mandates with minimal turnaround time. That Credit Suisse was able to direct a significant portion of these new assets into advisory mandates speaks to the success its Singapore team has had in impressing upon clients the benefits of the Credit Suisse Invest solution. Another notable example of Credit Suisse’s onebank collaboration in Singapore was a flagship bond issuance for a client, whose positive relationship on the private banking side led to Credit Suisse becoming a joint bookrunner, later earning the investment bank an exclusive mandate for a possible M&A transaction. Credit Suisse’s demonstrable ability to deliver its ‘one bank’ promise should not be downplayed and is testament to a leadership team that has inculcated a culture of collaboration and emphasised strong product and markets knowledge, deep connectivity with Singapore’s community of entrepreneurs, and the
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are delighted to be named Best Private Bank – Singapore, an award which recognises the strong franchise and deep talent base we have built in the last three years, whereby we now have one of the largest and most experienced teams covering the Singapore market. Among our comprehensive offering, one of our distinctive value propositions in Singapore is our integrated platform. Our seamless collaboration with our leading Investment Banking and Capital Markets team marries the two aspects of our clients’ needs perfectly — the financing and capital markets needs for their businesses, and their quest for more exclusive investment opportunities through our deals. Our other offering unique to Singapore is our SymAsia Foundation which responds to the increasing client need for strategic philanthropic giving. In 2018, we set up five new foundations for our clients under SymAsia and received record donations as well.” - Young Jin Yee, market group head for Singapore and Malaysia, and CEO SymAsia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
benefits of ‘growing your own’ talent. The end result of the bank’s efforts is an incredibly compelling offering for end-clients, who not only benefitted from a steady pipeline of deals and unique solutions, but also Credit Suisse’s well-known strengths in wealth planning and philanthropic support via its SymAsia Foundation. It all translated into a year of success for Credit Suisse in Singapore on the business front. NNA increased YoY as a direct result of investment bank-private bank referrals while net revenues and pre-tax income were also up for the same period, with revenues attributable to intra-business referrals reaching a record high. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Singapore for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Rohit Bhuta CEO, Crossinvest
CROSSINVEST The inexorable rise of independent asset managers in Asia is a fact beyond debate. How market conditions contribute to their rise is a question worth exploring, although, anecdotally, IAMs in 2018 registered an increase in client numbers, in large part due to client dissatisfaction over investment performance and the advice they received from private banks amid market turmoil. No, the grass is not always greener. But the firms that can demonstrate a genuine track record of providing impartial advice and solutions will find themselves in pole position for the race to capture private assets. Such has been the case with Crossinvest, the Singapore-based IAM that wears its independence on its sleeve. The firm has sworn off retrocessions and only distributed best-of-breed third-party products and direct assets and investments to ensure objectivity in its advice. Clearly, the model has deeply resonated with clients in the city-state, as evidenced by healthy growth across all business metrics. This devotion to clients not only stood out to the Judging Panel but also paid off for Crossinvest, which enjoyed AUM and revenue growth last year despite broader market challenges. Over the same period, the IAM also managed to shave off an impressive 20% from its operating expenses through the introduction of state-of-the-art client and portfolio management systems. The efficiencies gained through these streamlining tools have allowed Crossinvest to allocate more resources to attracting top talent and grow its front office headcount by over 40% year-on-year.
“We are proud of the business we have established and what we stand for. We have taken our inspiration from the pure private banks of yesteryear when alignment with client interests used to be paramount. We take pride in our ability to offer an investment philosophy that is focused on doing what is right for our clients, at all times and without compromise. Our ultimate aim is to work with and for our clients, toward capital preservation and steady growth over the medium-to-long term. Our vision is to create a benchmark of excellence in the private wealth management space — and being recognised as the Best Wealth Manager – Singapore serves as an endorsement to this, our vision, our philosophy, and our strategy. This is a proud moment for all of us at Crossinvest, and we thank Asian Private Banker for this recognition.” - Rohit Bhuta, CEO, Crossinvest hard-to-reach assets. For example, Crossinvest’s ‘PreIPO Access’ portfolio, formed in partnership with a US and Singapore-based company, provides exposure to pre-IPO Silicon Valley companies looking to list on the SGX in the next 12-18 months. Meanwhile, its ‘Private Access’ mandate sources private assets from innovation centres around the globe to help UHNW clients build customised and diversified private equity portfolios over a two-to-three year period.
Never one to stop innovating, Crossinvest also expanded its presence across the region last year, establishing partnerships with an Indian MFO and a Thai boutique investment bank to improve its product shelf and broaden its clients’ access to best-in-class opportunities.
Owing to a growing and seasoned team of advisors, researchers, and investment professionals who act in accordance with the IAM’s client-centric philosophy, Crossinvest succeeded in delivering positive performance metrics when many of its competitors battled to keep their heads above water in what was a tumultuous year.
Collaborations like these have allowed the firm to create mandates that grant clients access to various
Crossinvest is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – Singapore for 2018.
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Michael Marr market group head for Australia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE Unlike some of its international peers, Credit Suisse has not only stayed the course in Australia but expanded its activities and offerings to private clients, who now more than ever require solutions that only an international wealth manager augmented by a top-tier investment bank can provide. Helmed by one of the industry’s most experienced practitioners, Credit Suisse has a nuanced understanding of the domestic market, where its one-banking proposition resonates with Australian entrepreneurs and UHNWIs whose needs are as complex as they are global. Indeed, Credit Suisse in 2018 ticked off a number of achievements that were the result of seamless collaboration with its investment bank in Australia. These include advising a PE sponsor on the sale of a sizeable business and successfully pitching for a long-term passive management mandate within a short turnaround time and amid stiff competition. Equally, Credit Suisse excels in the craft of pure wealth management. Its discretionary portfolio management offering is unique in the market for its multi-asset class strategies overseen by an in-house team, with the Australian business boasting the highest mandate penetration among Credit Suisse’s APAC franchise. The bank can also lay claim to Australia’s leading advisory service underpinned by a global solutions platform that, domestically, is without peer and which provides clients access to opportunities not available elsewhere. Credit Suisse’s uniqueness in the Australia market extends to its EAM business which has forged a dominant position due to its multi-asset, multi-currency loan platform. Meanwhile, clients have taken quickly to Credit Suisse’s vaunted Digital Private Banking offering. Not only does Australia boast the fastest adoption rate globally, but over 40% of trades are now done through DPB. Its investments into technology have not come at the expense of human capital, however. The private bank’s
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are pleased to be named the Best Private Bank – Australia for the second consecutive year and five out of the past eight years. This award once again reaffirms our position as the only international private banking franchise in the domestic market with a truly differentiated model, offering flat-fee-based multi-asset class solutions. Our business model is sustainable and resilient, with recurring revenues making up the majority of our revenue mix. In 2018, we continued to expanding our suite of products and solutions, including appointing a financing specialist dedicated to the domestic market, continuing to focus on the non-profit and endowments client segment, as well as offering EAMs our multi-asset, multi-currency loan platform and associated services that is unique in the market. Notably, our significant investment in technology has resulted in very high client take-up of our digital private banking application, bringing significant efficiencies.” - Michael Marr, market group head for Australia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific pool of relationship managers have an average tenure of almost five years and Credit Suisse emphasises internal mobility, providing comprehensive training to ensure industry-leading standards in the market. With an enviable performance track record, headlined in 2018 by positive NNA inflows, top-line growth including a marked increase in recurring and collaboration revenues, and a jump in profitability, Credit Suisse has once again demonstrated the effectiveness of its proposition in Australia. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Australia for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Kevin Huang deputy head of global private banking, China Merchants Bank
CHINA MERCHANTS BANK 2018 was anything but plain sailing for China’s private banking industry, as local regulators rolled out a comprehensive set of reforms and markets creaked under the pressure of a brewing trade war. To be sure, no bank was immune, and as a direct result of regulators’ wide-spanning directives, private banks were compelled to revisit all aspects of their operations, from business strategy and product provider relationships to research capabilities and client servicing. As China’s largest and arguably most sophisticated private bank, China Merchants Bank Private Banking is playing a leading role in guiding the industry into this new era. Credit must go to CMB for being the first bank to announce it would set up an asset management subsidiary in anticipation of coming regulatory reforms and later leading the pack by announcing its plan to excise a considerable amount of wealth management product AUM — bold moves that demonstrated CMB’s sense of responsibility. It has also conducted a complete and far-reaching review of its products sales process and was the first private bank in China to implement a certified sales mechanism. All the while, CMB has remained focused on getting the basics right, which equates to understanding the specific needs of clients and delivering a differentiated and bestin-breed investment and asset allocation service. During the first half of the year, it created what it calls the ‘fivedimensional customer development system’ and has since made major headway in the application of fintech solutions in asset allocation and risk management, mobile client interfacing, and the dissemination of research. In addition, its own Wealth Management System was upgraded in 2018 to provide stricter management around client servicing and sales activities. But what is true of any private bank worth its salt is that the strength of its client offering depends on that of its people and product platform. In both cases, CMB is the domestic industry leader. Beyond selective external recruiting, it has established a comprehensive internal AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“As the pioneer and leader in the China private wealth management market, China Merchants Bank will continue to adhere to the idea of committing to your everlasting family fortune and continuously improving our services to satisfy the needs of our clients. We will also actively expand our international coverage in global financial centres such as Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, London, and Sydney. With our best-in-class global asset allocation and lifestyle services, we are confident to bring to our clients their familiar service experiences both inside and outside of China.” - Kevin Huang, deputy head of global private banking, China Merchants Bank training system for new and existing employees and conducts monthly performance evaluations to monitor the health of the business. CMB also stands out for its deployment of an investment consultant service to fortify risk management and asset allocation. Its product shelf is fully featured within the boundaries set by China’s regulatory framework and covers more than six major classes and 30 subclasses, while clients are surrounded by a raft of value-added services, including tailored offerings for next-gen elites and family offices. Moreover, in 2018 CMB launched its Wealth Institute for entrepreneur clients to develop their management skills and provide networking opportunities. With a strong and evolving foundation in place and an unwavering dedication to providing personalised and professional wealth management services to China’s growing pool of HNWIs, CMB continues to amass clients and assets, which at last count totalled 72,365 and RMB 2.05 trillion, respectively. China Merchants Bank is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – China Domestic for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Kenny Lam group president, Noah Holdings Limited
NOAH HOLDINGS LIMITED In 2018, Noah Holdings Limited (“Noah”) further cemented its status as the standard-setter in China’s wealth management industry and the go-to solutions provider for global investors with an eye on China. No mean feat considering the hurdles thrown up by China’s widespanning financial and regulatory reforms and a market environment that dented investor sentiment — speed bumps that prompted soul-searching within the domestic market and are suggestive of near-term consolidation. Backed by its industry-leading asset management arm Gopher Asset Management, Noah remained resilient and, in fact, notched up quality growth amid the turbulence — a testament of its commitment to providing best-in-breed solutions and services to domestic and internationally exposed Chinese investors. Indeed, the firm continues to post robust and sustainable growth figures. As of September 2018, cumulative AUA — or assets distributed through Noah — increased 24% year-on-year to RMB 583 billion, more than any other independent wealth manager in China. The total year-to-date transaction value reached RMB 84.9 billion, including a 19% year-on-year jump in Q3 alone, and AUM with Gopher hit RMB 164 billion, up from RMB 148 billion at the end of 2017, with 59% of those assets in private equity investments. Perhaps even more importantly, while Noah along with the rest of the market saw a drop in client one-off commissions, it was able to offset this with a strong pickup in recurring service fee revenues and performance-based income.
“2018 has been a year of market volatility. Clients’ confidence has been affected and what they are looking for now is a sustainable platform to help guide them through these times. As the first and largest private wealth platform in China, Noah has focused this year on investing for the long term. We have substantially upgraded our frontline training systems and our online client interface. We have also broadened our services to go beyond investments and built a global platform. All in all, we are bullish on China in the long run and are putting our resources on all things long term.” - Kenny Lam, group president, Noah Holdings Limited of the firm’s Enoch Education — which is critical to advancing investor expectations around risk-adjusted returns and long-term asset allocation. So too does the firm place an inordinate emphasis on the upskilling of its massive relationship manager pool. In 2018, Noah sent its top 100 frontliners to the Wealth Management Institute in Singapore and Wharton School in the US for further study.
These results point to Noah’s evolution, from being product-driven to client-driven under a new ‘symbiotic’ setup that places the RM-client relationship at the centre. That’s a game changer in China, where brute-force distribution remains the dominant modus operandi and clients are often neglected when it comes to post-sales servicing and holistic wealth management advisory.
The year also marked a number of major strategic achievements for Noah, including further international expansion headlined by strong business traction in its Canada and Australia offices and the expansion of its Singapore office, supplementing its presence in Hong Kong and the US. Of particular note is Noah’s establishment of a global family office platform in Australia which aims to open up investment channels for family offices in both China and Down Under and explore cooperation in wealth planning. Noah was also included on the MSCI China Index, becoming the first independent wealth manager to be selected.
Furthermore, Noah remains the industry leader for client education — a service that is offered by way
Noah Holdings Limited is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – China Domestic for 2018.
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Vincent Chui chief executive, Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited
MORGAN STANLEY Few client segments faced stronger headwinds than offshore Chinese investors in 2018, with turbulence in both the global equity and bond markets drumming up concerns over liquidity and risk management and the tightening capital flow environment in China. The MSCI China Index was down almost 19%, Chinese bonds posted a record year for defaults as trade tensions with the United States heightened, and the Chinese yuan depreciated by around 6% against USD. In this challenging environment, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management stood out from its peers on account of its commitment and ability to deliver a market-leading global and Asian institutional platform and offering tailored to its Chinese clients, healthy performance, and a powerful research house that, in many ways, anchors the private bank’s proposition in this competitive space. Clients benefitted from Morgan Stanley’s delivery of a wide range of pay-off structures and underliers to the China market with a focus on risk aversion across fundlinked notes, bonus enhancement notes, booster notes, and fixed coupon notes. Concurrently, its alternatives business experienced hefty contributions, reflecting Morgan Stanley’s ability to provide the segment with sought-after private market opportunities and established and emerging-name hedge funds, which are now supported by a revamped platform, enhanced due diligence and distribution. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley’s capital markets business, underpinned by the bank’s market-leading equity research team, fared better than those of its peers amid a pronounced downturn in transactional activity. Justifying its much-vaunted reputation in the asset class, Morgan Stanley delivered high singledigit outperformance with its Hong Kong/China equity calls despite volatile Chinese markets. The bank’s FX capabilities also shone bright during the year, amid high demand for CNYUSD hedging — especially from Chinese clients who are active in their own businesses.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are very honoured to be named Best Private Bank – China International. This award underlines Morgan Stanley’s firm-wide commitment to this important market and reflects our private bank’s differentiated and institutional standard services and products for China UHNW and asset owners seeking a trusted global wealth partner. As Chinese entrepreneurs continue to drive global and Asia economic growth and technological innovation, they need a global firm attending to their corporate and family financial needs. Morgan Stanley aspires to partner with them.” - Vincent Chui, chief executive, Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited
Investments aside, Morgan Stanley shrugged off its traditional conservativism when it comes to balance sheet deployment by expanding its financing capabilities in response to a growing need among Chinese UHNW clientele to unlock liquidity for strategic holdings. It has boosted its single share financing and securities lending businesses, once again leveraging the strong capabilities of its research team for effective delivery, and made it clear to active business owners that Morgan Stanley is the go-to provider for corporate solutions including hedging, financing, and treasury management. Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management’s China international business consequently experienced remarkable year-on-year revenue growth, leading to an impressive double-digit rate of reduction in cost-income ratio and two straight years of robust performance. Morgan Stanley is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – China International for 2018.
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INDUSTRY
8 exclusive data points that mattered in 2018 As business momentum gathers steam in 2019, Asian Private Banker reviews some of the exclusive data points that had the greatest impact over the past year in the realm of Asian private banking, some of which serve as a bellwether for industry trends in the months to come. AUM at Asia’s Top 20 surpassed US$2 trillion A sustained market rally and robust client activity pushed the AUM of Asia’s Top 20 private banks up 29.2% year-on-year, from US$1.55 trillion in 2016 to US$2.01 trillion in 2017, at a CAGR of 9.9% over a five-year period. Hiring to fuel AUM growth, the Top 20’s collective RM headcount reached 5,843 as at end-2017.
Explosive growth at India’s PBs and WMs On the back of the country’s burgeoning wealth, India’s Top 20 private banks and wealth managers posted a 62.3% year-on-year rise in AUM from US$103.7 billion in 2016 to US$169.3 billion in 2017, at a threeyear CAGR of 47.8%. RM headcount also ballooned 57.3% year-onyear, from 1,225 in 2016 to 1,927 in 2017.
Client influx at China’s PBs China’s Top 10 private banks welcomed a 16.9% year-on-year increase in client numbers from 467,000 in 2016 to 546,000 in 2017 — a fiveyear CAGR of 22.6% — as their combined AUM grew from RMB 7.12 trillion in 2016 to RMB 8.32 trillion the following year, at a five-year CAGR of 25.2%.
Singapore ahead of Hong Kong in IAM market share Singapore had a total of 90 independent asset management firms (IAMs) with US$53.4 billion in AUM, ahead of Hong Kong’s 70 IAMs with US$38.1 billion in AUM at the end of 2017. Average discretionary portfolio management (DPM) penetration at these IAMs stood at 71% of client accounts and 66% of AUM.
Record Asian DPM growth Bolstered by strong returns and healthy asset inflows, discretionary assets at Asia’s private banks soared 52.7% year-on-year, compared to a 30.3% increase in overall AUM. By segment, pure plays witnessed the highest growth at 86.9%, followed by Asian banks at 53.3% and
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universal banks at 44.7%. DPM penetration, meanwhile, notched up from 8.0% in 2016 to 9.6% in 2017 at a six-year CAGR of 14.3%, notwithstanding strong overall NNA for the region’s private banks. Pure plays saw the highest DPM penetration at 14.4%, followed by universal banks at 9.5% and Asian banks at 4.1%.
