Archives: Articles & Interviews

PROTECTING & ENHANCING THE FAMILY EFFECTIVELY

Taurus Wealth is a multi-family office with 300+ clients from Asia, Europe, Middle-east & Africa offering tailored advice via its advisory model that is bank and product agnostic. Clients pay a fee. The group had US$3bn in Assets under Advice (AuA) and management last year and a number of initiatives presage further growth, getting a Highly Commended (HC) nod from the judges at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021 for Best Family Office. It also got a commendation for Most Effective Investment Service Offering.

The initiatives that bode well for Taurus Wealth’s future growth are a hiring spree, particularly in the Dubai office, with an extra 25 financial advisors, investments specialists and support staff added to the payroll this past year.

Greater client coverage across more than 20 countries is now possible, with the Singapore and Zurich offices also crucial elements in its growth plan. Taurus Wealth AG was incorporated in Zurich only last year after a strategic partnership that enhanced Taurus’ booking footprint. The Singapore office is long established and has US$2bn in AuA managed by 13 advisors and four multiclass investment specialists, plus 15 support staff.

Other strategic initiatives that Taurus launched last year include:

Private equity deal desk: Established in 2020, this unit focusses on partner management, networking, due-diligence and origination of deals in the Private Equity (PE) space. It has already sourced over 15 deals for clients.

Expanded digital capability: In 2020, Taurus partnered with a fintech to launch a white-labelled offering of three distinct and digitally managed strategies giving clients a cost-efficient digital investment option. It was also the first authorized Member Participant for BondbloX (from BondeValue), which is an innovative blockchain-based Bond Exchange that allows for transparent trading and holding of conventional Bonds in fractional modes (units of $1,000 each).

Enhanced Fund Management regime: Taurus adapted the Variable Capital Company (VCC) regime launched in Singapore last year. This means its in-house niche strategies and feeder strategies for preferred third-party funds can be transitioned to the new VCC structure. This provides easy, cost-effective access to various nice strategies to enhance portfolio performance, helping it achieve its second commendation for an effective offering, among other things.

In 2021, it launched four funds via the VCC structure to give clients the ability to decide if they want to join growing investment trends supporting social impact causes and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda.

For clients Taurus cautioned on the impact of Covid-19 on the markets as early as the end of January 2020 and proactively de-risked client portfolios well ahead of the market correction in March 2020 to reduce leverage and the threat of margin calls. Other client-centric investment positives included:

Taurus Managed/Advised Strategies delivered returns of between 7% to 50%. Cautious participation in Covid-19 market rebounds last year ultimately delivered highly positive returns over the course of the year.
Third party alternative funds that are actively monitored by Taurus delivered in a generally neutral market. The best performing returned +34.7% in 2020.

The new initiatives described above, and continuity in business processes despite the pandemic, ensured that client sign-ups rose last year with 32 newcomer families in 2020, two-and-a-half times the previous year’s figure.

COMMENDED FOR ITS INVESTMENTIN PEOPLE & TECH

Lombard International Group was Highly Commended in the Most Effective Investment Service Offering category at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021 for its investment in its employees’ skills, knowledge, and the technology that supports their partners, clients and colleagues.

Lombard International Group provides tailored insurance based wealth, estate and succession planning solutions across multiple jurisdictions and asset classes, focusing on affluent, ultra and high-net worth individuals, their families and institutions. It has 500+ experienced wealth structuring specialists, subject-matter and technical experts globally, serving over 20 markets across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US. 40 different nationalities speak over 30 different languages, providing a deep understanding of regional cultural nuances, needs, and requirements.

Market knowledge and expertise is supported by technology, trend spotting and online transactional capabilities. The Group’s strategy is focused on digital transformation, underpinned by operational and service excellence. Under this framework, it continues to further invest in technology, enhancing its global connectivity, strengthening its geographic footprint, whilst also investing in inhouse talent and market expertise.

This is why Lombard International Group’s Investment Service Offering was recognized at the 31st annual staging of the PBI Global Wealth Awards, held on 8 October, virtually this year. And it’s not just the Private Banker International judges who were impressed. According to an industry survey of c.700 wealth professionals across 12 European countries, carried out by Lombard International Assurance, in association with Accenture Luxembourg, the company was found to be the preferred provider in Europe by almost half of the respondents.

