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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.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management (WM) develops the Group’s Private Banking (PB) model across 19 countries, serving entrepreneurs, family offices, Ultra/High Net Worth Individuals(U/HNWIs) in Asia, the US and Middle-East via 6,800 employees and attaining EUR 422 billion (US$422.3bn) in Assets under Management (AuM) last year, up 8.4%, and a rank of the number one Private Bank in the Euro Zone by AuM thanks to growth in Germany, Italy and other places in its traditional stronghold. Alongside its Francophone base, this won it the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Europe at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022 and Highly Commended status for HC: Most Innovative Digital Offering thanks to its Private Assets Portal and a number of other new digital services.

BNPP WM attracted EUR2.4 billion in net asset flows last year and is successfully surfing the volatility in this year’s market. As the leading private bank in the Eurozone, BNPP WM continued to accelerate in the Entrepreneurs and Large Families segment across geographies such as Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands in particular. The private Bank will pursue developments over the long term, drawing on their expertise and continuing to take advantage of the Group’s diversified and integrated model so that this clientele fully benefit from synergies with CIB, Asset Management and Real Estate in particular.

Alongside a wide range of products and services in wealth planning, financial management and investments, BNP Paribas WM also offers tailor-made financing and specialised expertise in areas such as real estate, philanthropy, and forests or vineyards. The latter was evident in its annual Agrifrance report on the French rural land market last year, which focused on the issue of renewing young generations in the rural world to maintain locally-grown quality agriculture, arboriculture or viticulture in a modern world that increasingly sees that as a social, rural planning and sustainability issue – not to mention a food sovereignty and security topic since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Sustainability is a key topic, and future growth avenue for BNPP WM, so it has designed a comprehensive sustainable client journey in four steps:

Step1 – myImpact tool: this digital solution helps identify the social and environment subjects that matter to clients, helping them define their investor and/or philanthropist goals. It’s a treasure chest of insights into sustainable development, responsible investment, and philanthropy.

Step2 – Objectives: clients define with their relationship manager (RM) and BNPP WM’s sustainable experts their objectives in terms of risk, return, and impact.

Step3 – Clover rating methodology: Next, clients choose the level of sustainability they want their investments to have; on a scale of 0 to 10 clovers. This unique new rating system across all asset classes rates the sustainability of BNPP WM’s products and gives clients a holistic vision of the sustainability of their entire portfolio. Ready to use or tailor-made philanthropy solutions can be investigated.

Step4 – Decision time: In the final step, BNPP WM proposes concrete sustainable investment solutions to match the clients’ now fully defined and investigated sustainability profile.

Digitalisation

As part of its over-arching client experience (CX) programme, BNPP WM fully launched a Private Assets Portal worldwide in Q3 2022. The platform is dedicated to helping clients in the private equity (PE), real estate and private asset funds area, providing instant access to real-time information regarding the investments they have subscribed to via an electronic e-signature. A 360° view of portfolios with detailed geographies, strategies or currencies is available, alongside breakdowns of the performance of each fund and their consolidated portfolio.

The private bank is also strengthening its events, particularly for millennials via its ‘NextGen Experience: A FastTrack to wealth management’ seminar where participants were invited to debate with WM experts, experience digital innovations, and meet inspiring entrepreneurs to give them investment ideas.

Its post-Covid investment themes for 2022 include:

Riding in a new inflation regime
Identifying winning investments and innovations
Repair, Reuse and Recycle
Small is (still) beautiful
& Enter in the Metaverse

The Taurus Wealth Group, founded by Mandeep Nalwa in Singapore in 2008, with its Dubai office led by Bhavnesh Thakkar for the Middle East and Africa region, and office in Zurich, has since its inception serviced high net worth (HNW) clients with a Multi Family Office (MFO) orientation, including a focused East African coverage led by Suhail Moosa: Rising Star award winner at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022. Its MFO approach, and aim to be a close confidante, mean clients need wealth management help from a 360-degree perspective, making very well-trained Relationship Managers (RMs) a necessity. Taurus won the Outstanding RM Training and Development Programme trophy as well.

The Best Practices Programme (BPP) conceived at Taurus Wealth usually runs for 2 months and is conducted three times a year to get its new RMs up to speed with the company’s values and its confidante approach to HNW family wealth management and to help incumbents continually refresh and hone their skills.