Succession planning sluggish Nearly one-third (32%) of RMs said their clients’ interest in succession planning had “significantly increased” in the past two years, with 45% seeing a “slight increase”, as at end-2017. However, nearly 60% of endclients did not have succession plans in place. Nonetheless, 79% of RMs saw over 10% of their clients holding life insurance plans in 2018, up from 54% of RMs in 2017 and a paltry 13% in 2016. For those who did not hold life policies, 37% stated their RM had not discussed the matter with them, while 29% did not think they needed it.
ESG uptake shallow, lack of training Almost half of private banks in Asia say that less than 10% of their clients’ AUM is held in ESG-related investments, as at end-2017. Meanwhile, 58% had not organised any ESG training events for their RMs in the past two years, in spite of 90% of RMs desiring training on ESG-related products. Further, there existed a divergence in perceptions regarding RMs’ familiarity with ESG — the average RM believed his or her ESG knowledge was slightly above average while senior representatives believed that RM knowledge was less than satisfactory.
KYC and client onboarding a top priority in regtech 38% and 46% of COOs said the respective pace and quality of their private bank’s innovations were on par with the industry in 2018. However, 76% and 62% believed the respective pace and quality lagged that of Big Tech firms, with 0% believing they were any faster or better. 40% regarded speedier KYC and client onboarding as their most pressing priority.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Jaideep Hansraj CEO, wealth management and priority banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited
KOTAK WEALTH MANAGEMENT Kotak Wealth Management not only ranks as the largest and arguably most experienced private bank in India but is a bonafide trailblazer in a market that is benefitting from wholesale increase in the demand for financial assets over traditional favourites, gold and real estate. While this momentum invariably plays to the hands of the broader private banking industry, Kotak remains India’s go-to provider on account of its best-in-breed solutions suite and dedication to servicing clients across life stages. In 2018, Kotak Wealth Management particularly stood out for the traction its advisory service achieved in a still transaction-heavy market. This point alone should not be downplayed. Given SEBI’s tabled proposal to segregate distribution and advisory services, there is now an overwhelming sense in India that advisory is here to stay. And it is telling that Kotak Wealth Management has taken the brave step to pivot towards an advisory-led model that both structurally incentivises client-banker alignment and insulates the business from sharp downturns in client activity. Worth noting, too, is the fact that Kotak’s clients are signing up for advisory mandates — a fact that both points to their rapid maturation as investors and, fundamentally, the trust they put in the bank’s capabilities to deliver asset allocation and investment advice predicated on their unique profile and objectives. Indeed, Kotak dispels the notion that large organisations adopt a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to servicing. Even with assets under advice in excess of INR 2,25,000 crores and some 2,800 family clients, Kotak Wealth Management places inordinate importance on customising solutions according to a client’s profile, objectives, and asset class exposure. Kotak has been a major beneficiary of the pronounced uptick in domestic liquidity events as families exit businesses and seek out professional wealth management advice and solutions. For the upper end of
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“With experience of over 20 years in the wealth management industry in India and as longstanding advisors to some of India’s leading families, Kotak Wealth Management continues to strengthen its position as India’s leading and most respected wealth management franchise. The wealth management industry in India is growing rapidly and the strength of our overall platform, quality of advice, customised product offerings, and a strong and stable team will continue to deliver real value to our clients.” - Jaideep Hansraj, CEO, wealth management and priority banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited
the wealth spectrum, the bank’s family offices solutions suite is one of the industry’s most replete, spanning wealth advisory, professional services in collaboration with external partners, financing, and family needs. To be sure, Kotak has a demonstrable track record in providing customised solutions to families facing successionrelated issues and guidance around philanthropic endeavours and responsible investments. The bank’s commitment to hiring and nurturing wealth management talent is also noteworthy, both for its ability to attract top staff — Kotak’s RM headcount grew 9% in 2018 — and to retain key staff by setting clear expectations, conducting periodic reviews, and providing mobility opportunities within the organisation. The strength of Kotak Wealth Management’s offering in 2018 ultimately translated into a strong set of financials. Revenue surged by 37% YoY against a low cost-income ratio, as did client assets, which grew 28%. Kotak Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – India Domestic for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Anshu Kapoor head of private wealth management, Edelweiss
EDELWEISS PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT The stars are aligning for India’s rising breed of international-class wealth managers as rampant wealth creation and economic reforms further expand the opportunity set and investors turn abruptly towards financial assets over gold and real estate. One doesn’t need to look far to find heady growth figures — India’s Top 20 wealth managers and private banks servicing the ultra and high net worth space grew their collective client assets by 63% in 2017 to US$169.3 billion, with the top five alone accounting for some US$85.7 billion. Among the pacesetters, Edelweiss Private Wealth Management — by one measure the fastest-growing domestic wealth manager — has distinguished itself as the go-to provider for India’s ‘new’ wealth. Its decision to focus its activities on four client segments that together account for around 60% of incremental wealth creation — namely, entrepreneurs, family offices, CXOs with employee stock options, and professional investors and traders — is astute insofar as this specialisation provides Edelweiss with a significant competitive edge. And as variegated as these clients’ needs are, Edelweiss has tailored its platform to address the full ambit of their requirements, spanning asset allocation, investment advisory, legal and tax, financing, and capital raising for family offices and corporate treasuries.
“I am delighted to receive this honour and accept it wholeheartedly on behalf of my entire team. I take this opportunity to thank all our esteemed clients for their trust and confidence in us. This award is a testimony to our singular focus on listening to and understanding our clients. We continue to be driven by our purpose: to help our clients spot opportunities and trends and to protect them from risks. We remain committed to creating the world’s most customer-centric wealth management business.” - Anshu Kapoor, head of private wealth management, Edelweiss Each segment has its own team that draws on the firm’s experienced and growing pool of wealth managers and specialists, many of whom boast investment banking backgrounds. Based on Edelweiss’s internal survey, employee engagement in the wealth division is among the highest within the firm, which explains its remarkable 98% retention rate for financial advisors and industryleading AUA per advisor of around US$195 million. More so, by tethering leadership and advisor awards with client satisfaction, Edelweiss has achieved a net promoter score of over 90, which is world-class in any industry.
Edelweiss should be commended for deepening its offering beyond conventional wealth management solutions to include products that are exclusive or bespoke in nature and business-oriented solutions that go beyond investments. It is also the leader when it comes to alternatives, not only boasting the largest alternatives platform among its peers but also the country’s largest distressed asset fund, having moved quickly to take advantage of emerging opportunities following the introduction of a new insolvency and bankruptcy code.
Meanwhile, Edelweiss continues to invest in its digital and research offering. It has brought in a CTO and is focusing on developing tools that further enable and empower clients and manage compliance risks.
Edelweiss has also been sage in the way it marshals its resources and capabilities around these client types.
Edelweiss is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – India Domestic for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
Ultimately, Edelweiss delivered an emphatic financial performance across all key metrics, including high doubledigit top-line growth headlined by a marked increase in recurring income, and double-digit increases in client accounts, NNM, and wallet share of existing clients.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Samir Bimal head of Indian and international markets, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
BNP PARIBAS WEALTH MANAGEMENT A true thoroughbred in the international arena and a mainstay of India’s idiosyncratic domestic market, BNP Paribas Wealth Management ranks among the few private banks capable of delivering a fully fledged and nuanced offering to global Indians, whose complex needs go beyond straight execution and wealth advisory to include corporate and investment banking and family services. Indeed, BNP Paribas’ strength is predicated on its strong onshore-offshore connectivity and a deeply entrenched ‘one-bank’ culture that promotes the nimble deployment of its full arsenal of solutions and services to its UHNW-dominated client base. And this prowess was on full display during 2018, a challenging year for the non-resident Indian market as a whole, but also a period of growth and innovation for BNP Paribas Wealth Management, which further underlined its credentials as the quintessential bank for truly global Indians. Leveraging BNP Paribas’ much vaunted global markets and corporate banking capabilities, clients benefitted from a range of targeted solutions — including bespoke structured products, alternatives advisory and financing, and family-focused services spanning onshore and offshore wealth planning and philanthropy — that few, if any, other players in this space are capable of delivering under one roof. This is on top of BNP Paribas’ ‘traditional’ wealth management offering that includes APAC’s best investment advisory and discretionary portfolio management solutions in 2018, as judged by Asian Private Banker. Clients responded in kind by pooling more assets with BNP Paribas Wealth Management. A doubledigit percentage increase in AUM was underpinned by strong NNA inflows from existing clients and widespread account consolidation. Moreover, the business grew its top and bottom lines by double-
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“This recognition is a reflection of the trust of our global NRI clients, commitment of the Group and efforts of our teams. We will continue to leverage on key value levers like our ‘One Bank’ philosophy, continued product offering and innovation, access to India Onshore, client digital experience and quality of our teams, to meet clients’ objectives.” - Samir Bimal, head of Indian and international markets, BNP Paribas Wealth Management digit percentages, headlined by a marked jump in recurring income, through increased mandate and fund penetration. Of course, all this could not be achieved without a team of bankers and product experts who are as well-versed in the ‘Indians’ markets as they are at navigating a truly global organisation to deliver the ‘right’ solution to the ‘right’ client at the ‘right’ time. Proof of BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s commitment to the global Indian diaspora is the fact that it continues to attract and develop top-tier talent. Moreover, BNP Paribas’ global Indian clients benefit from multiple touch points across top management, team leaders and RMs, product specialists, and ‘one bank’ experts, and have at their fingertips the private bank’s latest generation of digital tools covering advisory, trading, secure conferencing, and networking. Immense competition in the global Indian space continues to bring the best out of BNP Paribas Wealth Management. Not only has it demonstrated its commitment to this coveted client segment, but it shows a hunger to lead, innovate, and evolve alongside its clients. BNP Paribas Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Global Indians for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Elina Wirjakusuma senior vice president wealth management, PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Indonesia
BANK MANDIRI As offshore money flowed back into Indonesia through a well-documented tax amnesty programme, the scheme brought with it an unheralded hitchhiker: global standards. Aware of this, Bank Mandiri set out to upgrade its offering across the board, understanding that the fight to capture client mindshare and repatriated wealth will be settled by a world-class platform, sound investment advice, and a front office that constantly strives to achieve best-in-breed standards. Indicative of its success, Bank Mandiri in 2018 managed to draw in a sizeable chunk of client money and then redeploy by virtue of its best-in-class domestic solutions offering. Mandiri Private fired off the opening salvo in the beginning of the year by inking a strategic partnership with Lombard Odier to broaden its solutions offering. In particular, Mandiri Private tapped into Lombard Odier’s global funds shelf and introduced risk-based discretionary portfolio management to Indonesian HNWIs, all the while leveraging the Swiss private bank’s centuries-old experience in investment advisory and wealth planning to service families. Under the guidance of its CIO office, Mandiri Private also helped clients navigate particularly turbulent markets and generate sturdy returns for those who followed its calls closely. This was achieved, in part, through the bank’s existing partnerships with nine other investment managers, which collectively offer an array of solutions and specialised product expertise to domestic HNWIs — a market estimated to be worth US$661 billion in assets at the end of 2017, according to Capgemini’s Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2018. To properly service existing clients and capture the growing number and wealth of prospects, Mandiri Private proactively invests in the quality of its staff to ensure that the frontline is equipped with the knowledge necessary to provide the market’s leading suite of private client services. Indeed, all of the
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We spent the year focusing on creating value for our wealth management clients. Clients are always faced with many choices and decisions so we needed to take our service and offering to the next level. We partnered with an experienced private banking firm to provide solutions for clients’ needs and we are developing a digital channel to give them a better banking experience. We are grateful for being awarded Best Private Bank – Indonesia Domestic for the third time in a row. This award will be shared with our most valuable asset — our clients.” - Elina Wirjakusuma, senior vice president wealth management, PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Indonesia
bank’s relationship managers are required to undergo certification in various fields, including financial planning, insurance, and risk management. The success of Mandiri Private’s training programmes is evidenced by the fact that NNA grew in spite of a stable headcount, with over 40% of new assets contributed from brand new clients. Productivity per relationship manager also surged in line with NNA, leading to double-digit revenue growth — a worthy achievement considering the challenging market conditions of 2018. All this points to another strong year for Mandiri Private, which has continued to outperform its peers through an expanded offering, robust investment advice, and constant talent development. Bank Mandiri is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Indonesia Domestic for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Johanes Oeni market group head, Indonesia, Private Banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE More than a year after the conclusion of one of the most successful tax amnesties in recent history, the Indonesia International market is still feeling reverberations with investors consolidating their offshore relationships among a few best-in-class wealth managers. Credit Suisse, a major player in the space, has handled the after-effects of the amnesty with guile, taking the opportunity to ramp up collaboration between its investment and private banking businesses for greater focus without compromising the bottom line. Although Credit Suisse continues to broaden its Indonesia footprint beyond traditional first-tier cities, the bank significantly consolidated client relationships and workforce in the Indonesia business by prioritising client segments where its offering could make a difference, such as entrepreneurs operating in key sectors in which the private and investment bank have a competitive advantage such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, fintech, and industrials. In 2018, the bank demonstrated its edge in the fields, evidenced by landmark integrated bank deals such as a share-backed loan for a listed oil and gas company and an IPO solution for a major hospital and medical service provider. Consolidation aside, the bank positioned itself to hoover up next-generation client relationships given the imminent wealth transfer in one of Asia’s oldest wealth markets. In addition to attracting next-gen clients through its capabilities in sectors that are facing groundbreaking disruption, the bank is placing greater emphasis on wealth planning.
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“Winning the Best Private Bank – Indonesia International a sixth time from APB is a demonstration of our leading position across both private banking and investment banking in Indonesia. This has positioned us well to be the Trusted Entrepreneurs’ Bank for Indonesian clients, allowing us to be close partners with our clients across their entrepreneurial activities and private investments. This integrated model is critical for us to successfully serve our current and future generation of clients in a market where entrepreneurism is driving economic and wealth growth. This unique partnership between private banking and investment banking allows us to deliver differentiated business and wealth management opportunities for our clients and this has led to a deep footprint in Indonesia, with about 70% of Forbes Indonesian Billionaires banking with us.” - Johanes Oeni, market group head, Indonesia, Private Banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse Despite a difficult year for transactional activities, Credit Suisse delivered positive growth in its recurring business while growing NNA strongly, with a sharper segmental focus backed by continued excellence in delivering both private and investment banking solutions. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Indonesia International for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Tsuneaki Hirao head of private banking, Japan, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE Traditionally, domestic incumbents have dominated Japan’s private banking scene due to their locallyskewed capabilities and deep penetration of domestic HNWIs. However, in 2018, Credit Suisse demonstrated just how effective its differentiated proposition is in terms of addressing clients’ local and global needs in one of Asia’s oldest wealth markets. In addition to accessing the bank’s robust and comprehensive product platform to leverage global product due diligence and research capabilities, Credit Suisse imported its integrated banking model to Japan to cater to the business needs of its Japanese clients, in line with its commitment to being the region’s “trusted entrepreneurs’ bank”. In the process, Credit Suisse notched up a number of ‘one bank’ successes, include the delivery of a diversified range of large deals spanning share-backed loans, IPOs, equity block trades, and M&A. Unlike local players, Credit Suisse Private Banking is able to conduct both banking and securities businesses. And while clients of local institutions are required to switch relationship managers every few years, foreign financial institutions are exempt from the rule, allowing truly long-term and potentially multi-generational relationships to be built — a critical element in light of 2017 revisions to Japan’s inheritance tax which was marked up to 55% of global assets. Further, the private bank’s Japan clients enjoy access to Credit Suisse’s international booking centres in Zurich, Singapore, and Hong Kong, providing increased opportunities for diversification beyond the country’s borders.
“We are honoured to receive the Best Private Bank – Japan award for the first time. As one of the very few leading global banks with a domestic private banking franchise in Japan, our competitive edge is in leveraging our global platform to provide diversified solutions across asset classes, geographies and foreign currencies that can help our clients drive investment returns. We believe that our global platform and integrated banking model where we can offer our clients the strength of our Private Banking and Investment Banking expertise will be a key growth driver.” - Tsuneaki Hirao, head of private banking, Japan, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
double-digit year-on-year increase in NNA, attributable to the bank’s strong UHNW focus. Indeed, 28 out of the Forbes 50 Japan Billionaires are clients of the bank, including two who were onboarded in 2018. Through its three dedicated private banking offices in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, Credit Suisse successfully leveraged the scale of its multinational operations and the experience of its 100-strong frontline staff in Japan to take another large step towards becoming the best private bank in APAC’s most advanced economy for years to come. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Japan for 2018.
Accordingly, the bank delivered impressively robust growth figures in a trying year for markets, including
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Young Jin Yee market group head for Singapore and Malaysia, and CEO SymAsia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse, a perennial power player in the Malaysia International market, once again demonstrated its integrated bank prowess and the compelling strength of its solutions platform for UHNWs — many of whom feature on the country’s Forbes 50 list — in a year that has been assuredly tough for all. Landmark deals in 2018 included an IPO, projected to be one of Malaysia’s largest in recent years. Estimated at US$600 million, the mandate was won based on strong collaboration and teamwork between the private banking and investment banking teams, beating the competition. Such feats of synergy are accentuated by the fact that all of the group’s Malaysia deals in the past year were made up of repeat business — an indication of the amount of confidence clients place in the bank’s blended expertise. Credit Suisse’s Malaysia business has also posted steady growth in client assets and profitability over the past three years. And recurring business grew strongly, an impressive feat considering that income from the region’s transaction-heavy clients was moderated across the board this year.
“We are proud to be named the Best Private Bank – Malaysia International again. Credit Suisse has been deeply committed to the Malaysia market for over two decades, with some of the most experienced private and investment bankers covering this market. We have a unique and dedicated Malaysia coverage team in our private banking business, who works in close partnership with our investment banking franchise to identify business opportunities across our leading integrated wealth management, capital markets and financing capabilities. Looking ahead, we will focus on growing our Malaysia coverage team as we believe that the longterm potential of the Malaysia economy will be robust.” - Young Jin Yee, market group head for Singapore and Malaysia, and CEO SymAsia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
Clearly, Credit Suisse’s commitment to Malaysian clients has been worthwhile, thanks to the remarkable efforts of a Malaysia team that is over 50-strong, unmatched cross-divisional capabilities, a dedicated team of senior investment consultants and relationship managers, as well as a constantly improving investment offering. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Malaysia International for 2018.