The survey – see https://www.wealthassurancereport. com/ – was carried out between 15th September and 31st October 2020. As well as identifying Lombard International Assurance as a European leader among the majority of wealth advisers questioned across Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Germany, alongside seven other European countries, the other key finding from the report was that 75% of wealth professionals across Europe, predict the level of digitalisation over the next three years will be either “high” or “very high”.

Lombard International Group is well placed to meet this expectation with its significant investment in technology and its focus on combining the best elements of a digital infrastructure with human expertise. It is this combination that will provide the level of service that clients expect, and indeed why Lombard International Group has been highly commended.

GOOD SERVICES & PEOPLE CENTRAL TO A FAMILY WIN

Centrum Wealth Ltd (CWL) was set up in India over a decade ago to offer distribution and investment advisory services across asset classes to wealthy clients with over US$1 million, spanning equity, fixed income, alternate and overseas investments, and real estate. Its ever-expanding and growing business won Best Family Office at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021.

CWL pursues an open architecture approach, so clients are not locked into products and enjoy access to the entire market. Its offer is powered by an experienced team of experts fluent in international investment options and taxation advice, through to succession planning and structuring, and a modern technology platform that executes their wishes easily and keeps clients fully updated.

The wealth manager also caters to select ultra high-net worth individual (UHNWI) families in recent times. It on-boarded 25 last year to take its cohort to over 100 since the establishment of the family office four years ago. Assets under Management (AuM) for the family office now stand at US$1 billion and new services, such as legal and philanthropy assistance, are being added all the time.

New initiatives include investment in an enhanced website, a new communication infrastructure and education for its 112 relationship managers (RMs) to increase personalization and technology capabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clients and RMs can now:

Access investment data on demand.
Complete tasks effectively, efficiently, and intuitively.
Access the best of the digital and physical worlds, via what the bank terms its new ‘phy-gital’ client servicing model.
An iConnect collaborative platform has been built that allows teams to exchange information more easily via:
One Paper Lane: this equates to paperless onboarding of clients as digitalization across the bank increases.
360-Degree View: As digitalization increases RMs and clients get greater, easier access to portfolios in their entirety at speed.

CWL is focused on ‘next gen’ successors and their differing needs and interest in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda. It has noticed, and acted upon, its teams’ numerous observations that youngsters are not inclined to take on the reins of traditional family businesses anymore. The ability to interrogate data and digitally interact is also a desire for ‘next gens’ so the bank’s investment in digitalization will pay off in this respect, as will its identification of what the future generation wants, thereby safeguarding its future.

In this Q&A interview with Felipe Nabuco, Director of Itaú Private Bank Brazil, the music lover talks about his career, and his firm’s expansion and technology plans, plus their response to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has hit Brazil hard.

Please briefly describe your personal & professional background?

I am married with three girls aged 7, 4 and 1. I love visiting the family farm in the south of Brazil, soccer and listening to music. I studied at Law University (Candido Mendes) in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s, while at the same time interning at Icatu, a Family Office that became a very successful investment bank in Brazil. I later joined them and had my first contact with the commercial arena, becoming a trainee and later a private banker.

In 2000, I accepted a position as a private banker at Banco BBA Creditanstalt, which would later be sold to Itaú in 2003. Since then, I’ve always been with Itaú Private Bank (PB). In 2011, I introduced a Family Office to Itaú that focuses on consulting services for large wealthy families. In its first seven years, this new segment went from four families served and two billion Brazilian Real (BRL, equivalent to US$372 million) of assets under service (AuS) to 28 families and BRL 28bn (US$5.2bn) of assets.

In 2019 I became responsible for the ultra high-net worth individuals (UHNWI) segment, which is dedicated to serving clients with assets exceeding BRL 50 million (US$9.3m). I was now coordinating a team of 16 private bankers and 16 commercial assistants and overseeing BRL 159.7 billion (US$29bn) in assets under management (AuM).

In 2021, I took over the commercial area of Itaú Private Bank, coordinating eight commercial heads and 110 bankers. I also became Director of Itaú Private Bank Brazil overall, additionally spanning the Family Office, credit and customer experience (CX) responsibilities.

What are your plans for the future?

My focus is on delivering the fundamentals of ensuring: proximity to customers; building strong relationships; and anticipating opportunities that deliver results. As I see it, there are a number of sector-wide challenges going forward, such as:
More demanding customers that want self-serve and integrated technology capabilities.
More competition for clients and talent. Staff become harder to recruit and retain as competition intensifies.
Thinner margins and more regulation, add to costs.
More concern with social issues in product selection and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) growth, as climate change climbs up the agenda.