Different modules and case studies, gleaned from regularly updated internal source and product material, are held by senior financial advisors (FAs) on a regular, rotated basis. Participation from attendees that challenges the status quo is encouraged. Occasionally, outside speakers from partners are also invited in. Delivery is via weekly ‘parcels’ of hour-long sessions. The group dynamic is seen as essential in communicating success stories, cross-selling opportunities, and getting across the company’s values.

The BPP runs alongside Taurus’ formal induction for newcomers and its annual compliance training programmes, which are both designed to cover the important regulatory and compliance aspects of its policy framework. But the Best Practices Programme is different because the aim is to orientate new joiners to the company’s way of doing things, ensuring excellence and consistency for the client.

Entrusted to a senior FA that has extensive experience in addressing the multifaceted needs of HNW clients, the Programme Champion will always seek inputs from all relevant stakeholders prior to a new cohort taking on the course. This ensures dynamic content and that all material is always up-to-date. Several modules are held, covering:

1. Portfolio management frameworks & client coverage models.
2. In-house managed strategies and product capabilities.
3. Succession & estate planning.
4. Life insurance.
5. Family governance & philanthropy.
6. Managing collectibles & passion assets like art.
7. Residency & alternate citizenship options.
8. Financing & mortgage solutions.
9. Prospecting & pricing – this conveys the value proposition & ensures consistency.
10. Differentiated approach to managing private market allocations and exposures. A partner network overview supports this with fitment criteria.
11. In-house systems – this teaches newcomers how to differentiate by leveraging Taurus’ digital, data reporting & analytical capabilities.

Rising Star: Suhail Moosa

The PBI Rising Star Award was granted to Suhail Moosa, Executive Director of Client Investments for the East African market, out of Taurus Wealth’s offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in Dubai, UAE. He has used his long-standing relationships with the Indian-origin community in Kenya and the surrounding areas to become the top performer for the firm in Dubai in 2021, exceeding his targets and championing new business such as bringing Universal Life insurance front and centre for regional succession planning. [MG1] Moosa also recently organised an event in Nairobi where Taurus’ CEO spoke about the challenging markets in 2022 to a gathering of existing and prospective clients. Afterwards 20% of attendees wanted to meet within three days, while 50% said they’d be in touch.

The former ICICI, Citibank and Mashreq employee had to overcome a number of initial challenges on joining Taurus Wealth in 2020, not the least of which was a need to get up to speed on the family office model, via the BPP course, and an inability to travel due to the Covid-19 restrictions then in place. The MBA graduate of finance, from the ICFAI Business School in Mumbai in 2007, overcame these challenges to deliver results and win numerous testimonials from happy clients. He is leading Taurus’ efforts to grow the East African market, most recently hiring a veteran in the Tanzanian market.

Outside of work, Suhail Moosa is a keen golfer and racket sports participant, and he is the chair of a social and work group comprising of more than 500 Indian families from his hometown in India, which all currently reside in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as he does. He is a trainer himself now on the BPP course at Taurus Wealth and strong advocate for the East African marketplace. [MG1]We do not want this information externally available

Taishin International Bank launched a data-driven project in 2021 to use ‘big data’ more effectively in a better integrated, updated technology stack that uses Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to analyse customer needs and a real-time personalised marketing platform to meet them. It was Highly Commended (HC) in the Best Next Generation Offering category at the 32nd PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022.

Taishin wanted a better customer management model and realised that this meant enhancing its data import, integration, and application – if it was to meet its aim of providing a better service and moving its marketing efforts from an active to an interactive basis.

The IT and organisational overhaul of how Taishin, headquartered in Taiwan, processes and uses data launched last year, faced two major challenges – namely:

Using unstructured ‘big data’: the financial services (FS) industry has traditionally been better at using structured data internal applications that mine its own information about customers and find data about correspondent FS firms, infrastructures (FMIs) for connectivity purposes, and so on from its own internal sources. Unstructured ‘big data’ emanating from social media, web browsing, voice services, financial market news showing sentiment and trends, and so on is difficult to analyse and apply. But it contains a lot of valuable information. Taishin needed to master ‘big data’ and integrate it into their IT operations. ML was the answer.

Shorter attention spans: modern people receive and process up to 34 gigabytes of information a day, according to a recent study by the University of California, San Diego. This means they may not pay attention to information provided by a bank if it’s in a pre-existing communication pattern that isn’t relevant to their lives anymore – say a postal letter. This adversely impacts the customer experience (CX), satisfaction and marketing responses rates.