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Vikram Malhotra global market head, South Asia and Middle East, Bank of Singapore
BANK OF SINGAPORE Bank of Singapore solidified its status as the go-to private bank for the Middle East and North Africa in 2018, despite only having set up its regional Dubai representative office two years ago. The business saw numerous expansions, in addition to a swell in client assets and accounts in the Middle East, which boasts one of the largest NRI communities in the world. On the back of Bank of Singapore’s strong global growth momentum, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch saw a solid 9% growth in assets on a year-on-year basis, with over half the assets from the UHNW segment. The branch also houses over 100 employees — more than 50 of whom are front office personnel — having added headcount across all its functions to ensure that clients are serviced to standards befitting the brand. Since the launch of the DIFC branch in 2017, the fully kitted office has become a stronghold in the region and has since capitalised on the completeness of its wealth management offering to capture the estimated US$4 trillion1 that sits in the MENA region. Indeed, strong results underpin the business’ leading market position with total revenues in the first nine months of 2018 growing year-on-year by almost 20% despite challenging market conditions. The bank’s efforts to bolster recurring income also led to an impressive surge in DPM assets — with a sizeable contribution made by the NRI segment — resulting in a more diverse revenue mix for the lender.
“We are honoured to be named Middle East and North Africa’s best private bank, more so because it is a first for an Asian bank. The award is not only testimony of our commitment to the region, but a validation of our wealth strategy and capabilities as a firm which has built a reputation as Asia’s global private bank known for providing best-in-class advice and solutions through partnerships with leading global partners. Having one of the largest teams of product and investment specialists in the region has been a key factor in our success. Our clients are able to receive real-time expert advice for their wealth management needs ranging from wealth planning, strategic investments, and portfolio management.” - Vikram Malhotra, global market head, South Asia and Middle East, Bank of Singapore
Owing to these achievements in the region — made in a relatively short period, no less — Bank of Singapore has genuinely confirmed its claim to be ‘Asia’s global private bank’. Bank of Singapore is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Middle East and North Africa for 2018.
Not content with its already well-stocked global platform, Bank of Singapore also introduced offerings specific to the market, such as financing solutions for UAE equities and residential property in Dubai.
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Source: Capgemini World Wealth Report 2018
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Albert S. Yeo president, BDO Private Bank
BDO PRIVATE BANK Placing itself at the centre of the race to capitalise on the ‘Philippines opportunity’, BDO Private Bank has once again emerged as the preferred domestic bank for the nation’s wealthy, demonstrated by its consistently strong performance and significant growth since it was acquired by the country’s largest lender, BDO Unibank, in 2003. As it stands, the wholly owned subsidiary is the only onshore institution of its kind offering the Philippines’ emerging wealthy, HNWIs, and UHNWIs services comparable to its multinational offshore counterparts. Although 2018 proved tough for emerging markets, BDO Private Bank leveraged its local knowledge and reputation, leading to an increase in HNW client numbers, revenue, and AUM. HNW clients, with combined assets under management of PHP 390 billion, contributed 42% of the firm’s total revenue as of end-October 2018, up from 34% at end-October 2017. Total revenues from this segment increased by 19.4% year-on-year. The bank’s relationship management group utilises a unique three-pronged business model that incorporates research and investment management, wealth structuring, and asset servicing. Private clients have dedicated access to one of BDO Private Bank’s 55 relationship managers, who are backed by a 13-strong team of wealth advisors, as well as eight customer lounges across the country. In addition to unfettered access to arguably the Philippines’ most experienced team, clients benefit from the private bank’s full-spectrum, openarchitecture product platform, which is supported by research, advisory, execution, and administration services. To meet and protect the long-term investment needs of its client base and mitigate volatility, BDO Private Bank encourages diversification across asset types, currencies, and sectors, and thus its product shelf includes multi-currency deposits and securities, foreign exchange, and derivatives.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We at BDO Private Bank thank Asian Private Banker for this latest award. We consider this a recognition of our efforts to render the best service to our clients and thank our clients for their continued trust and confidence in BDO Private Bank. This award will serve as added inspiration for BDO Private Bank to focus on becoming a world-class private bank. We aspire to provide international products and services, open more wealth management capabilities, and protect our clients’ interests at all times.” - Albert S. Yeo, president, BDO Private Bank
To not only grow but also preserve the wealth of its clients across generations, the private bank offers its HNW clients wealth structuring services which include a dedicated wealth and legal advisor, discretionary portfolios that are monitored daily, and financial planning that incorporates individuals’ unique circumstances and requirements. Further, BDO’s Wealth Advisory & Trust Group offers trust, legacy, life insurance, corporate engagement, as well as will and testament services. BDO Private Bank’s client-centred approach, worldclass offerings, and value-added services — including setting up new business ventures for clients, top-quality education, and philanthropy solutions — has led to its success amongst the high net worth population of one of the most promising private banking markets globally. For the fourth year running, BDO is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Philippines Domestic for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Christian Cappelli head Philippines and Thailand, Julius Baer
JULIUS BAER In 2018, Julius Baer’s ventures into the Philippines were marked by robust asset growth, an enhanced offering, and further build-out of sustainable revenues, making the Swiss major the standout private banking provider for the international Philippines segment. The bank registered significant asset growth for the segment throughout the year, due in part to its efforts to expand coverage beyond traditional first-tier cities. In addition to a pipeline of new talent, the bank leveraged its little-advertised onshore partnerships, primarily to leverage financial institutions’ local networks. Aside from new client acquisition, the lion’s share of net new assets from the Philippines segment derived from its existing client base, owing to a greater focus on key clients with a team-based approach as well as an enhanced offering. The latter includes its capital markets offering, which expanded to include a fixed income direct access client (DAC) business — a strongly favoured asset class for the segment, even amongst the already income-hungry Asian clientele. Meanwhile, the bank’s structured products revenue surged on the back of an upgraded platform that now allows clients to explore more permutations of underliers and payoffs with lower minimum ticket sizes. Revenue sustainability of Julius Baer’s Philippines book saw a stellar showing in 2018, with discretionary mandate revenue nearly doubling. Overall mandate penetration, including advisory, has reached half the
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“Receiving this prestigious recognition for the second consecutive year is a testament of Julius Baer’s longstanding dedication to the Philippines and the unwavering trust from our discerning clients. The success of our team is based on close partnerships with all our colleagues, the constant strive for excellence and, above all, integrity in everything we do.” - Christian Cappelli, head Philippines and Thailand, Julius Baer bank’s Filipino client assets — a high figure even by the standards of very mature markets westward. Further, after a strong 2017 for insurance, the bank continued growing the revenue line by capitalising on one of Asia’s oldest country segments of HNWIs. And although Julius Baer has been a prolific spender in recent years in a bid to amass scale, the Philippines business itself has demonstrated that efficiency is a necessary criterion for success with a very significant reduction of its cost-income ratio amid a market environment of growing compliance, technology, and staff costs. Robust growth in assets and revenue coupled with greater efficiency and deep client servicing led Julius Baer to win this year’s award for Best Private Bank – Philippines International.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Dennis Chen country head and head of UBS Wealth Management, UBS Taiwan
UBS UBS’s status as a perennial trailblazer in Taiwan’s domestic wealth management market was further solidified in 2018 through greater enhancements to its platform and offering, widening the gap with its competitors which tend to criticise the local business environment for its restrictive access to global markets and products. Although the regulatory environment in Taiwan remains restrictive relative to neighbouring offshore centres, UBS has succeeded in upgrading its onshore platform with a product shelf that reaches near-parity with its Hong Kong and Singapore businesses. In addition to its flow solutions, the bank has enhanced its UHNW platform with what it calls ‘Privileged Accessed Clients’ (PAC) — an offering that grants its most sophisticated clients exclusive global opportunities. In 2018, such deals ranged from direct investments in US real estate on Broadway to a Latin American ride-hailing service to access to a Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform. UBS further distinguished itself by enhancing its platform for greater cross-product, cross-business line, and crossborder capabilities in a market that has often segregated the uses of local and foreign money. The bank set up its ‘One Taiwan’ ambassador office for this purpose and received the blessing from regulators to launch a oneyear pilot to conduct referrals to offshore entities. The bank’s revenue mix for the onshore Taiwan market also remains a point of envy for its competitors, with its mandate business registering penetration levels that are high even by regional offshore standards.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are delighted to have been named ‘Best Private Bank – Taiwan Domestic’ by Asian Private Banker. Our strategy of seeking to deliver best-in-class products and services via a global platform while drawing on a deep knowledge of the local market resonates with our clients. But, of course, success depends primarily on the experience and dedication of our employees who, without exception, identify and fulfil the increasingly sophisticated client needs.” - Dennis Chen, country head and head of UBS Wealth Management, UBS Taiwan Supported by UBS Taiwan’s unique digital advisory platform, the firm’s mandates business has benefitted from scalable AI capabilities built upon an efficient client acquisition model. All the while, UBS Taiwan’s domestic wealth business continues to experience stable asset growth despite volatile markets causing clients to retreat from investments in the second half of the year. With an increasingly innovative platform and continued revenue diversification, UBS has proved its unrivalled leadership, not only as a market participant but as an industry pioneer, helping it to firmly secure its dominant position in Taiwan. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Taiwan Domestic for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
David Man regional market manager, Taiwan International, UBS Wealth Management
UBS UBS’s well-established foothold in the Taiwan international segment was further reinforced in 2018, thanks in large part to the team dedicated to innovating the business. In a year marred by volatility and for a market that has experienced suboptimal GDP growth, UBS’s Taiwan international unit managed to expand sustainably across the board by enhancing collaboration with other parts of the bank, broadening client coverage, and diversifying revenue streams. For the year under consideration, the bank placed a particular focus on the existing client base of its Taiwan business. Adopting a team-based approach, Taiwan international advisors leveraged the group’s myriad capabilities to identify and meet clients’ various financing, investment, and wealth management needs. As a result of these collaborations, a very significant share of UBS’s net new assets (NNA) in 2018 were sourced from existing clients — a major indicator of trust and satisfaction.
“Our business is evolving towards a need-based, client-centric and truly integrated approach. We have another successful year in 2018 recording growth in our asset base and profitability. Talent development, team approach and commitment to excellence are amongst our key differentiators to take the business to new heights. The immersion of clients in our vast product usage reflects the strength of our business and the solidarity of the relationships with clients. We are encouraged by the award again this year and will build on this inertia to further perfect our client experience.” - David Man, regional market manager, Taiwan International, UBS Wealth Management
Outside of existing clients, UBS further diversified sources of new money by tapping into two high potential markets: cash-rich corporations and nonresident Taiwanese. For the former, it leveraged its network with business and trade associations to systematically target Taiwanese corporates, and for the latter, a virtual China team was set up to capture the vast pool of Taiwanese sitting in core Chinese cities. The results thus far have been phenomenal, with NNA coming from China-domiciled clients representing the largest share of Taiwan NNA overall.
discretionary mandate penetration, posting rates that would be the envy of any country team within the bank, not to mention any bank in the industry.
The growth of client assets aside, the Taiwan business continues to demonstrate a commitment to building a legacy of sustainability that can withstand market cycles. Within a private bank that has a strict regional mandate to expand its recurring income base, the Taiwan team remains a leader in advisory and
Though it is already an established market leader in capability and size for the Taiwan international market, UBS refused to rest on its laurels, continuing to recalibrate strategically and grow sustainably.
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And in a region that conventionally builds front office lineups by bidding for top talent, UBS’s Taiwan business bucks the trend by consistently focusing on building a robust pipeline through developing young internal talent. Its learning and development programmes have resulted in the rise of many rainmakers — and considerable growth in net revenue — since.
UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Taiwan International for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Jirawat Supornpaibul private banking group head, KASIKORNBANK PCL.
KASIKORNBANK PCL. 2018 was a transformative year for KASIKORNBANK PCL. (KBank), which continued to strengthen its market-leading position through a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing processes, product offering, and client well-being. With a strategy squarely focused on improving the firm through partnerships, KBank Private Banking last year began upgrading its core systems through Avaloq, developed a wider product platform through its continued alliance with Lombard Odier, and introduced an education ‘Quality of Leaving’ programme through a local social enterprise. The first Thai bank to onboard the Avaloq Banking Suite, KBank vaulted its digital infrastructure to meet global standards early last year, enhancing its client advisory, transaction execution, and portfolio management capabilities. The upgrade, while granting KBank increased efficiencies across the board, also provides it with modularity and access to a vast library of fintech companies, thereby giving it the means to meet the varied needs of its frontline staff and clients through plug-ins. And in understanding that its clients’ investment management needs extend beyond short-term securities trading, KBank — with the aid of Lombard Odier — developed risk-based funds specifically catered to segment. Last year, the firm revealed just how much traction the solutions have gained, announcing that they have attracted over US$1 billion in the three years they have been made available — an enviable figure considering the country’s low funds penetration rate.
“‘Time’ is the precious gift offered by KASIKORNBANK Private Banking service to our valued customers in appreciation of their continued trust. KASIKORNBANK Private Banking thus offers the international comprehensive wealth management service so that they ‘trust’ in our brand and leave their worries behind to enjoy their lives with their loved ones. Their heartfelt smiles and worryfree happiness are the treasure of KBank Private Banking service success.” - Jirawat Supornpaibul, private banking group head, KASIKORNBANK PCL. comprehensive wealth planning services for the domestic market. Furthering its lead as a pioneer in wealth planning, KBank initiated a not-for-profit education programme last year with the Cheevamitr Social Enterprise to expound the merits of structuring wealth in a market where conversations around ‘end of life’ are particularly taboo. In doing so, KBank has aimed to transform an entire market and prepare families whose wealth is often lost between generations due to inadequate planning. Through disciplined efforts to enhance its platform and offering to the benefit of its staff and clientele, KBank continues to stay ahead of the curve in its home market, ultimately winning it the trust — and assets — of the Kingdom’s wealthiest. KASIKORNBANK PCL. is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Thailand Domestic for 2018.
KBank has also leveraged Lombard Odier’s centuries of expertise to become the first Thai bank to introduce
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
Marcus Slöör market group head Thailand & Vietnam, Private Banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse, embarking on its onshore wealth management setup in 2016, has once again underscored its credentials in a competitive Thailand international market, as Thai policymakers continue to relax controls in a bid to encourage the country’s wealthy to invest more. In 2018, the bank rolled out a number of initiatives that further strengthened the connectivity between its on- and offshore activities, in the process reinforcing its status as the go-to solutions provider for wealthy Thais. Indeed, the number of onshore private banking teams has trebled year-on-year, net new assets have surged over the same period, and AUM for the client segment has risen on a steady annualised trajectory of 25% since 2015. In entrusting their hard-earned wealth to Credit Suisse, Thai clients gain access to the Swiss bank’s global offering and Thai-specific solutions, including credit-linked notes with embedded Thai credit default swaps, structured products with Thai equity and index underlyings, and multi-shore lending capabilities introduced exclusively for Thai entrepreneurs last year. Of course, not to be downplayed is the cross-divisional collaboration that underlines Credit Suisse’s compelling offering. Thai entrepreneurs are able to leverage Credit Suisse’s leading Thailand advisory and underwriting franchise and advance their businesses through deals handled by the Kingdom’s top investment bankers.
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“We are delighted to be awarded Best Private Bank – Thailand International once again. Two years after we launched our wealth management business in Thailand, our team and assets have grown from strength to strength through our unique onshore-offshore model. Clients in Thailand are increasingly looking for global investment opportunities and our setup is well positioned to capture this booming demand. With Credit Suisse’s vision as the Trusted Entrepreneurs’ Bank of Asia, we are looking to systematically increase our collaboration efforts between our domestic investment banking franchise and our wealth management team.” - Marcus Slöör, market group head Thailand & Vietnam, Private Banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse Further, Credit Suisse has impressed the Judging Panel with the amount of energy it has poured into its Thailand teams. As of last year, a team of more than 50 frontline staff — two-thirds being Thai — covered the Thailand market across the Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok offices, with the average staff member possessing more than 10 years of private banking experience. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Thailand International for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
BUSINESS AWARDS
Sudhir Nemali COO, emerging markets, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management
SUDHIR NEMALI It would be a fair assumption that for Sudhir Nemali, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s APAC COO, the past couple of years have been arduous. That he is able to look back over this period and tick off a number of major deliverables is sheer credit not only to his leadership but also that of the private bank’s emerging markets head, Lok Yim. As a veteran senior leader within the bank and current COO, Nemali is front and centre of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s regional revitalisation programme — a plan that pivots on three key stages, namely ‘Protect, Transform, Grow’ — and a driving force behind efforts to imbue the business with rigour in process and compliance. A thankless task, some might say, but Nemali has set about establishing a solid foundation for the private bank to grow in a manner that is both systematic and logical, producing demonstrable results on schedule. The ‘Protect’ phase of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s regional strategy involved insulating the business from major risks amid tectonic shifts in the regulatory landscape. Under Nemali’s watch, the private bank made a point of being first in the region to achieve CRS compliance on the basis that compliance itself is conducive to sustainable growth, with every single relationship manager being provided with country manuals on cross-border rules. Furthermore, the private bank prioritised MiFID II compliance given its exposure to Europe, contracting a major consultancy to provide analysis and recommendations on how to achieve this. At the same time, Nemali has pursued an ambitious but necessary digitalisation plan as part of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s ‘Transform’ phase. After rolling out a laundry list of tech-related initiatives in 2017, the private bank homed in on a few key priority areas amid a major hiring drive in the region. These included client onboarding processes which have been revamped given that an onslaught of new hires could lead to congestion in the KYC and account opening AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“While I’m truly humbled and grateful for this recognition, this award is a tribute to the fantastic team at Deutsche Bank that has navigated a complex environment in 2018 with great skill and poise. From execution efficiency to directing resources to key technologies that ‘pay back’, they have had to walk and chew gum at the same time. The focus has been to serve both constituents — internal and external clients. From obsessing about account opening and radically re-engineering the account opening process to creating sleek and slick online access for external clients, the team has epitomised clientcentricity. And we look forward to being a reliable partner to the ambitious business growth plans by continuing to drive efficiencies and maintain the highest of regulatory standards.” - Sudhir Nemali, COO, emerging markets, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management stage. In partnership with a third party, the bank has made significant progress in reducing onboarding times, leading to greater efficiency and higher client satisfaction. Plans are now afoot to both integrate AI into client screening and streamline and automate the information-gathering process for clients and prospects. Meanwhile, Nemali, working in lockstep with Yim, was able to secure a major chunk of a €65 million injection from global into client-focused technology, in the process receiving the go-ahead to set up an innovation lab in Singapore. Opened in November, the lab is intended to pursue collaborations with regional fintech startups to the benefit of the lender’s global wealth business. That Deutsche Bank chose Asia as the site of its latest innovation hub is surely credit to the importance it places on the region and the esteem with which Nemali is held. Sudhir Nemali is Asian Private Banker’s COO of the Year for 2018.