These challenges are opportunities as well of course. For instance, ESG products may generate significant returns as carbon zero policies are introduced worldwide, and we need to be aware of this at Itaú Private Bank Brazil.

The new Ion Itaú investment app is also an exciting new technology tool that will strengthen, add and deepen our client relationships. It meets customers’ desire for selfserve technological aids. Using Ion Itaú, customers can follow market news, view their investment and profitability history, and even invest in variable income assets, as if they were at a home brokerage. To increase CX convenience, the app also consolidates information from multiple accounts and brokers, not just Itaú PB accounts. This means clients can keep track of all their investments in one place. More features are being added all the time as we ramp up our technology offering in response to client demand.

Despite our 28.4% leading market share as the biggest PB in Brazil, I believe we still have room for growth domestically in certain regions, such as:

the interior of the state of São Paulo;
& the South, Midwest and Northeast regions of Brazil.
Industry numbers and our analyses of potential customers indicate that there are a lot of opportunities in these domestic regions, particularly in regard to sophisticated products like credit instruments.

On-going expansion of our international business is also a key strategic plan via Miami, Switzerland and Portugal in particular. The focus is on our global offer to Brazilian and other Latin American customers, providing them with the services they need as global ‘citizens of the world’. We’ve invested significantly in our international platform as well both in terms of the physical infrastructure linkages and offices, plus the technology platform needed to power international growth.

Covid-19 has hit economies & workers around the world: How’s it impacted your company & business? How have you responded?

In 2020, we reaffirmed our commitment to society as a whole and to Brazilians by creating Todos pela Saúde (All for Health), an alliance of professionals working to fight the coronavirus in Brazil, with a historic donation of more than BRL 1.2 billion (US$223 million).

For our employees, we’ve implemented a broad set of support measures for these trying times. A few examples include:

1. Work from home (WFH): 100% of our employees are home-office-enabled. Financial assistance has been provided.
2. Protect & clean: We’ve implemented protection face equipment, cleaning and other such security measures at all our offices.
3. Medical: Our employees have access to virtual medical care via online appointments with a multidisciplinary team that is accessible 24×7 by telephone, WhatsApp, or our Medical Care app – all free-of-charge.
4. Emotional support: is available via specialists that will listen to our employees and help them weather this period of social isolation and quarantine.

We are looking after clients too of course. Our team adapted very quickly to the new ways of working, just as customers have adapted to remote services, and digital means of remaining in touch. A service model that prioritizes virtual meetings, personalized communications and informative content via social media events and podcasts has been implemented.

As vaccination progresses and economies rebound, we remain optimistic about the onshore market and offshore opportunities.

Briefly provide an overview of your company’s status, financially and in the marketplace?

A4. Itaú Private Bank is the largest PB in Brazil. We ended the first half of 2021 with a market share of 28.4%. Our volume of assets under management has reached BRL 669 billion (US$124.7 bn), double the amount of the number two player.

Revenue has grown by more than 12% annually over the last five years, which demonstrates the resilience of our business, despite recent challenges, which paradoxically have also seen a spike in savings and asset focus. The first half of 2021 was marked by a record capture of new assets: BRL 53.5 billion (US$9.9 bn).

Anything you want to add or stress?

At Itaú Private Bank our goal is to ensure the perpetuation of the legacies and wealth of our customers across generations. Proximity to our customers – and putting their interests at the center of our decisions – are the fundamental elements of our working method. Anticipating customer needs and offering personalized and appropriate services to every one of them are also intrinsic to this approach.

At the same time, we are the ultimate one-stop shop, delivering Itaú’s complete offer with the sophistication of the best private bank in Brazil. Happily, our results are showing us that we are on the right track.

Bank of Krungsri Ayudhya, commonly referred to as simply Krungsri in Thailand, has won the Most Effective Investment Service Offering category at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021 for its retail customer focused Smart Advisor tool. This is designed for use on complicated mutual funds, and other investments, via the Krungsri Mobile application (KMA).

The idea of the tool is to personalize suggestions on investments under acceptable risk conditions for retail customers. Smart Advisor is a one-stop service mobile banking application, on the KMA platform, which provides a full range of investment services, spanning:
Advisory,
Asset allocation,
Transactions,
& Tracking, with instant notifications and data update capabilities. For instance, it is vital to respond quickly to market movements if the profile of a portfolio changes. Instant alerts are used to make clients aware when this happens and advise them on what to do to remain on target and in good shape.