Taishin has resolved these issues by adopting new artificial intelligence (AI)-inspired ML systems and techniques. The deep Machine Learning technologies it is now using, such as AutoEncoder neural network and the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM) ML algorithm that can rank, classify and improve data consumption, are helping it transform its operation.

When used in conjunction with a new application, such as a new real-time personalised marketing platform recently introduced, the business benefits of improved data mastery become plain. Marketing response rates, customer satisfaction and ultimately revenues have risen.

An enhanced application programming interface (API) transmission mechanism has also improved the synchronisation of Taishin’s channels to market, and its self-learning, data-driven CX improvement model. It truly now has a next generation, customer-centric service that is fit for the modern age.

Kleinwort Hambros ambition is to be a leading responsible private bank – to their clients, colleagues, communities and for the climate. Supporting colleagues and diversity forms an important part of this ambition. Initiatives include engaging juniors via an apprenticeship and a reverse mentoring scheme designed to harness their talent. Their efforts in all these areas won them the Excellence in Employee Engagement category at the 32nd Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022.

The four key aims of Kleinwort Hambros’ employee engagement programme are to:

1. Close the gap in perspectives across generations.
2. Increase engagement & visibility for junior employees.
3. Adopt a bottom-up approach to solving problems, harnessing junior talent.
4. Leverage more diverse experiences & insights.

The first three aims are helped by a reverse mentoring programme that flips the usual dynamic and reaches out to junior staff to try to learn how they would challenge the status quo and innovate at the firm. The Next Generation Executive Committee (Nexco) also brings together senior and junior employees on strategic initiatives to ensure the firm stays relevant via projects such as exploring how to use the metaverse, in which 21st century customers will live their digital lives, and how best to accommodate the increasingly prevalent hybrid office / work from home model.

A more traditional and formalised apprenticeship scheme, unveiled in 2020, also seeks to introduce talented youngsters to the bank from more diverse backgrounds. University graduates from high profile institutions are invited to join, but also those from non-Russell Group institutions that are from less well-known universities and perhaps received less familial support. Allied to a 50/50 gender split policy, this encourages more diverse backgrounds, genders and ethnicities to join the bank.

On the job experience and a professional qualification are offered alongside wellbeing initiatives for apprentices, such as mental and physical health workshops, mental and first aid help training, and access to a range of bank-wide diversity networks that are open to all employees, spanning:

Pride & Allies: An LGBTQ+ community that works with the Stonewall campaigning organisation to ensure awareness of gay issues at the firm and inclusivity.

Be Me – Race Equity Network: is focused on removing any barriers to progression faced by those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

We Are Young (WAY): network is intended to support young employees at the start of their professional lives, expanding their network and understanding of global business.

Gender network: is designed to help Kleinwort Hambros achieve its Women in Finance Charter pledges to encourage more women into senior positions to reach its target of 50/50 parity by 2025.

Narrowing the gender pay gap is also a priority, which has reduced from 24% down to 18% in three years at Kleinwort Hambros and should continue to fall with the number of initiatives underway at the firm, such as a Gender Equality Forum.

An on-going Diversity Data campaign is also underway at the bank since last year. This metric invites employees to share their gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation and various other characteristics to continue to shape and measure Kleinwort Hambros diversity strategy.

HSBC Global Private Banking (GPB) has been named Outstanding Private Bank: North Asia at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022 for leveraging its deep pool of regional and worldwide resources to achieve tremendous growth in Asia, especially in mainland China, and to enhance its service offering in the region. It was also Highly Commended for its Outstanding Philanthropy Offering.

HSBC’s ambition is to be Asia’s leading wealth manager by 2025. Its Wealth and Personal Banking (WPB) business, encompassing personal banking, insurance, asset management and private banking, is already one of the world’s largest wealth managers with approximately US$1.6 trillion in wealth balances lodged with it globally as of Q2 2022.

It is looking to the high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals and their families served by its private banking unit to drive further growth, especially in North Asia, utilising its key wealth hubs in Hong Kong, mainland China, where it is one of the largest investors among foreign banks; and Taiwan.