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BUSINESS AWARDS
Ron Lee head of private wealth management, Asia Pacific, Goldman Sachs
GOLDMAN SACHS A positive, progressive work culture is paramount for talent attraction and retention. For employees today, no matter the industry, factors such as inclusion and diversity, professional development, and personal well-being are no longer considered value-adds and are certainly not viewed as peripheral to remuneration. Accordingly, the onus lies with employers to align their offering with expectations and, moreover, redefine best practices. Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, a serial winner of Asian Private Banker’s Employer of the Year award, has once again demonstrated its commitment to fostering an environment and culture that is both conducive to employee satisfaction and sensitive to employee diversity. The firm’s employment strategy rests on the thesis that a happy, well-guided workforce ultimately leads to happy, well-guided clients. The Judging Panel agrees. Beyond the progress Goldman Sachs has made in recent years in terms of tapping a wider pool of candidates using digital means, the bank in 2018 overhauled its ‘Global Diversity Committee’, which reports directly to global CEO David Solomon, and whose drive has coincided with an unprecedented level of diversity within Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management’s regional business. Indeed, last year, 40% of individuals who were promoted to partner in Asia were female and over half of the division’s regional headcount consisted of women. To train its expansive employee base, Goldman Sachs has put in place targeted initiatives to build competencies and enhance collaboration. Highlighted programmes in 2018 include the Private Wealth Advisor (PWA) Acceleration Initiative, which provides advisors with coaching relevant to their career stage, and the Asia Pacific PWA Conference, which brings together
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“We are honoured to be named Employer of the Year once again. The award is a testament to our effort in cultivating an environment for our people to grow and thrive. We recognise the importance of investing in employees’ professional development as well as providing policies that support wellness and personal growth.” - Ron Lee, head of private wealth management, Asia Pacific, Goldman Sachs
the firm’s regional PWAs to share best business practices. In addition, Goldman Sachs introduced the GS Accelerate programme last year to provide staff a channel to explore and develop ideas that will result in best-in-class innovations for both clients and the firm. By incubating these insourced ideas, the firm aims to provide staff with a powerful means to express themselves entrepreneurially. Recognising the importance of its staff’s well-being, the firm also imbues its conferences with topics on how to handle adversity and uphold a healthy work-life balance. Of note is its introduction of ‘meQuilibrium’ — a platform built to measurably improve employees’ lives through the imbuement of resilience — and ongoing benefits that create a safe and supportive environment for individuals with familial responsibilities. With a mindset firmly placed on creating the best work conditions, Goldman Sachs has continued to impress by showing tremendous amounts of care for its employees. Goldman Sachs is Asian Private Banker’s Employer of the Year for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
BUSINESS AWARDS
Alvin Lee head of group wealth management and Singapore community financial services, Maybank
MAYBANK Driven by an ambition to rank among Asia Pacific’s top private banks, a young Maybank Private in 2013 put into action an aspirational go-to-market roadmap — dubbed ‘Build, Enhance, Perform’ — to expand its market share and presence. Five years on, its growth strategy is bearing impressive results and, crucially, remains on-schedule. During its ‘build’ and ‘enhance’ phases — a period spanning from 2013 to 2017 — Maybank Private ticked off a formidable list of achievements: it established three booking centres and a service desk, formed a wealth management centre of excellence, overhauled its core banking systems, built up its product platform, and set up a dedicated unit for Islamic HNWIs. Throughout this time, the private bank has played to the strengths of the Maybank Group, whose roots run deep in ASEAN. By leveraging the bank’s vast network, establishing a cross-market, cross-division client referral programme, and cultivating relationship managers to service clients at the regional level, Maybank Private has notched up an enviable business record, with client accounts and AUM growing at annualised rates of 48% and 44% respectively. Moreover, over 90% of the private bank’s client base comes from referrals. Its decision to partner with core platform provider, Avaloq is also paying dividends. With powerful automation and straight-through processing capabilities, Maybank has been able to vastly improve operational efficiencies and transaction times. Indeed, since launch, average monthly transactions have shot up by 82% and average investment fees per month have more than trebled. Maybank is now in the ‘enhance’ phase of the strategic growth plan — a stage dedicated to improving all those initiatives it has rolled out since 2013. Focusing
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“Maybank Private is honoured to receive this award, as we marked our fifth anniversary in 2018. The win is a testament to our strong belief to place clients first by understanding their needs and to provide solutions and opportunities to meet both their personal and business objectives in the region. With an ecosystem built from collaboration between countries and across units, Maybank Private is able to deliver customer satisfaction, boost business volume, and achieve higher overall profitability. Moving forward, Maybank Private will continue to leverage on Maybank Group’s existing business relationships and network as our key competitive advantage.” - Alvin Lee, head of group wealth management and Singapore community financial services, Maybank on its people and recognising that upskilling talent is critical to achieving business sustainability, the bank partnered with the Wealth Management Institute of Nanyang Technological University last year to establish the Maybank Wealth Management Academy. The first batch of participants, comprising 156 client advisors, investment consultants, and products specialists — more than 10% of the wealth management workforce — graduated from the programme late last year, marking another milestone for Maybank Private. The Judging Panel commends Maybank Private for devising and following through with a coherent and systematic growth strategy in a market where growth can never be taken for granted. Maybank is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Growth Strategy of the Year for 2018.
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BUSINESS AWARDS
Angel Ng head business academy APAC, UBS
UBS Asia’s private banks are pouring vast resources into equipping their staff with skills necessary for achieving long-term business sustainability. Those that invested early in their learning and development offering are now at a point when they can reflect on the relative strengths and weaknesses of their initiatives and make meaningful improvements. Such is the case with UBS, a perennial trailblazer when it comes to employee development. Indeed, UBS’s goals for its recently relaunched UBS University were to optimise the existing core shelf, digitalise a number of learning initiatives, and grow its curriculum. It has delivered on all fronts. Employees’ learning experience begins at day one with mandatory training. In 2018, UBS condensed its six New Joiner modules to just one, saving a combined 5,000 days in training annually and 4.5 hours in seat time for each new staff member. Following onboarding, employees are granted access to UBS Wealth Management’s role-specific curriculum, which is structured according to role and career stage and offers a host of programmes, academies, and certifications. Included in the curriculum for client advisors and desk heads is UBS’s WM Certification — a programme designed to build and enhance the competencies of client-facing staff. In 2018, the certification was externalised and digitalised, resulting in a new ‘one-stop shop’ platform through which users have access to learning materials, practice tests, and schedules. Content has also been modernised and cut by more than half, freeing up time for learners to utilise the expanded range of study notes, videos, practice questions, and mock exams. Client advisors can also partake in the Associate Programme, which targets four learning pillars — client prospecting and service, risk management and compliance, market and investment knowledge, and operations and processes — and senior client-
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“Beyond having a comprehensive platform of learning opportunities, UBS provides futurefocused learning for our employees. We constantly invest in improving the quality of our client service advisory skills aligned to evolving trends and current affairs such as ESG and AI. We strive to make learning easy by having curated ‘playlists’ of recommended learning modules on our Learning Portal to cater to various learning needs and roles. It will always be our goal to enable our employees to stay abreast with the changes around us and ensure they stay relevant in the business and to our clients.” - Angel Ng, head business academy APAC, UBS facing professionals can enrol in the WM Master programme for which successful participants receive a dual degree from the University of Rochester and University of Bern. And with its eye on the future, UBS has built a pipeline for junior client advisors that begins with the PWMA Apprenticeship for second- and third-year university students, followed by the Summer Internship and Graduate Talent Programmes. After gaining three-to-five years of work experience, aspiring bankers can then join the yearlong CA Associate Programme that equips them with the skills they need to establish and grow their client books. Overall, UBS’s efforts have paid off, with a higher percentage of staff reporting that the learning opportunities provided by their employer are helpful, innovative, and in keeping with their career objectives. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Learning & Development for 2018.
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BUSINESS AWARDS
Liza Green head of corporate citizenship Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse has once again demonstrated that its commitment to its internal and external stakeholders extends beyond business and that being a corporate citizen does not only demand reactivity but proactivity. Taking into consideration the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the bank facilitates initiatives amongst its departments, employees, and peers to create sustainable value and engender systemic change all the while maintaining a necessary sense of urgency. In a bid to strengthen the foundation of its CSR culture, the bank updated its conduct and ethics standards which now comprise client focus, accountability, meritocracy, transparency, as well as a commitment to partnering and improving stakeholder management. Internally, some of these translated into effective employee engagement. Employees are also encouraged to support the bank’s external philanthropic efforts by taking up to four days a year to volunteer their time to social projects run by the bank’s partners. In 2018, the employee engagement rate in APAC reached 54% — the highest ever in Asia Pacific — and Credit Suisse, together with its staff, raised money for those affected by the Lombok earthquake, Kerala floods, and Indonesia tsunami in 2018. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse continued to reduce its carbon footprint by having reduced its emissions by 41% in the last two years while having operated on a greenhouse gas neutral basis since 2010. The bank’s employees in APAC also established a ‘bring your own cup’ discount scheme last year and set about eliminating plastic straws, containers, and bags from on-premise coffee shops and canteens. Internal efforts aside, Credit Suisse’s reputation as a CSR leader lies in its understanding that solving the world’s problems and tackling the SDGs requires teamwork and cooperation. For example, its Financial Education for Girls initiative — which affected almost 100,000 adolescent girls, nearly 3,500 teachers, and
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“We are delighted to win the Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility award once again. This award is a reflection of our continuous commitment to our corporate responsibility efforts in Asia focused around the theme of ‘Collaborating for Innovation’, whereby we play a key role in collaborative efforts to build a social investment ecosystem, build the capacity of our partners and advance sustainable practices in Asia by bringing together multiple contributors including corporates, our partners and clients as well as the public sector. This year, we expanded our unique collective impact program in Singapore – the inaugural Singapore Youth Impact Collective. As a leading financial services provider, we strive to assume our corporate responsibilities in every aspect of our work, based on our duties as a financial services provider, member of society, an employer and our commitment to the environment.” - Liza Green, head of corporate citizenship Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse 1,495 schools across three continents — benefitted from a decade of collaboration with partners. Meanwhile in 2018, the bank entered into a threeyear partnership with Habitat for Humanity to address inadequate housing among low-income residents of the Philippines and Indonesia — a project that is expected to affect 9,000 families. With its unwavering commitment to its stakeholders near and far and its genuine desire to enact real and lasting change, Credit Suisse continues to set the standard for corporate citizenship across all industries. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
BUSINESS AWARDS
Alain Bernasconi COO private banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE Regulators cracked down in 2018 and startups surfaced en masse, forcing the region’s private banks to innovate or risk succumbing to the effects of disruption. Unperturbed, Credit Suisse continued laying down a trail of digital firsts not only in Asia’s banking space but globally, steadfast in its philosophy of prioritising clients and stakeholders through in-house solutions and game-changing partnerships. The highlight of Credit Suisse’s 2018 digital journey was pilot launching its Credit Suisse Chat application on Apple Business Chat and, in the process, becoming the first private bank globally and the first bank in Asia to utilise Apple Business Chat for RM-client communication. Following a paperless onboarding process, the bank’s private clients will be able to open accounts, place orders, and receive advice via their mobile devices, while advisors access the discussion through CS Chat’s RM dashboard, from where the bank is able to archive the regulatory compliant exchanges. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse’s Digital Private Banking platform continues to grow from strength to strength, offering clients access to a wide range of digital services from risk analysis to FX and equities trading to market news and research. Last year, the digital platform saw a 150% year-on-year increase in trading volume, FX trades doubled, and one-third of the bank’s equity trades in APAC took place via the platform. The bank also rolled out its Credit Suisse Invest offering to more locations last year. Since 2017, the solution has helped to generate over 100,000 ideas, and as at end-September 2018, AUM has tripled year-on-year. In addition to supporting its in-house engineering team, Credit Suisse maintains an agile business model in order to promote the development of partnerships, such as its notable work with Canopy. Last year, the bank rolled out the account aggregation tool in Hong Kong and also recorded increased client wallet share as well as stronger overall performance amongst its Canopy clients.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are delighted to receive the best Digital Innovation award which recognizes our continuous journey of innovation not only for our clients but also for our private banking staff. In 2018, we have continued to increase adoption and trading volumes on our leading digital private banking platform and achieved the fastest adoption rate in Australia. In addition, we have demonstrated return on investment on Canopy and also tripled our Credit Suisse Invest AUM. We continue to develop innovative solutions, and became the first bank in Asia to launch Apple Business Chat through our new CS Chat solution, an in-house built product which utilizes open source components. We also reduced thousands of man-hours through robotics and automation, and at the same time building the foundation of our data platform, introducing tools such as product content database Spark and ISAP, an investment suitability tool.” - Alain Bernasconi, COO private banking Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse Meanwhile, the bank’s RMs enjoy continued access to the RM Ecosystem, which consolidates critical info and insights required to effectively service clients. And overall, employees at the bank were spared a combined 10,000 hours of manual processing over the year thanks to the bank’s RPA system which so far employs 28 bots which utilise NLP technology and are equipped with IBM DataCap’s OCR and ICR capabilities. By maintaining a proud engineering culture and marrying IT and business to develop groundbreaking platforms, Credit Suisse continues to push the boundaries on what it means to bank in the 21st century. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Digital Innovation for 2018.
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BUSINESS AWARDS
Hou Lin senior vice president, CreditEase, and general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management
CREDITEASE WEALTH MANAGEMENT Firmly occupying the space where wealth management intersects with fintech, CreditEase Wealth Management has proved itself a pioneer in the age of disruption. As the necessity for digital solutions continued to escalate in 2018, the wealth manager showcased its prowess in building and utilising neoteric systems and servicing the burgeoning Chinese HNW segment by leveraging its in-house capabilities, extensive industry experience, and modern technologies. The strength of any structure lies in its foundation, and CreditEase WM’s foundations are soundly built to facilitate effective risk management, efficient data analysis, and enhanced flexibility. The firm’s data centre, for example, utilises multi-sided digital management, a microservice architecture, and a private cloud solution in order to increase stability, promote system integration, and reduce downtimes. Further, the wealth manager employs comprehensive monitoring solutions for performance data collection and leverages its impressive AI capabilities to process big data, improve data analysis, and offer its wealth managers better insight. From account opening to investing to maintenance, clients also benefit from CreditEase WM’s technological know-how. It has independently developed its own AIpowered KYC client scorecard which identifies target clients and categorises existing customers in order to improve marketing and business efficiency. HNW clients also enjoy tech-enabled account aggregation services, risk assessments, as well as continuously enhanced touch points. While over 90% of the wealth manager’s clientele have access to their personal data via mobile apps, their relationship managers’ productivity is also improved via the CreditEase-developed app ‘Yi Xin Li Cai Shi’ — ‘CreditEase Financial Advisor’ in English. The wealth manager also boasts an AI platform, AI+FoF, which sorts, stores, analyses, and tracks data on private equity fund of funds. Currently, the system
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“As a longstanding member of the fintech industry, the spirit of digital innovation and research is institutionalised throughout CreditEase, and we have been committed to developing strong technological capabilities and using science and technology to promote financial innovation and wealth management. As an example of how we integrate digital innovation in our wealth management business, in 2018 we developed the ‘AI+FoF’ system, utilising machine learning for data storage, sorting, structural analysis, and real-time tracking. This innovation was implemented to improve FoF managers’ investment capability and management capability.” - Hou Lin, senior vice president, CreditEase, and general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management can process more than 10 million data points a second in real time and provides information on 20,000-plus institutions according to more than 60 criteria. By enabling two-way interaction between active fund of funds managers and big data, the system significantly improves managers’ investment and management capabilities. Looking forward, CreditEase plans to expand the platform to include other asset classes. Having built a culture and developed systems that rest on the key tenets of innovation and backed by a 200-strong IT team comprising experts in the fields of internet, digital, and robotic technologies, CreditEase WM continues to explore and push the frontiers of financial technologies in order to improve operations, heighten customer satisfaction, and develop the wealth management space as a whole. CreditEase Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – Digital Innovation for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
BUSINESS AWARDS
Martin Hartenstein head of omnichannel, capability and platform management, UBS Global Wealth Management
UBS A new era of mass digital consumption, disruptive millennials, and regulatory upheaval is compelling private banks to enhance their client experience to ensure a holistic, end-to-end journey — especially in Asia where many local economies leapfrogged traditional brick-and-mortar models to the modern age. In 2018, the industry continued advancing its endeavours in the field, simultaneously developing more channels of communication, offering new functionalities online, and reinforcing traditional approaches to client engagement. UBS Global Wealth Management’s relentless commitment to creating a seamless on and offline experience distinguished it from competitors in 2018. In one brief year, the bank managed to launch a flurry of new digital capabilities made accessible to endclients and make material organisational changes to enhance the relevance and quality of new initiatives. Although not groundbreaking, the bank has introduced a series of new digital capabilities to expand the activities clients can conduct online and enhance various facets of this engagement. Online banking now includes an optimised two-factor authentication security process; secure intra-account transfers; democratisation of popular instant messaging channels; personalised landing page content; and a full range of trading across equities, bonds, funds, and select structured products. And UBS’s digital efforts have extended beyond broad global or regional enhancements to the single market level to include a wealth management app for its domestic Taiwanese clients which offers 24/7 access to comprehensive portfolio and performance analysis. UBS’s commitment to improving client experience is even felt at the organisational level, with a restructuring that includes a newly created client strategy office (CSO) designed to understand the needs, aspirations, and behaviour of its wealth management clients based on client research and analytics to deliver effective strategic content, marketing, pricing structures, and
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“At UBS, client experience has always been our top priority. Not only do we offer clients a wide range of financial products and solutions, but we also listen to their needs and goals and work together to co-create new offerings to pursue them. In 2018, we continued to focus on building seamless digital experiences with aroundthe-clock access to customised CIO research content and advice through easy and safe authentication. Online portfolio health checks and online trading are examples of the digital touch points we offer to facilitate seamless interactions between clients and client advisors. Going forward, we will continue to value-add these interactions physically and digitally by improving our digital capabilities, processes, and service models.” - Martin Hartenstein, head of omnichannel, capability and platform management, UBS Global Wealth Management business solutions. It has also established a co-creation pool of relationship managers for direct contributions to develop new solutions through a state-of-the-art lab. And the bank has not forgone its traditional engagement with clients. It continues to host strong events with relevant content spanning healthcare and technology as well as billionaire and second-generation networking functions. Its flagship UBS Wealth Insights event boasted an attendance of about 3,000 from 25 cities in the region. A seamless and holistic end-to-end journey covering a myriad of on and offline channels to provide clients with relevant content, tools, and functionalities separated UBS from its peers in 2018. UBS Global Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Client Experience for 2018.