Smart Advisor can compare existing portfolios against recommendations from the tool itself. For instance, a section displays a past performance benchmark v each investment strategy allowing the customer to better understand the characteristic return in that option. By understanding the risk better investors can re-balance and manage port more efficiently, so assets are allocated with purpose. For example, the model might suggest a single mutual fund or advise against it, depending on what the customer goal is: do they want to save tax, pursue high risky yields, or be more steady? Options are presented in a risk assessed manner.

Smart Advisor uses artificial (AI) and human intelligence disseminated via the channel, both out and in, to turn investing into a simple, secure task for the everyday customer. Key features include:

1. Online risk assessment: this is defined as the “probability of occurrence of losses relative to the expected return of a customer on any investment” (see above). An in-built algorithm runs this check to classify the type of investor from both human and AI data sources to help the customer (and bank) mitigate risk appropriately.
2. Investment advisory: Krungsri built Smart Advisor as a trusted financial advisor to make sure that clients understand the way to invest in mutual funds and other financial products. We only ever recommend investment v the customer type and provide as much detail as possible to inform choice.
3. Wealth path: this function is the module that uses AI to forecast investment returns to help customers better understand the likelihood of each possible outcome. It helps users make responsible cognizant decisions about the level of risk, how long they might want to invest, and so on.
4. Transactions: To be a one-stop service the bank has a function to track and submit funds recommended by Smart Advisor, after they’ve been through the advisory and risk processes previously described. This negates the need to visit a branch and get human advice and compliance.

Bank of Krungsri Ayudhya continues to expand the capabilities and scope of its Smart Advisor module on the KMA app. For instance, in October 2020, it collaborated with BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, to expand into being more of an international advisory service that combines the local Thai and Asian regional expertise of Krungsri with BlackRock’s global expertise and asset advice.

The success of the project is evident by the 80% uptick in subscriptions from Q1 this year vs Q1 last year. The number of accounts being opened via the mobile channel are also rising rapidly.

GOOD COVERAGE WINS NRI TROPHY & ME COMMENDATION

Emirates NBD’s (ENBD) Global South Asian Business (GSAB) comprises 14 relationship managers (RMs) and three investment advisors working on a dual coverage model in the UAE and globally via private baking (PB) offshore centers. It extends to East Africa, with two further team members, making it the biggest team in the middle-eastern (ME) region. GSAB, also known as Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the industry, represent 30% of the PB client base. It’s obvious why ENBD won the Outstanding NRI/ Global Indians Offering at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021 with their good coverage, backed up by a HC: Highly Commended trophy for Outstanding Private Bank: Middle East.

ENBD PB has a highly qualified Chief Investment Office (CIO) team, which combines asset allocation, single asset class strategy, and selection of recommended securities, as well as open-architecture funds and a structured products platform. They help middle-eastern clients and NRIs based there. The CIO allocation framework was redesigned a couple of years ago to include state-of- the-art risk models that better analyze backdrop, valuation, and behavioral finance. Three profiles have been developed to preserve capital over respectively 3, 5, and 7 years, while providing the best risk-adjusted return over this horizon. Last year’s return for these timeframes was respectively +11.1%, +12.2% and +13.5% despite the ongoing Covid-19 situation. Indeed, the Tactical Asset Allocation Committee significantly cut equities in February 2020 only to buy them back at a 25% lower price towards the end of March after the initial pandemic crash, proving the team knows how to maximize value. Other bank-wide Covid-19 responses included:

Enhanced digitalization: and remote client service.

Virtual events: investment seminars, digital podcasts & regular e-publications were introduced in 2020 to provide support and market guidance to Private Banking and GSAB customers during Covid-19, and indeed beyond.

Work from home (WFH): policies and IT support. RMs used Skype and other digital platforms to stay in touch. Appropriate training is always given to ensure soft service-oriented development, alongside technical market knowledge support. This is reflected in ENBD’s average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 59 in 2020 for the GSAB team, which is considered an excellent result in the customer satisfaction and ‘likely to recommend’ measurement.

ENBD overall got NPS 55 last year, helping it obtain its middle-eastern commendation, alongside its globe-spanning services and strong regional presence.

In regard to products, the Emirates Signature Funds of Funds was unveiled last year. The three multi-asset funds based on the global asset allocation process and fund selection capabilities of the CIO team – allied to the long-term profiles mentioned previously – mean investors get a choice of cost-effective and market leading products with global exposure and appropriate robustness. By September 2020, the funds had already gathered more than US$250 million in assets and delivered returns.