HSBC is investing in people, technology and product capabilities, as part of its strategy focused on:

Digital transformation in wealth management: HSBC is investing US$100 million into technology and digital upgrades for its private banking business in Asia over a period of two years in 2021-2022. The bank’s recently launched digital solutions include:
o GPB Chat, which allows clients to communicate with us instantly and securely through their preferred chat or social media platform;
o GPB eSignature, which enables clients to sign, submit and receive documents digitally anytime anywhere; and allows for paperless end-to-end processes;
o An enhanced research presentation platform; o Online trading platform, that gives our private banking clients who prefer to self-direct their trades with flexibility to invest directly globally from their mobile phones.

Strong cross-bank collaboration: Cross-departmental collaboration also unlocks bespoke solutions. For instance, HSBC Alternatives, HSBC Asset Management’s alternatives division, has secured a number of exclusive investment opportunities in private markets and hedge funds for GPB clients. HSBC’s strong balance sheet can also provide tailored credit advisory and solutions to clients who are seeking to secure finance against a range of assets from single stock positions, real estate to trophy assets like art. Significant investments have also been committed to the enhancement of the bank’s bespoke wealth and estate planning, trust, family advisory and philanthropy services. A referral model is in operation whereby clients from Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets (GBM), and the wider WPB unit within the HSBC Group are being introduced to its private banking arm to cross-pollinate growth across different business verticals. GBM, HSBC’s investment banking arm can also originate and distribute capital markets transactions on behalf of GPB’s clients.

Expanded international connectivity: Dedicated Asia coverage teams are put in place at HSBC’s GPB offices in strategic locations including the UK, Switzerland and the US, enhancing the bank’s ability to meet the unique needs of its geographically spread clientele spanning family services, capital markets, asset allocation, financing, trusts and wealth planning, and so on.

Investment and Wealth Solutions: This dedicated unit within HSBC’s WPB business brings a portfolio-based approach to constructing tailored solutions for GPB clients, with core and satellite asset allocations that meet their investment objectives. There are multiple strategies across different asset classes, regions, and long-term structural themes that clients can participate in via the bank’s Discretionary and Portfolio Management (DPM) platform. ‘CMS Sustainable’ was unveiled in 2021 to meet clients’ increasing demand for sustainable investments in Asia.

Philanthropy accolade HSBC GPB was also commended for its Outstanding Philanthropy Offering at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022 in recognition of its outstanding philanthropic services, including annual donations worth US$250 million to a range of good causes administered on behalf of clients with charitable trusts as well as other long-standing good works, such as the bank’s ‘Mind Matters’ campaign in Hong Kong, an innovative campaign and first of its kinds to engineer philanthropy using a hackathon format to connect clients with opportunities to create impactful social and environmental change in their communities. It assembled expert speakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others to brainstorm ideas on addressing mental health needs in the community, before presenting to a funders’ roundtable. Five projects were advanced from 12 shortlisted initiatives among a total of 72 pitches. Funded projects include:

Cancer support: Therapy and counselling was offered to 116 children and 202 of their family members to help manage their emotions during a family member’s cancer journey.

Suicide prevention and education support: Beneficiaries include 150 primary and secondary school age students from low-income households.

Mental wellness for the elderly: 67 visually impaired elderly residents in care homes received mindfulness and music therapy to lower their anxiety and insomnia resulting from extended isolation, prevalent in the wake of Covid-19 induced lockdowns.

Standard Bank Wealth and Investment won Outstanding Global Private Bank: Africa and Outstanding Wealth Management Technology Initiative: Front End at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022, plus two commendations.

Wealth and Investment serves high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in sub-Saharan Africa and those interested in the continent, delivering bespoke, personalised service and seamless on-and offshore solutions to global citizens. As an integral pillar of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank ranked by assets and earnings, Wealth and Investment leverages the latest technology to meet the needs of its clients and their families.

In line with a value proposition that encompasses the attraction, growth and retention of their international clients in Africa, Wealth and Investment established an International Diaspora Clients division in 2021. Created to meet the needs of clients across segments in the Standard Bank Group, the division provides borderless banking solutions, facilitated by cutting-edge technology and tools that enable temporary resident and non-resident clients to manage their financial affairs with ease.

Figure 1: Standard Bank’s strong presence in Africa, and amongst its diaspora, is evidenced by its global footprint and its R122bn (US$7.2bn) in Assets under Management (AuM).

Source: Standard Bank’s PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022 entry.

Non-resident South Africans living away from the bank’s core ‘home’ market in particular appreciate the bespoke property and investment solutions of the International Diaspora Clients division. Diplomats, embassy employees and international business people either from South Africa, or with interests there, are all part of the diaspora model. The bank additionally has offices and clients in Nigeria, Kenya, across Africa and in the UK’s Channel Islands.