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BUSINESS AWARDS
Rohit Bhuta CEO, Crossinvest
CROSSINVEST The key to the success and sustainability of any wealth management firm is client satisfaction. Indeed, satisfied clients not only bring in more assets but also drive referrals and inter-generational business. In 2018, Crossinvest’s client-centric ethos and longterm approach attracted new investors and ensured its existing clientele remained steadfast amid a challenging year for markets overall. In fact, over the 12 months under consideration, the IAM enjoyed significant growth in overall client numbers, particularly via new advisors and referrals. Independence is what makes true client-centricity possible for Crossinvest, which focuses solely on thirdparty best-of-breed investment solutions and direct investments, offers no in-house products, takes no commission or kickbacks, and ensures its teams are not monetarily motivated by sales and product targets. Such practices result in a transparent, 100% fee-based model aligned with clients’ interests. To further increase transparency and fee-related education, the wealth manager offers potential clients cost- and obligation-free portfolio reviews, creates comprehensive infographics, and regularly publishes thought leadership papers. In addition, Crossinvest understands that fintech solutions can transform the client journey, particularly Asian clients who typically emphasise convenience and prefer adopting a more hands-on approach. As a pioneer, Crossinvest deployed Assetmax — a digitalised, comprehensive CRM and portfolio management system — in 2017, accessible by staff and clients all over the world. The extensive platform allows for multi-custodian reconciliation, portfolio consolidation, customisable reporting, compliance checks, as well as up-to-date data sharing and fee management. However, the heart of client experience lies in human relationships and Crossinvest has committed to building and maintaining connections through a collaborative, personal approach throughout the client journey. From the outset, the IAM focuses on the long-term goals of its
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“We have taken our inspiration from the pure private banks of yesteryear when alignment with client interests used to be paramount. We take pride in our ability to offer an investment philosophy that is focused on doing what is right for our clients, at all times and without compromise. Our business model enables us to establish and maintain a core relationship with our stakeholders based on trust, empathy, and knowledge. Our vision is to create a benchmark of excellence in the private wealth management space — and being recognised as Best Wealth Manager – Client Experience serves as an endorsement to this, our vision, our philosophy, and our strategy. This is a proud moment for all of us at Crossinvest, and we thank Asian Private Banker for this recognition.” - Rohit Bhuta, CEO, Crossinvest
prospects, even turning away potential clients seeking getrich-quick schemes. And for clients without a private bank account, Crossinvest leverages its range of custody bank relationships to provide a streamlined account-opening process unbound by legacy custodial agreements. Once established, clients enjoy access to the wealth manager’s top-ranking employees across multiple touch points. They are also provided daily, weekly, and monthly market updates, ad hoc reports, monthly portfolio reviews, as well as consolidated investment analyses upon request. Since setting up in Asia in 2005, Crossinvest has developed a solid reputation amongst investors whose experience with the wealth manager continues to exceed expectations. Crossinvest is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – Client Experience for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
SERVICE AWARDS
August Hatecke co-head wealth management Asia Pacific and Singapore country head, UBS
UBS UBS may rank as the region’s largest private bank by book size, but its nuanced approach to servicing a vast and demanding Asian HNW population sets the Swiss major apart and shows the way forward for an industry facing pressure to demonstrate inherent value. And this prowess was especially evident in 2018 — a year when investors struggled amid volatile markets and, as such, required constant hand-holding, timely analysis and advice, transparency, and, of course, quality ideas. Indeed, it is under such conditions that UBS, and its ‘Total Wealth’ approach to servicing a diverse HNW base, shines brightest. Rather than focusing solely on clients’ investment needs, UBS promulgates a holistic outcome-driven approach to advising beyond investments and across life stages, centring on clients’ needs around liquidity, longevity, and legacy. In its relative infancy in Asia, this ‘3 Ls’ concept is already having a positive impact on client satisfaction and, in turn, improving financial metrics on a per-client basis. It also dovetails nicely with UBS’s consistent messaging to HNW clients about the importance of thinking about risk-adjusted returns and the benefits of being aligned with the bank’s house view. Not only does UBS lead its universal peers in terms of DPM penetration and mandate breadth and depth, in 2018, its upgraded contractual advisory offering, UBS Advice, saw significant inflows, signalling a major wind change in the investment habits of Asia’s HNWIs. Special mention must also be made of UBS’s flagship 100% sustainable cross-asset portfolio solution — a world first — which not only took the sustainability conversation to a new level but attracted healthy inflows in a region where ESG investing remains in its infancy. Clients also responded positively to UBS’s ‘Volatility Is Back’ campaign — an example of the prescient guidance the bank provides to its HNW client base — which looked towards UBS’s leading range of alternative solutions, including exclusive hedge fund and private market
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are proud to once again be awarded this title as it testifies to our commitment in providing clients the best-in-class holistic investment advice. Our global reach enables us to deliver opportune content even amidst volatile markets. We will continue to strive and maintain our standing as the preferred wealth partner for investors and entrepreneurs in the region.” - August Hatecke, co-head wealth management Asia Pacific and Singapore country head, UBS strategies, to mitigate market volatility. And throughout the year, clients were furnished with round-the-clock investment analysis on market movements by drawing on the expertise of over 200 investment specialists to deliver portfolio-specific advice within hours of an event. Meanwhile, UBS is making significant strides in configuring its overall offering to emerging trends in Asia’s HNW population. It has identified three key client segments — entrepreneurs, women, and millennials — and, in 2018, dedicated resources to upskilling client advisors to engage each segment with tailored offerings, including bespoke events and targeted research. Such is the composition of UBS’s HNW-specific P&L in Asia that when markets conspire, as they did in 2018, the business enjoys significant buffers in terms of robust recurring and net interest income. At the same time, the bank continued to gather assets, with HNW-specific NNA growing 5% on an annualised basis as of 3Q18. Not one to take things for granted, however, UBS impressed the Judging Panel with its willingness to innovate and lead the conversation — both to the benefit of the business and its HNW clients in Asia. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – HNW Services for 2018.
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SERVICE AWARDS
Hou Lin senior vice president, CreditEase, and general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management
CREDITEASE WEALTH MANAGEMENT Just as China’s HNW landscape has changed beyond recognition in the past decade, so too has CreditEase’s business model evolved to reflect current and emerging exigencies. Originally founded as a personal credit consulting company and a peer-topeer lending platform, CreditEase has since become a force to be reckoned with in wealth management as well, providing Chinese HNWIs across the globe with a full spectrum proposition through a range of client servicing specialists and service channels. CreditEase Wealth Management championed diversification and the fundamentals of investing early on, providing clients with customised asset allocation plans that looked beyond fixed income and China. Buttressed by this conviction, CreditEase became a proponent of global fund of funds, using artificial intelligence to source best-in-class strategies and forming partnerships to provide clients access to topof-the-line multi-manager solutions. Signs of success were seen in 2018, with many clients embracing the philosophy by holding an increasing portion of international equities and alternatives within their portfolios. Indeed, more than a third of its HNW clients now hold equities while more than one in five hold private market fund of funds — impressive progress to say the least, considering the heavy fixed income concentration of years past. To ensure the effective delivery of client experience, CreditEase utilises a team-based advisory model consisting of a relationship manager backed by the capabilities and experience of some 3,000 in-house professionals, covering a comprehensive range of specialisations from immigration and overseas real
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“We are very are honoured to receive this award recognizing the quality of our services to our HNW clients. With the accumulation of wealth, and increasing sophistication, China’s HNW population not only cares about the growth of wealth, but also education, quality of life, family succession, social contribution and philanthropy. CreditEase Wealth Management is committed to becoming a long-term partner to our HNWs in terms of investment, quality of life, succession, education and philanthropy, and providing allround services in all these areas.” - Hou Lin, senior vice president, CreditEase and general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management estate to succession planning and philanthropy. It has also capitalised the deep smartphone penetration of China to provide clients wealth management services through a mobile app, allowing investors to digitally open accounts, review portfolios, evaluate risks, and compliantly subscribe to private funds on its platform. CreditEase’s business performance attests to the success of its pioneering approach. In 2018, it attracted RMB 14.6 billion in net new assets from the HNW segment, a healthy 14% year-on-year rise, while revenues grew by 7% over the same period — no mean feat, taking into account China’s regulatory shakeup and challenging market conditions. CreditEase Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – HNW Services for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
SERVICE AWARDS
Benjamin Cavalli head of private banking South Asia, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE In a year like 2018 when a flurry of headwinds buffeted the markets, the concept of ‘one bank’ was unreservedly put to the test. Weathering the storm, Credit Suisse nimbly leveraged the capabilities of the entire financial group and demonstrated that its integrated model was more than fit to meet the needs of its Asian UHNW clientele. Indeed, since 2017, the bank had begun to invigorate its UHNW business in Asia with an eye on more effective execution and emphasis on key clients. It bolstered client coverage from senior managers, increased its own accountability through more disciplined reporting and reviews, and sharpened its focus on strategically significant UHNW entrepreneurs. This has all led to ensuring that its UHNW clients and their businesses receive the most effective solutions from the entire bank, uninhibited by barriers born of interdepartmental trivialities that are commonplace at other institutions. The ability for Credit Suisse to deliver the group’s capabilities is illustrated by numerous key transactions completed over the past year, including a US$500 million single share financing deal that featured favourable terms for the client and well-mitigated risks for the bank’s balance sheet. Another key deal involved a junior debt placement which the bank helped distribute to very targeted investors within a short timespan. Further, Credit Suisse managed to strategically diversify the income mix for its UHNW segment while experiencing healthy increases in all revenue lines. Part of the impressive rise of recurring income is due to the private bank’s ability to leverage the expertise of its asset management arm and the scalability of its advisory solution. In one instance, the private bank drew on Credit Suisse Asset Management’s knowledge of European property to land a €100 million investment from one client looking to diversify away from Asian real estate. And in a market where paying for advice remains relatively uncommon, Credit Suisse Invest was
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
François Monnet head of private banking North Asia, Credit Suisse
“We are delighted to be named the Best Private Bank — UHNW Services for the second consecutive year and this win attests to the success of our integrated banking model. We have continued to strengthen our capabilities in servicing our core UHNW clients as evidenced by our strong NNA delivery in 2018, with our integrated Wealth Management & Connected business seamlessly providing private banking, underwriting and advisory and financing solutions to entrepreneurs who are driving wealth growth in the region.” - Benjamin Cavalli, head of private banking South Asia, Credit Suisse “Leveraging the bank’s global platform and the integrated multi-disciplinary competencies in APAC, our unique model has enabled Credit Suisse to serve UHNW clients holistically. We continued to enhance our execution and delivery through product excellence and innovative platform capabilities, and have successfully completed numerous flagship deals with our UHNW clients during the year, in close collaboration with our colleagues across the bank.” - François Monnet, head of private banking North Asia, Credit Suisse able to attract the buy-in of its UHNW clients, collecting multiple tickets in excess of US$100 million. Led by an intimate understanding of the full journey of its UHNW clientele and an unrivalled collaborative culture, Credit Suisse has indeed proven that it is the ‘trusted entrepreneurs’ bank’. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – UHNW Services for 2018.
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SERVICE AWARDS
Sara Ferrari head global family office group, UBS
UBS The ongoing intergenerational wealth transfer and the increasingly sophisticated needs of UHNW investors in Asia are driving the growth and evolution of family offices in the region. In turn, private banks are actively positioning themselves to effectively capitalise on the opportunity, not only to serve traditional wealth management needs but also business needs — an ever more critical undertaking owing to the current late-stage cycle, shrinking global liquidity, and a flurry of disruption in various sectors. In 2018, UBS showcased its ability to leverage the various capabilities of the group to meet the needs of family offices in Asia. Although boasting a strong investment bank with a comprehensive offering that covers global markets and corporate finance is merely a prerequisite to competitively obtain market share in the segment, it is UBS’s capacity to collaborate with the division and integrate such solutions onto its platform that separated the bank from its peers last year. Ensuring that family offices are not treated as the second-class citizens of the institutional client universe, UBS’s commitment to the segment is indisputable. Its Global Family Office unit — a dedicated entity created as a strategic partnership between UBS’s wealth management and investment banking arm — further invested in human capital by hiring more front office staff and enjoyed increased support from investment banking staff, process quality specialists, UHNW advisors, and senior private bankers. As a result, UBS’s ‘one bank’ business line recorded an extensive list of success stories. It executed multiple block trades for a billionaire client in Asia that resulted in a significant accumulation of stocks in a single listed firm, and throughout the year, the bank onboarded a number of family offices which —
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“We are proud to be recognised for our demonstrable family office services here in Asia for the third consecutive year. We have an exclusive global team to support institutional and sophisticated families and family offices through their lifecycle, offering holistic coverage of products across asset classes, family advisory, and philanthropy services. Our unique joint venture between Global Wealth Management and the Investment Bank gives clients direct access to institutional coverage, trade ideas, exclusive private investment opportunities, and corporate finance services. Momentum has been particularly strong in Asia and we aim to offer the best go-to platform with the most comprehensive offerings for families and succession-related needs.” - Sara Ferrari, head global family office group, UBS
owing to UBS’s investment banking capabilities — saw assets or revenue double. Further, the integration of the bank’s Americas business into UBS Global Wealth Management recorded immediate returns from synergies including a USD IPO for a Chinese client’s automotive business. As a result of stronger internal collaboration and greater dedication of resources to the family office segment, UBS posted stellar revenue and asset growth, as well as a remarkable 44% net increase in new clients during the year under consideration. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Family Office Services for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
SERVICE AWARDS
Sascha Zehnter head external asset managers, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE As independent asset managers make strides in growing their share of wallet in Asia, currently accounting for almost US$92 billion in assets under management1, Credit Suisse has likewise made significant headway in ramping up its intermediaries offering, capturing a large piece of the pie — and vote — of the burgeoning IAM segment by providing powerful digital tools, extensive ‘one bank’ capabilities, and impeccable know-how.
“I am delighted that Credit Suisse has been named Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services. Credit Suisse has been a leading player in the external asset managers industry with an established track record. We are well positioned to serve their needs due to our deep understanding of the market, our unique dual relationship management model consisting of experienced and dedicated relationship managers and investment advisors, as well as access to our global platform. Our commitment to developing traditional wealth management as well as digital solutions customised to EAMs’ needs has enabled us to serve the needs of the EAM industry well.”
Tools introduced specifically for intermediaries last year include digital KYC/AML modules that aim to lighten the increased regulatory burden on the IAM industry, a library of investment ideas that fully integrate into IAMs’ workflows, and online trading facilities that allow IAMs to directly execute equity, ETF, and FX trades. One founder of a prominent IAM setup in Singapore highlighted that through such solutions, Credit Suisse has managed to find peerless balance for its IAM business. “They are not afraid of pioneering strict compliance on client onboarding processes but are pragmatic enough to retain practicality as well as continue to educate their RMs and EAMs alike on how to get familiar with their systems,” the founder complimented. Meanwhile, other IAM executives identified Credit Suisse’s highly dependable cross-divisional services as a key point of strength. In one instance last year, Credit Suisse’s IAM desk closely collaborated with its investment bank to structure a competitively priced loan facility that allowed a client to execute its shortdated investment strategy. The client has since utilised the facility multiple times, with the elegance and speed of the solution cited as reasons for repeated usage. Another IAM leveraged the joint-synergies between Credit Suisse’s investment and private banks to fundraise for its fund of hedge funds. While the investment bank helped to execute trades, the IAM desk provided capital introduction and distribution services through the private banking platform. The 1
- Sascha Zehnter, head external asset managers, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific collaboration resulted in very healthy inflows, helping to grow the fund by a sizeable amount. Of course, even without the support of the investment bank, Credit Suisse’s IAM department is more than capable of holding its own. Last year it helped an UHNW multi-family office looking to sub-delegate third-party asset managers to structure a bespoke legal framework. In entrusting Credit Suisse, the MFO benefitted from a more efficient onboarding process and a streamlined reporting system through using the IAM team as a single point of contact. By delivering innovative services and highly sophisticated solutions, Credit Suisse has won the trust of the region’s IAMs — and its positive top-line performance shows. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services for 2018.