Trust and Wealth Structuring needs, aided by a team in Jersey, UK, offer a number of services, including:
succession planning,
trusts,
& liquidity planning, to ensure the next generation is equipped to manage their personal wealth.

The South Asian demographic is the largest expatriate population in the UAE, representing 60% of the total. They are served by PB offices in:
Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE;
Saudi Arabian branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar;
Mumbai, India office;
& offices in Singapore, and in the UK via London and the aforementioned Jersey for trusts.

Execution Desks at the Dubai headquarters and in Singapore provide access to listed capital markets and over-the-counter (OTC) instruments globally. Singapore also facilitates the rollout of new investment products and provides the GSAB unit with a booking center for jumbo life insurance policies, premium financing & structured products. Additionally, Singapore is used primarily for geographical diversification of our Asian markets offering; and as part of the bank’s strategy to deepen its coverage in South Asia. The branch in Mumbai, India, helps this as well. It also offers customers India-based products across high yielding deposits and transfers for those wanting to return home.

Looking to the future, the RM and advisory teams at the wider bank have been trained by Candriam Academy for sustainable and responsible investing, which is an increasing focus moving forward. ENBD is further formalizing its approach to this evolving sustainable and green arena as the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda grows in importance.

In this Q&A interview with Sanah Gumede, Head of Wealth and Investment SA, Standard Bank, the South African talks about her high-net worth client responsibilities, her travels around the world, getting educated, family, her ambition to improve generational wealth transfer, and how technology is changing the business

Please briefly describe your ambitions and leadership style?

I would like to make an impact on generational wealth. Research tells us that 70% of generational wealth gets depleted by the second generation and 90% by the third. I want to stop that leakage.

My ambition is to partner with our clients to roll out initiatives that guide the next generation about money and equip them with the necessary tools to manage and grow their wealth with a clear long-term strategy to benefit future generations.

In terms of leadership, my philosophy is to focus on results and strive to leave the business, clients, and team in a better position than before. Personally, I like to create an environment that promotes ideation, where the team is empowered to generate and execute on new ideas, as I believe that is the best way to get results. The key skills required for any leadership role are always similar, with different emphases depending on the position and time. But you must always:

Deliver results
Have a strategy and communicate your vision. Encourage ideas.
Be authentic and empathic.
Learn your business and people, so you can be a subject matter expert, but know when to delegate to others’ strengths.
Have the required technical skills.

Tell us about your career, personal & professional life in terms of your upbringing, education and experiences – and how it’s impacted your approach to business?

My ideas about leadership were formed professionally by my further education experiences. I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa and completed the Finance Executive Development Program with GIBS and London Business School in 2010.

A turning point came in 2013-14 when I completed the Global Executive MBA at INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France. My elective studies included Strategy, Structure & Incentives; Managing Multicultural and Virtual Teams; Psychology of Leadership; Corporate Governance; Making the Leadership Transition; and Entrepreneurial Leadership. This experience formed my leadership style.

Education is vital, but it comes in many different forms. Simply travelling abroad and being open to different cultures and ideas has its own virtue and benefit. I love to explore the world with my husband and kids, and friends, to see what’s out there. Being curious leads to idea creation itself. I’ve travelled to Kenya, Swaziland, Lesotho, London, Jersey, New York, Washington DC, Singapore, Bali, Bulgaria, Dubai, Munich and Shanghai, among many other places. However, my all-time happy place is still the South African bush with great views of the wildlife. My upbringing was in a village called Ramogodi in Ga- Rankuwa, Pretoria. I was raised by a phenomenal woman who taught me about love, empathy, caring, kindness, and generosity. My upbringing drove me to work hard and make a meaningful impact in others’ lives, hence my natural passion for leading teams and managing value-add client relationships.

Tell us about your professional background then?

I started out at Investec Private Banking where I began in an administrative role and worked my way up to being a Private Banker and then a Team Leader. We looked after clients who were predominantly Trainee and Chartered Accountants (managers and partners) working at the big four audit firms. The strategy was to increase Investec’s market share in the accounting space, increase the product footprint through crossselling, and enhance Investec’s brand presence within the audit firms and associated professional bodies. I spent 9 years there before departing to be Regional Manager for Private Banking at Barclays Africa Group Limited (Oct 2014 – May 2016) and then Head of Client Value Proposition at Absa Wealth and Investment (June 2016 – Sep 2017).