Non-residents have access to current, international and wealth accounts, multicurrency banking, credit cards, and loans, etc., as well as specialised relationship management and support services. They also qualify for preferential rates, no VAT on banking fees, and have access to partner services such as XpatWeb, which gives free advice about passports, visas and more. Temporary residents in South Africa have access to similar services, coupled with specialised support and advice.

Remittance services and the Shyft foreign exchange (FX) mobile app are also available. The latter allows clients to invest, buy, store, send, spend and exchange FX – and they can link physical or virtual Shyft cards and accounts to ease cross-border transfers. An international trading feature was added last year for global citizens who are constantly travelling.

Other technology options contributing towards Standard Bank’s Front-End PBI Global Wealth Award include:

My360 app: this ‘single view’ wealth management mobile and online service gives clients a global view of their financial status by aggregating and presenting data in easy to digest formats across multiple asset classes.

Super Banking app with Add-on Store: Standard Bank’s mobile banking gateway has been enhanced with a new Add-on Store that allows partners to add useful fintech tools, such as a Money Movements presentational tool or a Credit Score check. This development is in response to the trend for open application programming interfaces (APIs), which is encouraging easier data exchange and more collaboration in financial services (FS) and competition around data mastery.

These front-end developments obviously require good back-end IT in order to present, process and orchestrate information effectively. Standard Bank has this capability via a number of systems, such as its Dynamics365 relationship management (RM) system that pulls data from its core banking system, and its Challenger Portal, which provides RMs with e-learning tools, playbook resources, surveys and, ultimately, customers with a better data-centric service.

These and other similar systems are why Standard Bank was also Highly Commended in the Outstanding Wealth Management Technology Initiative: Back End category at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022. Most recently, the bank has added a new Next Best Action tool to its back-end to drive a recommendation engine that will deepen the value and strength of its client engagements.

Standard Bank Wealth and Investment was also Highly Commended at the Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022 in the Best Family Office category for the way they have adopted a ‘family first’ philosophy to serving all generations and types of clients; from in-country key markets like South Africa, to African diasporas living abroad, and those families with business interests on the continent. A drive to identify emerging Family Office clients among the newly wealthy was also noteworthy, as was an imminent private equity (PE) and direct investment platform.

Julius Baer won the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Global category at the Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022 for its financial results, various regional initiatives, ESG and enhanced capabilities in private markets, wealth financing and real estate, among many other initiatives.

Full year adjusted net profits exceeded CHF1 billion Swiss Francs (US$1.02bn) for the first-time last year at Julius Baer. The wealth management (WM) group, which is headquartered in Zurich dating back to the 19th century, and has since spread around Europe and the globe with a presence in 25 countries via 60 offices in locations such as Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, Mumbai, Sao Paulo and so on, has not rested on its laurels however, posting an impressive CHF428 billion (US$437bn) in Assets under Management (AuM) at the end of June 2022 and advancing the alignment of its digitalisation efforts with its strong personal advisory ties.

This is remarkable as it has to meet near- and long-term global challenges and opportunities, such as war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, oil, and commodity price spikes, Covid lockdowns in China, and the climate change-driven environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. The market correction in H1 2022 were driven by the aforementioned near-term factors and had a deep impact on asset valuation and client sentiment, requiring close collaboration with clients to help navigate the difficult environment.

The Group focuses on its selected key markets for growth globally, such as Germany, Switzerland, and Brazil where it has a new advisory office in Sao Paulo, and Spain and Portugal where a newly strengthened Iberian Intermediaries team in Madrid has been supplanted by a senior manager transferring from Switzerland to Spain.

Middle east, as evidenced by new premises in its Dubai hub and the appointment of Rahul Malhotra there to head up its Non-Resident Indians (NRI) wealth management efforts. Further, Asian growth is also a key regional aim. A considerable part of net new money inflows last year came from Asian clients, with Singapore now Julius Baer’s second biggest global location hosting 1200 employees. Two new Group Heads have been appointed to the Singapore hub and new relationship managers (RMs) are being recruited for there and indeed for the targeted top markets globally to buttress growth efforts, alongside the rollout of multichannel digital tools.