Source: Asian Private Banker 2018 IAM Report: Asia-Pacific Ready for Take-Off?
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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SERVICE AWARDS
Joanna Ho regional head of wealth planning, Private Wealth Solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific
HSBC PRIVATE BANKING With close to two-thirds of family businesses in the region expected to undergo succession in the next five-to-ten years — and amid an increasingly convoluted tax and regulatory environment — private banks with deep-rooted family relationships and a wealth planning offering that covers the full gamut of needs stand to gain. In this period of flux, HSBC Private Banking demonstrated that it remains a cut above the rest in terms of providing fiduciary advice and services, leveraging its massive regional footprint and almost a century’s worth of global expertise to help clients navigate some of the most delicate stages of their lives. To tackle the region’s growing demand for wealth planning services, HSBC has built a Private Wealth Solutions (PWS) team of around 380 experts, of which, more than 260 are based in Asia. These experts continually undergo a PWS Development Programme, which ramps up the knowledge of staff as regulatory changes sweep the globe. This vast and growing pool of knowledge has allowed HSBC to deal with the most complex of asset structures for the region’s worldly clients — cases that other institutions may shy away from due to the resource-heavy intricacies inherent to such undertakings. With this capacity, the fully-fledged PWS team has greatly bolstered the value proposition of HSBC Private Banking, creating opportunities for it to service clients on a group-connected level. Moreover, as PWS is an independent entity within the HSBC family, its staff are free to work with clients’ external advisors in order to achieve client goals — marking a commitment to truly placing client needs first. Of course, this commitment is not without a clear understanding and appreciation for family governance. The bank is well aware of the role that governance architecture plays in enhancing family harmony, and has a family governance advisory team on hand to help clients ensure that wealth survives across generations.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“Having been in the wealth planning business in Asia for more than 70 years, we are delighted to be recognised with this award. With our expertise in trust and wealth structuring, succession and philanthropic planning, as well as family and business governance, we continue to focus on serving the needs of Asia’s business leaders and their families. With a large proportion of intergenerational wealth transfer expected to take place over the next five-to-ten years, we are extremely well positioned to support our clients, leveraging HSBC’s full scale and capability to provide endto-end solutions.” - Joanna Ho, regional head of wealth planning, Private Wealth Solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific
Last year, the team successfully persuaded a patriarch to establish investment portfolios for his next generation under the umbrella of the family trust. Impressive to the Judges was the fact that the structure propagated a culture of responsibility for the family members, providing them a taste of managing great wealth under the expert guidance of the wealth planning team, before having to do so independently once the wealth has been transferred to them. With an unrivalled understanding of wealthy families in Asia and a deep talent pool to work from, HSBC has provided the region’s clients with much-needed wealth planning services and, perhaps more importantly, peace of mind. HSBC Private Banking is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Wealth Planning Services for 2018.
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SERVICE AWARDS
Christine Tan head of marketing and branding APAC, Credit Suisse
CREDIT SUISSE As the region witnesses the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in history and millennials gain a larger share of the world’s wallet, private banks across Asia Pacific are vying for the attention — and business — of heirs to family fortunes and the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. From Generation Y to Z, Credit Suisse offers the future’s wealthy a holistic and differentiated range of programmes that prepare them for the responsibilities and challenges that accompany affluence. Operating under the premise that it’s never too early to learn, Credit Suisse is the sole sponsor of the Young Founders School, a non-profit which gives young students the opportunity to be mentored by leading local entrepreneurs while creating pitch decks for their own startup ideas. Over the last two years, the 15 weekend-long bootcamps held in APAC have seen more than 1,000 students benefit from the wisdom imparted by more than 300 mentors. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse’s annual Young Investor Programme aims to prepare heirs for continuing the legacy of their families’ businesses and wealth. Owing to the success of its Global Young Investors Programme as well as demand in the region, an APACspecific programme was launched in 2011 and it has since hosted around 35 participants aged between 20 to 30 annually. Credit Suisse is also a sponsor of the Young Investor Organisation — an association that connects some of the world’s wealthiest families, offering young investors a network for idea exchange. And for families nearing the succession process, Credit Suisse has developed the Family Ties Programme which provides inter-generational participants with a structured setting in which they can bond and communicate. Aspiring family offices are also granted an opportunity to network with their established counterparts as part of Credit Suisse’s Family Office Private Circle, while budding do-gooders have access to the bank’s Philanthropist Forum.
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“As a leading global integrated bank, Credit Suisse focuses on building relationships not just with the current generation of clients who create and manage wealth, but also with the younger next generation inheriting the family legacy. We strive to equip the Next Generation of our clients with a better understanding of the challenges that families and their next generation face, and offer professional insights on how they can navigate the associated complexities. From setting the foundation of an entrepreneurial education when they are at school age, preparing them in inheriting their family business to helping them and their family manage wealth transfer and succession planning, our programs follow our clients’ journey, beyond a one-off experience.” - Christine Tan, head of marketing and branding APAC, Credit Suisse Reaching beyond its client base, Credit Suisse is endeavouring to connect with the region’s investors of tomorrow as well. At its Global Megatrends Conference in 2018, the bank formulated a panel for NextGen thought leadership. It also hosted talks in Malaysia on millennial entrepreneurship and impact investing, a panel in Indonesia on disruptive technologies, as well as Young Investor Workshops in Japan and Australia. Credit Suisse’s comprehensive and relevant set of programmes that are designed to guide the next generation of investors throughout their succession and legacy-creation journeys makes the prospect of managing a fortune a lot less daunting and ensures the future is in good and capable hands. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Next Generation Services for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Tuan Huynh CIO emerging markets, head of discretionary portfolio management emerging markets, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management
DEUTSCHE BANK WEALTH MANAGEMENT At the outset of 2018, private banks were broadly calling for a continued rally following a record-breaking year that delivered record performances and lifted business across the industry. But as the year wore on, sentiment receded, placing the onus on CIO offices to prioritise risk management and downside sooner rather than later. Consequently, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s conservative early positioning and profit-taking paid off last year, allowing the bank’s CIO office to generate attractive returns amid a challenging environment. While the industry as a whole remained bullish in the first quarter, the bank increased allocations to sovereigns due to tensions surrounding US-China tariffs, thereby curbing the subsequent equity losses. Boosting exposure to commodities also allowed end-investors to ride the oil wave driven by higher demand and easing OPEC compliance requirements. Then in Q2, the bank favoured US equities due to decent economic data and earnings, subsequently using those profits to invest in Europe and Japan equities. During the following six months, the bank shifted its focus and advised clients to “stay invested but hedge” with calls for more diversification towards selective alternatives. Meanwhile, the bank’s list of high conviction ideas featured many relative winners — long US healthcare, long volatility (VIX Index), long Japanese equities, and long US investment grade — while the bank’s thematic investment ideas remained intact, with particular emphasis placed on cybersecurity, a sector comprising numerous names with remarkable absolute returns in 2018. Cognisant of the growing importance of keeping clients engaged, the bank expanded the breadth and reach of its content over the year to include more than 350 reports in eight languages available via the Deutsche Wealth Online app, WeChat, and social media channels.
“As a CIO Office, we are focused on translating investment views into investable reality and produced 400 reports across eight languages in 2018 globally. Early in 2018, we were quick to caution on investment risks in cryptocurrencies. We published our view on ESG investments. We also warned about a likely increase in general market volatility, updating our advice from ‘forewarned is forearmed’ in the first half to ‘stay invested but hedge’ in the second half. In the coming year, we will continue to strive to do our best in providing unique strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies. We will also continue to deliver insightful research content and client seminars.” - Tuan Huynh, CIO emerging markets, head of discretionary portfolio management emerging markets, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management During the year under consideration, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management outperformed its peers across seven out of 12 of Asian Private Banker’s quantitative performance metrics, with the absolute returns of its Asia strategic and tactical asset allocations impressing an investor base known for its heavy home bias. In fact, its three-year Asian SAA generated absolute returns of nearly 250 bps per annum higher than the next closest competitor. Due to the strong single and multi-year performance of its S/TAA strategies, with pronounced outperformance for Asian markets in a year populated by market headwinds, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s CIO office proved triumphant in 2018. Deutsche Bank Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – CIO Office of the Year for 2018.
For such a hotly contested award, however, the proof is in the pudding. AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Garth Bregman head of investment services Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
BNP PARIBAS WEALTH MANAGEMENT In 2018, bumpy global markets and the resultant downturn in transactional income created a space in which private banks could truly showcase their advisory capabilities. While some met the basic prerequisite of generating consistent returns for clients, others went a step further to widen their securities coverage, source exclusive opportunities, and optimise their solutions. Few in the industry upgraded their offering to the same magnitude as BNP Paribas Wealth Management, which used 2018’s challenges to demonstrate the all-round quality of its advisory proposition. For the region, the bank more than doubled its coverage of Hong Kong and China stocks (including A-shares), nearly quintupled the size of its ETF offering, and introduced 19 new pay-off structures and 14 new relationships with counterparties, brokers, and research firms on its structured product platform. For more unique transactions, it delivered landmark deals across strategic equity, block trades, securities lending, and placements for cornerstone investors, while continuing to offer differentiated alternatives solutions, including European real estate services for Hong Kong clients. The French bank also rolled out numerous functions last year to streamline trade execution. For flow trades, BNP Paribas introduced its proprietary FX pricing and execution platform, Cortex FX, to selected relationship managers and launched the structured product platform, Contineo, to its investment counsellors for more efficient order delivery. Digitally savvy endclients, meanwhile, have been given the ability to directly trade equities through the private bank’s digital banking platform, myWealth, and fixed income advice
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are honoured to receive the Best Private Bank – Investment Advisory award for the second consecutive year. With 2018 being such a challenging year for investors, it turned out to be even more crucial for our clients that we maintained a steadfast focus on providing best-in-class advice and continued to invest in and develop an already leading investment services platform. This award is a muchappreciated recognition of our dedication to clients and our ability to offer them very highvalue advisory services.” - Garth Bregman, head of investment services Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management and execution has been extended to clients under its direct access coverage desk. Of course, an enhanced platform and offering means little without sound performance. In a challenging year, the bank delivered accurate calls, including emerging market downgrades that avoided more than 10% losses in India and Philippines equities and long-dated overweight to developed markets like Japan equities, which have rallied by 50% since the bank’s upgrade. Testament to the amount of confidence placed in BNP Paribas, more than one-third of its clients followed all of its recommendations last year, up from 20% in 2017, leading to an uptick in transactional volumes. BNP Paribas Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Investment Advisory for 2018.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Soumya Rajan managing director & CEO, Waterfield Advisors
WATERFIELD ADVISORS Waterfield Advisors designs a robust plan for its clients by understanding their risk appetite and by mapping their long-term business and non-business aspirations, lifestyle expectations, income/expense patterns, and long-term financial goals. While classic portfolio theory only identifies market risk when constructing an investment portfolio, Waterfield’s proprietary process of ‘risk pooling’ identifies personal risk, market risk, as well as aspirational risk, thereby moving the conversation with a client from asset allocation to risk allocation. In consultation with its clients, Waterfield designs and reviews an Investment Policy Document (IPD) for families which serves as a guideline and framework for investments and defines the boundaries for risk exposures. Based on the risk pool allocation, the firm suggests investment products and recommends the best-suited investment managers. Further, a quarterly risk appraisal system evaluates the performance of client portfolios and ensures adherence to the IPD, with any aberrations flagged for necessary corrective action. Waterfield’s proprietary fund performance methodology assesses counterparty/strength analysis and Waterfield’s consolidated wealth report is an outcome of the constant technological advancement of its investment platform. The general performance of Waterfield’s investment calls and solutions has been in line with broader markets, and this approach has ensured maximum downside risk protection to client portfolios. The team’s call on interest rate hikes and their impact on fixed income portfolios played out as per its projections. And on the equity side, Waterfield played it conservative as its investment experts anticipated that domestic markets would witness sharp corrections. These projections were supported by detailed analysis on market valuations and trends at the broader macroeconomic level both domestically and globally. At Waterfield, the firm’s priority is to optimise the risk-reward trade-off, and every possible measure is explored to adhere to this primary objective.
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“All of us at Waterfield Advisors are truly proud to have been adjudged the Best Wealth Manager – Investment Advisory and for also being recognised as the ‘One to Watch’ in the Indian wealth management space. We consider it a great honour for a young and independent firm like ours to be recognised within a field of many established and excellent market participants, and these awards truly inspire us to raise the bar still higher in all our client interactions. The awards are a testament to the hard work put in by every member of our team. I sincerely wish to thank Asian Private Banker, our clients, partners, and well-wishers for their unstinting support in our journey to become India’s leading and most trusted multi-family office and advisory firm.” - Soumya Rajan, managing director & CEO, Waterfield Advisors Waterfield’s motto, ‘Insight with Integrity’, resonates with its advisory services, which are unbiased, tailormade, and based on a ‘no conflict of interest’ model. This is contrary to the model followed by several banks and financial institutions which are compromised by a conflict of interest in terms of investment advice given to families. As a result of its sound investment calls, robust advisory processes, and leading product offering, Waterfield Advisors registered a sharp increase in number of clients onboarded during the year under consideration. Waterfield Advisors is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – Investment Advisory for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Rodolphe Larqué head of managed solutions, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific
CREDIT SUISSE The tide of synchronised growth and monetary easing that had once lifted all boats continued receding in 2018, challenging the bottom-up skills of asset managers and the fund advisory capabilities of private banks. Credit Suisse, in these unfavourable conditions, managed to expand its offering while simultaneously delivering solid outperformance and fund asset growth. Last year, Credit Suisse augmented the number of managers on its platform, reinforcing its fund platform with various thematic and alternative strategies. In a strong year for the healthcare sector, the bank delivered pioneering funds in digital health and life science, and to tap into the emerging sustainable investing space, it capitalised on smart mobility and green property strategies. Meanwhile, alternatives — a newly integrated component to the funds platform and offering — contributed heavily to fund sales volumes in 2018. Due in large part to Credit Suisse’s concerted effort to create more visibility for its quantitative hedge fund offerings and European property strategies, alternatives made up a whopping three-quarters of funds net sales last year. Alongside enviable sales figures, the bank also delivered robust outperformance across traditional long-only and alternative funds. More than 80% of Credit Suisse’s focus funds — its most recommended strategies — experienced positive performance since they were onboarded to the list, with close to 60% of benchmark-oriented funds beating their respective benchmarks over the same period. In addition, fund assets in the region posted
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are honoured to receive the Fund Advisory Award for the third consecutive year, as well as an Excellence Award for Alternative Advisory. In a year where markets were volatile, our integrated approach across all fund solutions enabled us to be flexible in response to difficult market conditions. Successes have been met across the entire fund solutions spectrum, and our assets under management and fund sales held steady. Aside from robust traditional fund sales, the alternative fund solutions that we offer on our product shelf have done particularly well as these investments are less correlated to the market and received tremendous interests from clients. Our access to top managers and exclusive solutions provided us with clear winners in the hedge fund space, and our private equity AUM has more than quadrupled since 2017.” - Rodolphe Larqué, head of managed solutions, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific healthy year-on-year growth and an above-average penetration rate in the high teens. With an expanded product offering backed by strong outperformance and asset growth, Credit Suisse has triumphed in a difficult year. Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Fund Advisory for 2018.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Vincent Chui chief executive, Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited
MORGAN STANLEY After a storied rally for global markets the preceding year, 2018 proved challenging for equities which were confronted with a slew of headwinds exacerbated by growth concerns and the ongoing US-China trade spat. Private banks in Asia were particularly exposed, owing to the risks posed to local markets as well as the unique characteristics of the segment, including a strong home bias and existing holdings from family business owners. Despite adverse conditions for the asset class, Morgan Stanley was able to leverage its leading research capabilities and comprehensive product platform to deliver effective solutions and strong relative returns for its clients in Asia. In addition to direct equities, the bank registered strong structured product flows into a myriad of pay-off structures including bonus enhanced notes, booster notes, and fixed coupon notes — the most popular pick of the year.
“We are honoured to be named Best Private Bank for Equity Advisory. Morgan Stanley is the largest global and Asia equity house and our institutional equity research is top-ranked in most investor polls. We are pleased that APB has recognised the benefits that our private bank clients gain from our firm-wide equity franchise and access to the best macro and equity research. Our RMs and equity product specialists work closely with the firm’s lead strategists and economists — particularly Mike Wilson, Jonathan Garner, Laura Wang, Chetan Ahya, and Robin Xing — to provide timesensitive top-down and asset allocation advice to our private bank clients. They also leverage on our leading sector and thematic research to identify bottom-up ideas. We believe that these efforts played a significant role in helping clients navigate the dramatic year of 2018.”
Structuring capabilities and pricing competitiveness aside, Morgan Stanley’s leading research capabilities were especially critical in an increasingly divergent and low beta environment. Despite a very challenging year for Asia and emerging markets as a whole, the bank’s focus list of equities posted strong returns across the board, including high single-digit outperformance for Asia ex-Japan and Greater China, and low double-digit outperformance for global emerging markets. Its latecycle thematic focus was timely, with strong results for calls on high-quality tech, energy, and financials.
continued growth in the business. At a time when the broader private banking industry experienced a material slowdown in transactional activities, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management braced itself against major headwinds and delivered strong, stable growth in its cash equity and derivatives business.
In turn, clients demonstrated trust in the bank’s conviction throughout the year, evidenced by
Morgan Stanley is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Equity Advisory for 2018.