I joined Standard Bank in September 2017 as the Head of Wealth Management for Johannesburg, before moving internally to be Head of Client Coverage for Standard Bank’s Wealth and Investment SA business, and then becoming Head of High Net Worth (HNW) at Standard Bank South Africa.

I am presently Head of Wealth and Investment SA at the bank, responsible for a team of relationship managers (RMs), specialized lenders, fiduciary experts and wealth managers. My key focus areas are to deliver greater value to the HNW individuals and to ultra HNWIs. My aim is to elevate the client experience (CX), employee engagement and enhance processes, growth strategies and the sales experience, thereby delivering profitability. Managing risk and compliance are always a part of the job too.

(i) How has the industry changed over your career?
(ii) What are you doing to prepare your company’s plans to align with it?

(i) The biggest change I have witnessed over my career has been how client needs have evolved and become more complex. We have had to shift from just being a product provider to being more engaging with clients to better understand their needs and then offer them solutions to meet their unique needs.

With the increase in technology, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, we have also had to think more about digital channels and shift the way we engage with our clients. Our use of technology and innovation to create various communication channels has been a significant change, as has been a post-pandemic renewed focus on getting the work / life balance correct and ensuring savings and wealth transfer plans are properly in place.

The competitive landscape we operate in has seen a significant change with the emergence of fintech enabled challenger banks, who bring with them a variety of value propositions as they attempt to carve out market share and service historically underserved segments, typically in the mass affluent self-serve segment. We’re responding appropriately. HNWIs want these capabilities too, as well as the ability to speak to Relationship Managers.

Our journey to being ‘future ready’ has challenged us to rethink our approach to serving our clients’ needs. We understand that today’s market is more complex than ever before, and clients are empowered with more information. We are therefore moving from a product based approach to an insight-led approach. Digital innovation helps us deliver it.

We want to be a platform business that works with partners to deliver effective digital services in an ecosystem full of easily accessible options. The aim is to be an organization that understands each client personally and offers them far more than just financial products. In other words, we need to go beyond banking and focus on delivering proactive and insight led engagements that lead to sales and deepening relationships.

Obviously, we want to be the partner of choice for HNWIs and that means having good products and expert staff as well. We give our clients investments that are aligned to their short, medium and long-term objectives, and which are robust enough to withstand market turmoil. Over the longer-term this is achieved by a carefully crafted allocation of global assets, designed to augment one another through inverse correlation. Assets behave differently to market stimuli, which is what enables us to provide clients with consistent returns over the longer term. Despite short-term volatility, from Covid-19 or whatever source, our portfolios deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.

Our vision is to be the leading HNWI Wealth business for Sub-Saharan clients and those interested in Africa. Aligning the people, process and technology in this fashion, and prioritizing the platformization and personalization of our business – while retaining face-to-face capabilities for U-HNWIs and investment expertise in our staff – is what will deliver success.

Our vision is to establish the leading HNWI wealth business for Sub-Saharan clients and those interested in Africa through alignment of people, process, and technology, and by prioritizing the platformization and personalization of our business while retaining face-to-face capabilities for UHNWI and in-house investment expertise. This is what we believe will drive success.

Crossinvest (Asia), a privately owned wealth manager, had a change in ownership last year and incoming CEO and chairman, Cem Azak, has already had an impact making him one of the Rising Stars for Asia- Pacific recognized at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021, held virtually on 8 October.

Crossinvest (Asia) believes that the change in ownership enacted last year will offer it more resources to improve its private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) units and will support the development of its family office services.

New CEO, Cem Azak, has a network of ultra high-net worth (UHNW) individuals and families in London, Frankfurt, New York, Zurich, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, that will help it overhaul its family office. Azak believes he can offer the firm better access to investment products via his network built up over many years in the industry.

Azak was formerly EFG Bank’s managing director & head of international markets, and part of their private banking (PB) council as well during his five years at EFG in senior management, before taking the reins at Crossinvest Asia in 2020. He had previously worked at DBS in Singapore as Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) head, and spent a decade at Barclays before that.

Set up in Switzerland in 1985, Crossinvest secured a fund management license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2005 entering the region as a founding member of the Association of Independent Asset Managers Singapore.

Speaking to Private Banker International (PBI) at the start of his tenure, Azak said: “While we will continue to focus on investing across the global financial markets providing access to multi-asset class solutions, Crossinvest (Asia) will also be offering more PE and VC opportunities for our clients in future.”

