Centrum Wealth won the Best Family Office trophy at the 32nd Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022, held on 6 October 2022.
Key factors which led to the firm qualifying for this award, are the enhancements made around what Centrum considers the 3Ps of its proposition – People, Products and Platform. Thus, the investments Centrum Wealth has made over the years and continues to make in its people, its proven investment services platform, and especially its estate and legacy planning vertical have delivered rich dividends. These are also amongst the key reasons for India’s wealthy to choose Centrum Wealth for Family Office services.
The firm’s efforts to grow its overall business were also Highly Commended by the judges in the Outstanding Wealth Management Service for the Affluent category.
The fact that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world is well known. This growth is fuelling the creating of unicorns and increasing monetisation opportunities for a set of individual entrepreneurs.
This ecosystem of talented rich entrepreneurs and professionals recognise the need for professional management while handling investments. Thus providing a long runway of growth for wealth managers who have the right proposition backed by the right people such as Centrum Wealth.
There is also a potent mass affluent market for with those employed with start-ups, tech services and financial services firms. As the per capita income of the country grows and higher levels of wealth pervade, the entry to wealth segment becomes a conduit to the higher wealth segments.
There is a ripe wealth management (WM) market country across the various ascending segments of the value chain from emerging or mass affluent, to the HNI to the UHNWI or Family Office.
The return of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and surging availability of local capital from both institutional and private investors, aided by family offices that control greater wealth as the nation advances, promises growth for the sector.
The stage is set for Centrum Wealth which understands the Indian Wealth market, to capture a larger slice of the Indian Wealth and Family Office pie. In order to achieve this objective, Centrum has fine-tuned certain areas of the offering such as:
Ability to create solutions to cater to increasing liquidity: is accessible to India’s ever-expanding business families as the economy advances and investment structures evolve in evermore complex ways.
Bolstering domain expertise: to equip the relationship teams on guiding Indian HNI/UHNWI families on softer aspects and fundamentals such as how to optimise a portfolio of stocks, fixed income, cash, commodity, real estate and other structured products to get better risk adjusted returns.
Higher RM longevity leading to higher share of wallet: Almost three-quarters (73%) of Centrum’s relationship managers (RMs) and its upper echelon private bankers have been with the firm for three years. It is retaining their expertise, even as productivity advances 56% year-on-year (YoY) thanks to investments supporting technology.
Superior estate and legacy planning expertise: has become essential as pioneering elder family member’s age, inheritance and structuring needs become more complex. This is particularly true as more tech-savvy and internationally-minded younger members of a potential UHNWI family, are better exposed to Global trends having worked, or been educated abroad, taking over businesses and seeking more data driven decision making. Further while conventional wealth services have become par for the course, demand for differentiated investment, tax, offshore and other such options are growing to reflect their globe-trotting lifestyles.
Centrum offers Family business advisory services with Tax structuring solutions, Estate and succession planning and Offshore solutions via a Singapore office and partnerships in the UK, US & elsewhere.
Clients have specific investment policy statements and family objectives that Centrum Wealth can help to create and then deliver solutions by sourcing and structuring appropriate investments. A product evaluation and advisory unit staffed by domain experts helps here. This ‘next generation’ friendly team can advise on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, if that interests youngsters, as it increasingly does. Other functional teams include:
Investment and review committee: providing strategic direction and overall supervision for the business and its Family Office client investments and processes. Regular reviews of suitability, performance analysis and highlighting of any deviations keep programmes on track. The committee also suggests risk management and control systems.
Engagement team: provides day-to-day engagement, report and data, communication & implementation of recommendations from the central Investment Recommendation & Product Team, against the client portfolio. They make the firm’s ability to provide bespoke and holistic solutions real for the client.
Ultra high net worth (UNHW) Family Office clients have recognised the need for professional guidance on estate planning and structuring services with wills, gifting, trusts, governance through to family bonds, and more sophisticated structures for holding and transferring assets. Centrum Wealth has grown its presence in this segment within just a few years since its inception to more than US$1 billion in client assets.