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- Vincent Chui, chief executive, Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Lily Chan managing director, alternative capital markets group in Asia, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management
GOLDMAN SACHS Challenging traditional portfolio management theory, both equities and fixed income struggled to deliver in 2018, thereby motivating Asia’s investors to revisit their reluctance towards relatively less transparent, illiquid investments and increase exposure to alternatives via private markets and hedge funds. While the industry, in general, continues to focus on providing exclusive access to leading managers, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management has successfully differentiated its alternatives proposition by building an impressive pipeline of relevant opportunities and, crucially, negotiating more favourable terms for its clients. Throughout 2018, Goldman Sachs’ private clients benefitted from access to over 20 private equity offerings built around four key themes: emerging managers, secondary unicorn opportunities, real estate secondaries, and leveraged buyout opportunities. Specifically, the bank has tapped into the divergent emerging managers universe — which includes women- and minority-owned firms — through a private equity seeding fund, while it advises clients who want a piece of the US$1 trillion unicorn pie to invest through a global tech late venture and growth equity fund alongside a US-focused tech growth equity fund. Goldman Sachs has also utilised a global secondary real estate fund with high exposure to Asia and EMEA to capture Asia’s growing secondaries market which now represents 23% of global private equity. And to take advantage of the evolving energy opportunity set caused by a shift from appreciation-oriented strategies to cash flow and growth-centred strategies, the bank selected a play focused on real asset investing in the upstream and midstream segments of the North American oil and gas industry.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We had a record year in fundraising and continued to expand our product offering, providing clients access to a wide range of alternative investment opportunities. We also demonstrated our thought leadership in the alternative investment space, hosting regular events on trends and opportunities in the market.” - Lily Chan, managing director, alternative capital markets group in Asia, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management
Within hedge funds, Goldman Sachs added new offerings and enhanced the proposition available to smaller clients by introducing a new programme with a significantly lower minimum investment amount compared with the existing programme. Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management distinguished itself further by effectively negotiating for favourable terms, such as better fees, with more than 60% of its managers — the benefits of which are passed directly to end-clients. The bank’s customers have responded in kind, with Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management recording net inflows into alternatives of over US$1 billion for the sixth consecutive year. Not one to rest on its laurels, the bank continues to improve its proposition with enhanced client coverage, greater tools for reporting and risk management, and the expansion of its China onshore platform. Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management separated itself from the crowd in a hotly contested competition and is deservedly Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Alternative Advisory for the fourth year running.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Hou Lin senior vice president, CreditEase, and general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management
CREDITEASE WEALTH MANAGEMENT Last year, volatility was particularly pronounced in China’s traditional markets — the CSI 300 shaved 27% and local debt posted a record year for defaults, motivating the nation’s investors to look elsewhere to meet their highreturn expectations for less risk. Responding to the demand and cementing its position as a leading provider of alternatives advisory services, CreditEase Wealth Management renewed its focus on its UHNW client base while leveraging its strong global network and robust due diligence and investment processes. Alternatives are an inherent component of CreditEase Wealth Management’s investment strategy titled ‘Three Golden Principles for Asset Allocation’, which focuses on cross-region, cross-asset, and overweight allocations to alternatives. To reap the benefits of scaling and diversification, the wealth manager employs a fund of funds approach to alternatives exposure across private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. In addition to partnering with globally renowned private equity managers, CreditEase Wealth Management has also developed in-house funds such as a fintech investment solution and an Israeli innovation strategy — the first of its kind from a Chinese financial institution — to capture growth trends in technology locally and abroad. Established managers aside, the wealth manager also sources from ‘black horse funds’ — up-and-coming managers with high potential and a primary focus on TMT (technology, media, and telecommunications) or related sectors. For its real estate allocation, CreditEase Wealth Management focuses on value, predominantly through top global and emerging partners. Its shelf boasts a variety of fund of funds solutions including opportunistic FoF, income FoF, and debt FoF, alongside selective co-investment opportunities across residential, office, retail, and hotel properties in the US, Europe, and
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“After revamping our client segmentation strategy earlier this year, we have developed new propositions for our HNW and UHNW client groups, and undertaken detailed needs analyses to provide comprehensive boutiquequality investment advisory and services. While our client research and needs analysis has improved, our ‘Three Golden Principles for Asset Allocation’ remain a cornerstone for our wealth management business, and we continue to support our clients with cross-region allocation, cross-asset-class allocation, and having an overweight position in alternative assets via FoF, with a view to achieving attractive longrun investment performance.” - Hou Lin, senior vice president, CreditEase; general manager, product department, CreditEase Wealth Management Asia Pacific. And for clients’ hedge fund exposure, the wealth manager blends hedge fund allocations into its public equity FoF solutions across macro, quantitative hedging, event-driven, and CTA strategies. China’s emergence as an alternatives investor is well documented, but to sustainably capitalise on an opportunity of such magnitude is no easy feat. In addition to robust asset growth, CreditEase Wealth Management has achieved strong performance across various alternative sub-asset classes, boasting a longterm IRR of illiquid investments and resilience against short-term market volatility in public markets. CreditEase Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – Alternative Advisory for 2018.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Abdel Tkhayet co-head, investment services and product solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific
Jackie Mau co-head, investment services and product solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific
HSBC PRIVATE BANKING 2018 surely ranks as one of the most difficult years for fixed income in recent memory, with US 10year Treasury yields registering a peak-and-trough difference of 80 bps (between 3.2% and 2.4%) and the dollar strengthening broadly against global currencies. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Asian dollar bond market defaults tripled, headlined by China, which saw cases surge from 35 in 2017 to 119 in 2018. According to Wind Information these defaults had a total value nearly US$17 billion. During this time, HSBC Private Banking significantly expanded its coverage of fixed income issuers from 200 to 500, growing its Asia focus list to 2,800 bonds. Not only did its selection post zero defaults, but more than 70% of the high conviction trade ideas outperformed their respective benchmarks. In fact, the bank experienced even more fixed income inflows during the month of October — when the high yield benchmark registered its worst losses in more than two years — including a US$130 million leveraged bond portfolio. Favouring a barbell approach, HSBC Private Banking advised its broader client base to invest in high yield bonds for carry and seven-to-ten-year high-quality investment grade bonds to benefit from potential flattening at the long end of the yield curve. The approach resonated across the region, with the bank’s UHNW segment securing a very sizeable new fixed income portfolio. In addition to conventional trading and portfolio solutions, HSBC Private Banking expanded its platform and offering in 2018 to create an even more compelling fixed income proposition. It launched a direct access client (DAC) desk for select clients to seek immediate market intel and liquidity. And to further enhance returns, especially for Asia’s buy-and-hold bond investors, the bank introduced a bond borrowing and lending service to boost returns via lending fees.
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“We are very pleased to be recognised in this category, after tremendous effort in revamping the platform and resources to deliver the best solutions to our clients. Through our open architecture approach, we are able to offer clients the most comprehensive fixed income capabilities with access to inventories across the whole marketplace. This, combined with our robust bond selection framework, best execution practice, bespoke solutions and access to private placement, enables us to capture significant wins and provide our clients a one-stop shop for fixed income solutions in wealth management.” - Abdel Tkhayet, co-head, investment services and product solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific - Jackie Mau, co-head, investment services and product solutions, HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific
HSBC Private Banking’s team of 30 fixed income specialists formulates and implements the bank’s investment strategy and recommendations through a deep independent and robust credit selection and removal process, allowing for more flexibility and the opportunity to provide best-in-class bond recommendations. On the back of a stellar year for investment calls, robust inflows amid a challenging environment, and continued enhancements to its platform and offering, HSBC Private Banking is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Fixed Income Advisory for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Pierre Masclet CEO, Asia and Singapore branch, Indosuez Wealth Management
INDOSUEZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT Last year, private banks’ FX trading books in Asia were under pressure as volatility returned and currency movements diverged, putting the accuracy of investment calls and the efficacy of risk-mitigating solutions to the test. A strong greenback stole the spotlight in currency markets as the new Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, acted swiftly on his promise to raise rates multiple times throughout the year, while emerging market currencies suffered the combined effects of a hawkish Fed and aggressive US foreign policy. Indosuez Wealth Management found itself on the right side of the dollar with a relatively bullish strengthening bias in early 2018 that was reinforced by rising US protectionism and trade tensions late in the first quarter. At that point, the bank suggested buying USD on dips through option strips on USDJPY. Similarly, for Asia’s commodity currency traders, the bank advised against direct bets with the USD and instead recommended investing through option strips on cross pairs such as AUDNZD. Effective forward-looking bets aside, the bank demonstrated its ability to mitigate risk and manage losses from existing positions. For USDJPY accumulator/decumulator buyers, the bank provided timely tailored solutions to sell the same structure on the same positions by matching fixing and delivery dates with the notional principal to lock up profits. And for clients who held a bullish EURUSD view in 2017 when the EUR was at 1.12, the bank advised cutting
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are honoured to be awarded Best Private Bank – FX Advisory. While 2018 was a challenging year, our tailored and proactive advisory approach has allowed us to navigate market volatilities. We appreciate the confidence and trust that our clients have put in us. Our team remains passionate and committed to managing, protecting, and growing our clients’ wealth.” - Pierre Masclet, CEO, Asia and Singapore branch, Indosuez Wealth Management losses and switching to take advantage of the USD which was looking to gain faster against the JPY. In conjunction with a knock-out option, clients had a chance to recover faster, and the barrier price was reached within two months. Despite an especially challenging 2018, the bank boasted an extraordinary hit rate on its 269 investment calls — 6.4 times more calls than in 2017. In turn, clients responded to the performance of Indosuez Wealth Management’s FX team, resulting in remarkable yearon-year increases (as of end-October 2018) in both revenues (64%) and volumes (23%) in a year jampacked with market headwinds. Indosuez Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – FX Advisory for 2018.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Stefan Lecher head of global mandates investment solutions, APAC, UBS Global Wealth Management
UBS UBS Global Wealth Management’s status as a frontrunner in sustainable investing (SI) in Asia reached a crescendo in 2018 on the back of a major researchled thought leadership drive and the wide-spanning enhancement in its platform and offering. In 2018, UBS made waves with the launch of the industry’s first-ever 100% sustainable cross-asset strategic asset allocation (SAA) portfolio solutions in Asia across multiple risk profiles — yield, balanced, and growth — for various client segments, including standard mandates for HNWIs and customised mandates for UHNWIs. Further, upon client request, the bank can develop SI-focused customised advisory mandate solutions. UBS GWM’s fund offering has also expanded over the year to include nearly 30 ESG-focused products as well as a UBS SI fund which fully implements the bank’s SI SAA. Meanwhile, its alternatives pipeline showcased exclusive access to two impact funds — one focused on low- and middle-market companies that invest in close alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and another which invests in growth-stage businesses in the agriculture, energy, transportation, industrial, and consumer sectors. The bank has also added SI solutions to its capital markets shelf for more trading-oriented investors. In 2018, private clients in Asia were granted access to a traditionally institutional offering — a World Bank-issued structured note that provides exposure to the ‘Global Sustainability Signatories Index 7.5% VC ER’, an index created by ESG ratings and research firm Sustainalytics and administered by Solactive that is comprised of up to 100 UN Global Compact Signatories. And for fixed income investors, UBS expanded its green bond research capabilities to its advisory offering to provide clients with recommendations on the green bond universe. Sustainable investing has yet to garner the same levels of enthusiasm among the region’s investors as more mature markets, and competitors in the market often demonstrate
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“We are honoured to be recognised as the best bank for sustainable investments. 2018 has been an exciting year as we successfully launched the world’s first 100% sustainable cross-asset portfolio for our clients in Asia together with exclusive impact investing opportunities to further strengthen our leading offering in innovative sustainable and impact investments. While we delivered on the performance expectations, the speed of adoption from our clients clearly shows how they appreciate their investments being more closely aligned with their values. In 2018, we successfully launched sustainable investing with mainstream investors in Asia and we look forward to further innovate in 2019.” - Stefan Lecher, head of global mandates investment solutions, APAC, UBS Global Wealth Management lacklustre interest due to the slow pick-up in demand. But UBS has bucked this trend in Asia by more than doubling its SI DPM assets since the April launch, growing its SI/ ESG fund assets by more than 50% during the year under consideration, and sourcing more than half its private market impact investment assets from the region. Moreover, its event series, ‘The Power of Sustainable Investing’, attracted more than 1,000 guests across eight cities in Asia, demonstrating that a lack of immediate inflows does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest. It seems only a matter of time before SI turns mainstream in Asia, and when it does, UBS GWM’s first-mover status will be even more meaningful. UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Sustainable Investments for 2018.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Garth Bregman head of investment services Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
BNP PARIBAS WEALTH MANAGEMENT BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s discretionary portfolio management unit in Asia has the unique distinction of effectively being a proxy in-house asset manager due to its near pure focus on single securities. In stark contrast with the vast majority of its competitors that rely on third-party funds to generate alpha, the difference allows the bank to conduct aftersales at a superior level, offers clients unparalleled levels of transparency into underlying assets, and paves the way for deeper risk management and content that is more timely and relevant. But this is not without a trade-off. While competitors are able to leverage on the asset class expertise of the various global asset managers that they work with, BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s approach in Asia demands more from its local portfolio managers’ bottom-up capabilities. In 2018, the bank’s position as a dedicated single securities discretionary manager was put to the test more than ever as market volatility hit global markets. Showing its proficiency, its Global Thematic equity and M&A equity mandates — which were launched in January 2017 and February 2016, respectively — ranked in the second and first quartile, respectively, in terms of performance at the end of Q3 last year. Meanwhile, the bank’s flagship Bond Opportunity USD mandate continues to generate robust returns in an adverse environment, ranking in the 97th percentile according to Morningstar data based on the five-year Sharpe ratio as of end of Q3 last year. Performance aside, the bank keeps clients engaged with content delivered through a proprietary DPM App, launched in the fourth quarter of 2017. The app has since received strong positive feedback from users
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We are honoured to be awarded the hotly contested Best Private Bank for Discretionary Portfolio Management. We have been dedicated to providing high-value DPM services for many years, and despite 2018 being a challenging year for investors, we saw record DPM inflows, with our DPM clients increasingly focusing on our consistent longterm performance and strong after-sales service that align their interests with our own. It is truly rewarding to be publicly recognised for the significant value we continue to add for our DPM clients.” - Garth Bregman, head of investment services Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management and the next version is set to include more content and functions such as NAV projections up to 20 years, the e-signing of account opening documents, and more detailed data analytics. This all led to the bank experiencing an all-time high in net new DPM inflows in 2018, which has pushed its penetration rate above the industry average. In a market populated by ‘me too’ DPM solutions, BNP Paribas Wealth Management was unafraid to expose its internal capabilities to scrutiny at the highest level, pitting itself not just against fellow discretionary managers, but global money managers. BNP Paribas Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Discretionary Portfolio Management for 2018.
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INVESTMENT SOLUTION AWARDS
Jacky Tang head of the Portfolio Management Group and co-head of the Investment Strategy Group in Asia, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management
GOLDMAN SACHS This year, Asian Private Banker introduced the ‘Bespoke Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM)’ award to recognise those private banks whose capabilities extend to meeting growing regional demand for customised solutions, whether through mild tweaks to meet client preferences, access to non-traditional underliers, or truly unique asset allocation strategies. Unlike many of its competitors that cover a vast range of clientele and develop discretionary solutions with an eye on scalability, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management focuses exclusively on delivering bespoke solutions to an UHNW segment whose needs grow more intricate by the day. Fundamentally, the bank goes to great lengths to understand the wealth objectives and circumstances of the client before constructing a portfolio — a process that is based on its proprietary multi-factor asset allocation model where positions are implemented via its wide shelf of actively managed modules. And amid an evolving market environment in 2018, the private bank asserted its status as the leader in customised DPM solutions on account of its nimbleness and innovation. Indeed, turbulence and uncertainty in equity markets last year led the bank to focus on three key areas: generating gains during volatile periods, protecting the downside, and boosting alpha with enhanced stock-picking capabilities. Using its equity option writing solution, Goldman Sachs was able to harvest premiums from volatility to add incremental yield and reduce overall portfolio risk. Through its equity structured investment solution, the bank generated low volatility returns with a downside buffer of at least 10% and leveraged upside participation. And to boost alpha, Goldman Sachs was smart to leverage in-house big data capabilities and machine learning techniques to augment security selection.
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
“We look at a client’s overall wealth needs and provide them with highly personalised discretionary portfolio services. In the past year, we have seen a sizeable increase in commitments for discretionary assets among Asian clients, reflecting the strength of our business.” - Jacky Tang, head of the Portfolio Management Group and co-head of the Investment Strategy Group in Asia, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management
For fixed income, while the bank experienced some outflows from its high yield module, it was able to shore up assets through the introduction of a private credit solution. Addressing a region-wide aversion to illiquidity, the mandate blends liquid and illiquid fixed income assets for potentially earlier distribution and shorter lock-up periods. Ultimately, Goldman Sachs in 2018 demonstrated its deft ability to adjust to market conditions and client behaviours — in the process posting robust performance across the board and achieving strong net inflows in Asia, leading to a DPM penetration rate that sits well above the regional average. Admittedly, few banks are capable of providing genuinely tailormade solutions to a broad range of clients. And in this rarified echelon of private wealth managers, fewer still can lay claim to having institutionalised the art of customising and managing solutions to the individual client. Goldman Sachs, however, sets the gold standard for bespoke DPM. Goldman Sachs is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Bespoke Discretionary Portfolio Management for 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
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AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
INDUSTRY
Straight Talk: Martin Blessing, co-president, UBS GWM No sooner had the dust settled on the appointment of Martin Blessing and Tom Naratil as UBS’s co-wealth management heads than the Swiss bank announced the mega-merger of its international and US private banking businesses. Group CEO, Sergio Ermotti, touted the move as a means to improve efficiencies, promote best practices, and improve client servicing. Meanwhile, investors pushed for greater clarity on cost savings and growth targets. In a wide-spanning and exclusive discussion with Asian Private Banker, Blessing outlined the rationale behind the merger, its progress to date, and the benefits he expects it to bring to the business and clients.