“This could include financing solutions and investment opportunities for clients’ companies as well,” continued Azak. “I like to call it ‘private investment banking’. We aim to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for our clients where they can receive comprehensive advice and integrated solutions to meet all their needs – from investment to business financing needs, from wealth to legacy planning.”

Additionally, Azak said to PBI that Crossinvest will also commit to digitized wealth management services and sustainable investing, reflecting the trends evident in the industry.

Another key industry trend is the rise of family offices in Asia-Pacific, hence the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Crossinvest Asia as an existing multi-family office player, with a strong investment management team and track record. The rise of family offices in A-P apes what happened earlier in Europe and the US when wealth flows from first generation creators to builders and inheritors in the second and third generation, necessitated a plethora of new services. Family assets increasingly need to be structured and allocated via trusts or put in alternative investments that can bring higher returns, and so on. A fiduciary advisor must act with a higher standard of care to his clients than a mere financial advisor and this is increasingly what family office clients demand in A-P – and have a right to expect.

Professionalization of the sector has advanced rapidly as wealth in the region has advanced.

Another driver for the acquisition was that at a multi-family office the incentive structure is built to align with the clients’, removing any possible conflict of interest between the advisor and clients. This is attractive to Azak as he believes merging asset management and private wealth services for clients is a better way to navigate financial markets and removes the conflicting interests and barriers that can sometimes impede banker / client relationships. The longer timeframe prioritized in wealth transfer and legacy planning can be particularly helpful in this regard.

The new CEO has already helped the company close its largest PE funding deal with one of Singapore’s most innovative artificial intelligence (AI) firms to finance its ambitions. The extra investment will help it enhance the asset management service and increase Crossinvest Asia’s capabilities.

UBS won the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Asia-Pacific category at the Private Banker.

International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2021, held virtually on 8 October, for a combination of its financial and growth performance, powered by past technology and people investments, and its focus on sustainable investment (SI). UBS has US$3 trillion in invested assets and a diversified global scale. But its strong franchise in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is noteworthy for its 15 wealth management offices in 10 locations, including private bankers, and its 30% profit before tax (PBT) contribution to the global wealth management (GWM) business total of US$1.1 billion last year, winning it a trophy at the PBI Awards 2021.It is estimated 70% of the increase in profits at GWM last year came from APAC alone. Profit per client advisor grew more than 110% to US$1.16 million for FY2020 as UBS benefitted from productivity and efficiency gains group-wide that kept its cost-income ratio below 50% helped largely by becoming a more technology-enabled business.

Years of investments in technology and in training staff for high performance are paying off internally – and externally for clients. For instance, the ‘My Way’ platform, launched in Q4 2020, combines digital capabilities with personal interaction. Clients’ tailor-make their discretionary portfolios on an interactive tablet screen with their client advisor. This enhances the client experience (CX) and improves engagement and results. Assets under Management (AuM) via the My Way platform have already exceeded US$2.6 billion globally. They crossed US$660 million in APAC as of Q1 2021. Other digital projects included:

Direct Investment Insights (DII) were launched on the UBS mobile banking app and e-banking website to empower investors with timely, relevant, and actionable investment insights. To prevent overload and enhance personalization clients only get insights based on their financial interests with related trading cases clearly outlined.

Digital plans were accelerated across the board at UBS and steep climbs in client engagement were witnessed. For instance, in Q4 2020 more trades were executed via e-trading versus traditional execution – over 62% of all equity trades were electronic.

UBS placed over 200 virtual events online due to the Covid-19 outbreak. More than 43,000 clients participated. Its sixth ‘Disruptive Technology CEO Summit’ was also held virtually in October 2020, still attracting more than 5,000 global investors.

UBS is also seeking to further grow its client franchise now that live events are once again permitted as pandemic restrictions ease. For instance, it put on the ‘Tech Connect South-East Asia (SEA)’ show in Singapore on 28 June 2021. This connects clients, start-ups, academics and thought leaders to facilitate know-how and capital transfer. Emerging fintech startups can expect exclusive access to a global network of clients, investors and expertise, creating win-win partnership possibilities and effectively creating a technology accelerator platform. Eventually, more entrepreneurs will hopefully flow into UBS’ private bank at the end of it and, of course, there are many investment opportunities there for existing clients.