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artin Blessing spent no fewer than ten weeks in Asia during his first year as the co-president of UBS Global Wealth Management. In 2019, he plans to make fewer trips but increase his time in the region that, alongside the US and global ultra businesses, ranks a top-three priority and primary motivation behind the bank’s decision to create a Global Wealth Management division. “I stepped into the wealth management role at the end of 2017 and at the end of January 2018, we announced the internal merger. I spent time with Tom [Naratil] deciding how it could look, and then in February [2018], we designed our leadership teams for taking the merger forward and deciding on a joined agenda,” Blessing recalled. “We decided to focus on the global business serving our ultra-wealthy clients, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region, although that doesn’t mean our LatAM, EMEA, and Swiss pieces are any less important. To the contrary, they are core. But UBS is big and strong enough to continue serving those areas very well as it prioritises the biggest growth opportunities in APAC, the US, and among ultras globally.” That the Asia business is a primary growth engine for UBS GWM is beyond debate. The region has consistently delivered the lion’s share of net new money and is the subject of massive investments into its China activities. In the past year, UBS increased its shareholding in UBS Securities to 51%.
Martin Blessing, co-president, UBS GWM
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Blessing also expects the region to play an outsized role in delivering UBS GWM’s latest performance targets, which include pre-tax profit growth of around 15% and NNM growth of 2-4% from 2018 to 2020.
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We decided to focus on the global business serving our ultra-wealthy clients, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region, although that doesn’t mean our LatAM, EMEA, and Swiss pieces are any less important.
That includes the distribution of equity investment pieces into prime New York real estate developments — an opportunity snapped up by clients both in Asia and Europe. Plans are also afoot to reengage with US citizens and Green Card holders in Asia after the Swiss bank dialled back on servicing these clients following its settlement with US tax authorities. Blessing said new regulations and rules on data sharing have prompted a rethink, although he declined to go into further detail. “Why tip our hand to the competition? Normally, in financial services, good ideas don’t stay undetected and, if successful, people tend to follow and copy!”
Americas, ultra to benefit from merger “Economic growth and wealth creation are, of course, higher than in any other region, and our business in Asia, when compared to the other regions, is a little more tilted to the upper end of the market spectrum. So as a result, we have a higher inflow of net new money in Asia than in other regions, and if we continue to grow at a similar speed, we should be able to reach our overall growth targets,” he said. Which begs the question: What additional benefits will the merger bring to UBS GWM’s APAC business that, for the most part, has been the private bank’s star performer? “We have seen some cases early on where Asian clients are interested in doing investments in the US and where we brought together client advisors from both sides to provide access to opportunities, which is something that could not have happened before,” Blessing pointed out.
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The private bank’s US business is expected to be a major beneficiary of the merger — Ermotti previously said it would enlarge UBS’s global ultra
A prospect may have met UBS bankers from Zurich and Miami separately, each one correctly addressing different needs but without detailed coordination. But now they will be fully coordinated as we run the business under joint leadership.
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capabilities into the US and wider Americas, and open up to investors the full spectrum of its investment products and services offering. That includes access to UBS’s flagship sustainable products. “We are a leader in sustainable investments, and we have a lot of mandate solutions that historically were designed and configured in Switzerland but not offered in the US. But now, with the formation of GWM, we are starting to launch these highly sought-after products in the United States via a special arrangement with our asset management business,” said Blessing. Americas clients should feel the benefits of a unified wealth management arm, according to Blessing, who pointed out that the bank has historically run two LatAM businesses — one out of Switzerland and one out of the US. “A prospect may have met UBS bankers from Zurich and Miami separately, each one correctly addressing different needs but without detailed coordination. But now they will be fully coordinated as we run the business under joint leadership.” This cross-regional connectivity will also provide impetus to the bank’s ultra business line, whose clients tend to be more global in their business and private activities and invest across geographies.
Devil in the detail Blessing rejected earlier criticism that the bank has been sparing with details on the merger’s progress following reports that investors, eyeing profits, pushed for greater clarity during the bank’s Investor Day last October.
So, in summary, I think there is a lot we have achieved in a short time — if you go into the details. “[We] provided considerable detail about how we want to move forward — for example, on how we want to increase our profit margin in the US, what kind of lending penetration we want, what our deposit strategy will be, how we will increase our mandates business, and so on,” he told Asian Private Banker. “We have formed a team and brought support functions together, and now we are in the implementation phase of cost savings. On the business side, we are bringing some of the mandates business to the US and have made some progress here. We also see a lot of referrals success in the global UHNW business across international and the US.”
Complacency warning Meanwhile, Blessing warned of complacency, particularly in Asia where the private bank ranks number one in terms of size, but where competition is fierce, citing UBS’s continued investments into digital capabilities — headlined by last year’s 1WMP rollout — as evidence it remains hungry to lead.
“We can increase our lending a little more, but I’m always telling the troops that handing out credit is easy and getting the money back is the most important and difficult part. While not without its troubles, the rollout, which involved the migration of some CHF 360 billion in client assets in Asia onto a new IT system, provides UBS with a “huge competitive advantage”, according to Blessing, who said the bank is now investing in upgrading functionalities. UBS GWM plans to add to its Asia headcount in line with invested assets growth and will further upgrade its IT and operating model to further reduce the frontline burden. “Part of this is deciding how much administrative work needs to be done in the front versus the middle office. So we have our target operating model that basically takes away some of the administrative burden from the advisors which is now being operationalised in Asia — it doesn’t sound sexy, but it helps with our P&L overall by making us more efficient at serving our clients,” he explained. Blessing also cited Southeast Asia as a sub-region where the bank has more to do, although he ruled out going onshore in the next two-to-three years, expressing confidence in UBS’s current cross-border business model. “It is very important to have a deep client relationship, but what we don’t want to do is buy market share by providing too much cheap credit against illiquid bulk risk. Indeed, there are a lot of things we can do — we are not only a wealth manager in terms of taking money, but we are a bank so we are also lending,” he said. That said, UBS ranks as one of the more conservative lenders in Asia, with a loans penetration rate well below the regional average. Is that set to change?
“So, in summary, I think there is a lot we have achieved in a short time — if you go into the details.”
“We can increase our lending a little more, but I’m always telling the troops that handing out credit is easy and getting the money back is the most important and difficult part. I joined a bank in 2001 where I saw the remaining cleanup necessity from the Asian crisis, so I’ve cleaned up too many credit books in my professional life not to be cautious on credit risk. That also leads to some certain limitations,” Blessing explained.
UBS has said it expects to see around CHF 600 million in savings over the next three years, which it plans to reinvest.
“We are not a risk avoider, we are a risk manager, but we are certainly not an aggressive risk taker!”
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EXCELLENCE
‘Excellence’ and ‘One to Watch’ Winners The ‘Excellence’ award recognises an institution with private banking facilities that has demonstrated industry-leading and quality business growth, a strong sense of value proposition, fiduciary responsibility and a willingness to innovate. The ‘Excellence’ accolade is selected by Asian Private Banker’s Awards for Distinction Judging Panel on a discretionary basis and is handed out on merit alone.
The ‘One To Watch’ award recognises an institution with private banking facilities that has not only demonstrated strong performance over the past year but, fundamentally, has the potential to become a market leader in due course. The ‘One to Watch’ accolade is selected by Asian Private Banker’s Awards for Distinction Judging Panel on a discretionary basis and is handed out on merit alone. 76
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Morgan Stanley PWM flexes research muscle and ideas amid Asia expansion
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rescient market views and ideas are what attract clients and partners of Morgan Stanley to its Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore — an annual fixture that in 2018 drew north of 3,000, including 1,300 investors and 400 corporates, underscoring the event’s status as a Mecca for those with an eye firmly on China and searching questions amid current uncertainties. That’s not to mention the bank’s well-established prowess as a host par excellence — attendees of the US lender’s most recent Singapore summit were treated to Japanese fusion cuisine, an indoor golf driving range, massage services, and high-octane K-pop. But it’s business that took centre stage, and for clients of Morgan Stanley’s private wealth management arm, arguably the most coveted takeaway from the three-day event was the bank’s read on markets which has tended to serve their investments well.
Jonathan Garner chief equity strategist for Asia and EM Morgan Stanley
In 2017, for instance, the bank led the street with an early bullish call on China. Clients followed and benefitted from a sustained rally in China stocks that peaked at the start of 2018. One year on, Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist for Asia and emerging markets, Jonathan Garner, went bearish on emerging markets, frontrunning a year-long decline for EM equities, with clients heeding the call.
It should not come as a surprise, then, that Vincent Chui, Morgan Stanley’s Asia Pacific head of Wealth Management and a key proponent of the annual summit, emerged from 2018 in better shape than many of his peers. “The second half [of 2018] was challenging given market conditions but good market calls and effective risk management steered us and clients in the right direction,” said Chui, who described 2018 as a “good
AWARDS FOR DISTINCTION 2018
year” for the firm in Asia, even as a number of private banks struggled with a downturn in client trading and widespread deleveraging. His high-level take on the year was echoed by Nick Chan, Morgan Stanley PWM’s head of Thailand and Philippines sales, who cited Garner’s January EM call as a crucial factor behind clients’ positioning at the outset of the year. Vincent Chui Asia Pacific head of wealth management Morgan Stanley
“ Garner’s bearishness towards emerging markets gave clients the opportunity to deleverage, sell down and raise cash, which meant that one of our top-growing product lines in 2018 was cash management,” said Chan.
He also pointed to strong demand for alternatives, an in-demand asset class for Asian investors in 2018 who sought to mitigate volatility and achieve uncorrelated returns. “From the Singapore office alone, we had the single best year in terms of assets raised into multiple strategies, and because we are part of the investment bank, we continue to have some very interesting conversations with our clients and corporates when it comes to the private markets.” Indeed, as at June last year, Morgan Stanley PWM had already raised close to US$500 million in Asia through private equity investments alone. Its fee-based business is also making inroads, having quadrupled over a four-year period.
Asia WM push Back-to-back years of solid performance by the private bank come at a time when the group is keen to ramp up its international wealth management activities. In an interview with Hong Kong’s SCMP, CEO
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James Gorman said the bank “had never aspired to have a large business outside the United States in wealth management, and it would be a mistake to keep that attitude”.
Nick Chan head of Thailand and Philippines sales, wealth management Morgan Stanley
“We would love to expand our wealth business, whether organically or inorganically, as it is one of the businesses we’re strong at, but small in this part of the world,” he said.
That commitment has provided some impetus for Chui, who said the bank has revisited growth targets and is “ready to execute” by investing in headcount, technology, systems, and balance sheet. Of course, such investments are likely to eat into profitability, and Chui has tended to assess the state of his business in terms of ROE as opposed to amassed AUM — something others typically emphasise. “The good and bad about high profitability is that whilst it is a great performance parameter, it can mask underinvestment and sacrifice long-term growth opportunities,” Chui said, pointing out that in Asia, the firm has achieved a PBT margin comparable to the USbased business. “So am I going to be unhappy if the margin falls below 20% if we are able to hire good people and expand our balance sheet? No. The firm is looking at this as a three-to-five-year undertaking,” he continued. “We are in a position to invest at the expense of the PBT margin in the short-to-medium run so as to build a larger and sustainably profitable business.” Chui famously sat out a heated talent market in 2016 and has long been a critic of industry practices that pump packages towards unsustainable levels. That’s not to say he’s averse to hiring as a rule — he told Asian Private Banker that Morgan Stanley PWM is “as keen as our competitors in terms of talent acquisition”. Rather, it’s more a question of timing and smart opportunism. “Last year was a vivid reminder that financial services is a cyclical business and that irrational exuberance through over-expansion and ultra-optimistic forecasting hurts, but we have tried to execute with care, mindful of the pitfalls of hiring mistakes in terms of culture and commercial cost,” said Chui. “So while we have expanded, it has not been to the level of many of our peers, and now that the market is correcting and the consensus view is for this to be a year of consolidation, we will accelerate hiring.” Accordingly, Morgan Stanley PWM Asia has budgeted for a frontline increase of some 50% over a three-year period with an emphasis on China-focused hires and will continue to add to its investment management team overseen by Ernest Chan, which has already doubled its size over the past 18 months. Plans are also afoot to expand its pool of investment counsellors and specialists.
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Dry powder Meanwhile, Chui said he sees opportunities for Morgan Stanley PWM to deploy more balance sheet after the industry’s comparatively liberal lenders were hit hard by client deleveraging and high cash levels that ate into business performance. “We were conservative in lending during [the] volatile market environment, so whereas investment activity may have dropped, this deleveraging had a lesser revenue impact on us,” Chui said, pointing out that Morgan Stanley PWM’s loan-to-asset ratio in Asia is “relatively modest”. That translates into an opportunity for the bank, that while generally cautious, has at its disposal dry power to fund client activities as markets track towards more comfortable levels. “Then there’s the fact that we cover clients and families on the corporate side, and it is in times of volatility when most corporates need help. They’re not going to go to a pure private bank for advice, hedging, or lending. We are a private bank with an investment banking franchise, so we’re in a good position to help them,” he continued.
Three Cs Chui also pulled no punches regarding the central role Chinese money will play if the bank is to achieve its targets. “Someone during a panel at our Summit said the term ‘BRIC’ does not apply to wealth management and that it should be ‘CCC’ — or China, China, China. It’s not my quote but I absolutely subscribe to the view in terms of relative market opportunity in Asia,” he said. Group CEO Gorman has also been waxing lyrical about the opportunity China presents Morgan Stanley by repeatedly stating his intention to push further into the market where the demand for wealth management services will only continue to rise. But in the offshore space, Morgan Stanley is not alone in its China ambitions and every private bank with long-term designs on the region is pushing for a bigger slice of the offshore market. That includes Singaporean majors DBS and Bank of Singapore, both of which have stepped up their Hong Kong-based activities over the past 18 months, and HSBC Private Banking, which has acknowledged that it has room to grow despite its considerable market share and is now pouring major capital into the region, including Greater China. “For most, ‘getting China right’ is about revenue and AUM generation — that’s the easiest way to look at things — but for us, it’s more about whether we can find a client base on a sustainable basis, from which we can capture both their corporate and family business,” explained Chui, who said he does not view the China international market through a zero-sum lens. “Here’s the thing: in the private banking world — and unlike the institutional side where there is a fixed pie — there’s no finite wealth pool, and if a client likes an idea, he can leverage up too. So it’s all about whether we are strong and smart enough to give them the right idea because clients almost always find the money if they like the idea.”
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INDUSTRY
2019 regulatory outlook: What’s in store for Asia’s private banks?
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istorically, market downturns have led to an increase in misselling claims, so as the industry prepares for the possibility of slowed growth in 2019, proper banking culturerelated compliance and/or senior level accountability are likely to top the agendas of the region’s regulators, according to lawyers from five separate firms. “The market in 2019 may well see slower growth. That being the case, people might be interested to invest in something that is a bit more risky, with the potential for greater upside, rather than simply investing directly in the equity markets,” Mark Shipman, partner at Clifford Chance, told Asian Private Banker. “This may lead to a higher incidence of misselling unless the risks associated with these products are understood and properly explained,” he said.
Senior management accountability “To address the root cause of misconduct, the SFC/the HKMA will continue to intensify its focus on an intermediary’s corporate governance and risk management frameworks,” said Helen Fok, partner at Morgan Lewis. “I anticipate there will be even greater emphasis on individual accountability and it would not be surprising if the SFC brings an enforcement action against a manager-in-charge in 2019. This fits with the theme of individual accountability which we are seeing internationally such as in the form of the UK’s Senior Manager Certification Regime.”
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On the Singapore front, Stephanie Magnus, head of Baker McKenzie’s financial services regulatory and fintech practice in the city-state, said MAS might implement the individual accountability regime later this year, which it first proposed in April 2018. “Private banks should expect to see going forward a greater emphasis on management accountability as well as the protection of consumers, especially in a rocky financial environment,” Magnus told Asian Private Banker. In a previous interview, Magnus said that despite Hong Kong and Singapore regulators launching senior management accountability regimes at a similar point in time, the Singapore version casts a much larger net, with banks having to ensure that all employees in material risk functions are “fit and proper”.
Banking culture reform Meanwhile, in 2019, the region’s regulators could also prioritise the establishment of proper banking culture — an issue separate from but related to senior management accountability. “Senior management accountability and establishing proper bank culture are separate issues, but they end up in a similar place,” said Shipman. “Culture is, amongst other things, about putting clients first and doing the right thing for both clients and the integrity of the market — where an institution fails at getting its culture right, bad things may happen, and this, in turn, will lead to senior management accountability.”
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In December 2018, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced a three-phase supervisory plan for assessing bank culture in the city and offered guidance on how bank culture reform will be implemented, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) included information on the requirements for proper banking culture in its accountability framework, which it launched last year. “Though efforts by the HKMA to promote good bank culture are not new, these measures will compel private banks not only to undertake a holistic review of how they sell products including how they incentivise their bankers to sell products but to be ready to justify their culture to the HKMA,” Timothy Loh, managing partner at Timothy Loh LLP, told Asian Private Banker. Further, Duncan Watt, a consultant at Eversheds Sutherland, said the HKMA’s notice on bank culture reform likely signifies the regulator will emphasise the issue “throughout 2019 and beyond”. “Fostering an appropriate culture within private banks is likely to be towards the top of regulators’ priorities in 2019,” he added.
Suitability and investor eligibility Last year, Hong Kong and Singapore regulators took different approaches to improve investor protection, with the former revamping its investment suitability framework by categorising products into complex and non-complex products, and the latter choosing to adopt
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an accredited investor, opt-in/opt-out regime. Both sets of regulations will be implemented in April. Although the regimes were developed with the best of intentions, lawyers have voiced their concerns about the difficulties associated with implementing such significant regulations within a relatively short time period. “Given the sheer volume of products available in the offline environment for private banks, private banks should have started to review the products that they have been selling in the past via the execution-only channel and ensure that product due diligence is undertaken for such products. However, the determination is not always easy,” Karen Man, partner at Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong, told Asian Private Banker. Initially, MAS’s accredited investor regime was due to be implemented in January, but the regulator extended the deadline to April 2019 in response to requests made by multiple industry players who claimed to be juggling a number of separate regulatory reforms, such as amendments to the Securities and Futures Act. “This extension of transition time is a one-off measure that MAS does not intend to take ordinarily. Financial institutions are reminded to start preparations early when policy positions are announced,” MAS said in a circular published at the end of 2018.
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MARKET SEGMENT AWARDS
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