S1: sustainable investments

UBS has a 100% fully diversified SI portfolio, which crossed a major milestone in APAC when it reached US$2.8 billion at the end of 2020. Its risen 32% in the past 12 months and reached US$3.5bn by the end of Q1 this year. In September 2020, GWM announced it has made sustainable investments the preferred solution for private clients globally, proving the bank’s commitment to the area and expectation of returns in it.

Additionally, UBS has directed US$6.9bn of client assets into impact investments related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2017. In many ways this can be seen as a precursor to the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda that is particularly popular at the moment as carbon net zero targets proliferate globally. SI is a key element in ESG as well, alongside the social justice aspects of this hot topic.

Last year the bank’s Core Sustainable Investments (Core SI) rose by 62% to USD$793bn overall to become 19% of all client invested assets. Core SI products involve a strict and diligent asset selection process across key SI strategies, maintains the bank. Invested assets classified as impact investing or sustainability focused – applying only the most rigid sustainability criteria – increased 154% in comparison to 2019, to stand at US$141bn. UBS’ strategic focus on sustainable asset classes and the increased demand for SI is clear.

Itaú Private Bank has won the Best Bank for Sustainability and ESG Leadership – Corporate Strategy for defining and integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria into its everyday business and launching an ESG product platform with 70 options, among other things. It has also been awarded the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Latin America trophy at the virtual PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021 for its results and approach. Itaú Private Bank (PB) has 733 dedicated specialists, a presence in seven countries and serves 8,710 Latin American (LatAm) client families. Its goal is to ensure the perpetuation of legacies and wealth for customers. It does this by focusing on services; prudent risk management; employing a great team; digitalization, which helped it during Covid-19; and its four guiding pillars:

The centrality of the client,
Sustainable partnerships,
Continuous evolution, such as its garlanded ESG work, & relationships built on trust the results are evident in its financials and performance, making it the Outstanding Global PB this year in LatAm, despite the challenges of Covid-19. Itaú Private Bank is the largest in Brazil with a market share of 28.4% during the first half of 2021. The volume of Assets under Management (AuM) reached BRL 669 billion (US$124.7 bn), double the size of the country’s number two player, and the first half of 2021 was also marked by a record capture of new assets: BRL 53.5 billion (US$9.9 bn). The prior 2020 financial results were better than expected as well, considering the pandemic, which hit Brazil hard.
There were:
BRL 39 billion (US$7.1bn) in net new assets.
5% revenue growth to BRL 2.6bn (US$473 million).
A stable net income figure (over BRL 1 billion, equivalent to US$182m).

The focus on digitalization helped ensure efficient resource management and cost-to-income ratios, as well as helping the bank deliver an effective Covid-19 response that enabled work from home practices. Digital tools served clients remotely if needed with data, online events, and services. Digitalization allowed the bank to still perform despite the challenges of the past 18 months.

Itaú Private Bank has a strong advisory model with key pillars that include:

Structured investment process: Overseen by 70 professionals across seven countries this reviews and updates the investment strategy, providing economic analysis & optimal allocation.

Wide-open platform: offers access to global products and services, curated in a one-stop-shop format.
Custom portfolio-building: for each client.

Wealth planning: access to an exclusive team of estate-planning specialists.
Environmental, Social, and Governance

ESG is a crucial part of Itaú PB’s Responsible Investments advisory pillar as well. The bank’s work ensuring that ESG considerations are fully incorporated into its business and stakeholder relations, reflecting its historical commitment to the sustainability agenda, was rewarded with its second trophy at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2021.

It has defined and integrated ESG into its everyday operations via a series of Positive Impact Commitments that revised and updated its past sustainability guidelines to guide all future actions in this area. Other positive steps it has made to advance the ESG agenda – and ensure future growth for clients – include:

An ESG product platform: with 70 options across Brazilian and global markets, the platform spans asset classes ranging from corporate debt securities to sustainable bonds. It has been carefully curated exclusively for clients, and will no doubt grow as the ESG sector does.

Amazon Plan & Conference: In conjunction with two other large Brazilian financial institutions (FIs) Itaú created an Amazon Plan in June 2020 to promote sustainable development in the region, hitherto a problem. On 7-9 December it followed up by hosting an online conference with 70+ public figures, experts, companies, and players from the domestic and international financial markets. All of them gathered to debate investment opportunities, ESG practices, and the socioeconomic potential of the Amazon region.

Sustainable fund: By 2025, the over-arching retail Itaú Unibanco and general / investment banking arm has said it will contribute BRL 400 billion (US$72.8bn) to business initiatives that promote a sustainable, green, and inclusive economy.