Julius Baer is a keen ESG advocate as it wishes to offer its clients investment options they might be interested in that are reflective of global trends. Internally it wants to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as a company by 2030 and for its treasury, mortgage, and corporate credit portfolio by 2050. It has also just introduced:

A proprietary ESG methodology to classify client investments
& ESG reports that clients will automatically receive, now that RMs have been trained on their usage.

Sustainability is a key aspect of Julius Baer’s ESG plans and its wider 2023-25 and longer-term strategy. The firm has achieved a 45% increase in client assets in sustainable discretionary mandates to close at CHF4 billion (US$4.1bn) in 2021. It has launched several new products and solutions in this area and instituted a Sustainability Circle community. This brings clients together enabling them to co-create content. The number of Philanthropy Advisory Mandates doubled last year as well.

Many more initiatives in this area to broaden the range of capabilities are in the pipeline. Julius Baer is well set to benefit from developments and opportunities in the future.

Investing in digital and structural innovations, such as new mobile apps and a new economy (NE) service, has allowed UBS Global Wealth Management (GWM) to deliver record results in Asia, winning it the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Asia-Pacific category at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022, held on 6 October.

UBS GWM recorded a record profit before tax (PbT) figure in APAC last year of US$1.2 billion, up by US$ 176 million, with Q4 bookings showing a 20% Year-on-Year (YoY) increase.

Asian assets under management (AuM) reached the number one position at US$521 bn, with the region contributing over a quarter of the global group’s PbT.

Clients in APAC are happy as well according to UBS’ latest annual ‘Client-Based Insights Survey’, conducted at the end of 2021, which showed that over 90% of APAC clients are very happy with UBS.

These results have been helped by well-trained long-standing staff and digital innovations designed to enhance the client experience (CX). The model is strong enough to resist any economic headwinds encountered in 2022. Examples of innovation include:

UBS [My Way]: this discretionary mandate offering provides clients with access to over 60 building blocks to create a portfolio customised to their own preferences. The blocks vary across sustainability-focused to alternatives such as private equity. Clients can pick what is most relevant and matters most to them, while in-house experts take care of the day-to-day portfolio management. UBS [My Way] has accumulated over US$2bn in regional invested assets within one year of its launch. In addition, more than 70% of clients in Asia have selected sustainability-focused building blocks in their portfolios, and 25% of AuM is invested in sustainability-focused building blocks.

UBS Circle One: Launched in 2022, this new mobile app is a digital platform that brings the best of UBS’ global ecosystem to clients, connecting them to experts, thought leaders and instant actionable ideas. It delivers chief investment office (CIO) thought leadership in an engaging and convenient way via interactive videos, podcasts, and live webinars on a daily and weekly basis, complementing traditional reports and physical events. Clients are able to receive timely actionable ideas and investment opportunities at their fingertips.

Digitalisation: The past two years of global pandemic have put our platforms such as UBS E-banking, E-trading, UBS Advisor Messaging (WeChat and Whatsapp) to the test. We are proud of how they have provided us with stability and sustained growth as a result of helping to deliver content that is personalized, relevant, on-time and seamless. By year end 2021, UBS’ online trades increased by over 90% YoY, with 70% of equity trades now done online by clients, proving the popularity of its digital offerings. Across Q1-3 2021, monthly online trading revenue increased by 65% YoY.

Structural innovations that contributed towards UBS’ win at the PBI Awards 2022 included its long-standing focus on a ‘one bank’ model, as exemplified by its dedicated Global Family and Institutional Wealth (GFIW) unit, formerly the Global Family Office. The GFIW supports entrepreneurs, family offices, and other private investors with sophisticated, institutional-like needs by providing them with more seamless, overlapping access to UBS’s investment banking and wealth management and transfer capabilities.

UBS’ dedicated New Economy Team (NET), set up in 2021, is another example that exemplifies its one bank strategy. . Comprised of sector experts and deal markers across its businesses, the unit is designed to capture opportunities for clients across all sectors and industries and connect new economy (NE) companies with industry peers, investors, and strategic partners, to the mutual benefit of all.

NET acts as a central point of contact, providing ‘one bank’ solutions to clients and access to UBS’ global and local networks for NE entrepreneurs selected by experienced bankers who know how to choose winners at an early stage of their development.

By year end 2021, YoY revenue from NE clients across the bank in APAC grew by over 90%.

Itaú Private Bank (PB) reached BRL700 billion Brazilian Reais (US$134.8bn) in Assets under Management (AuM) last year, almost double that of the second-place player in Brazil, on total funding of BRL38bn (US$7.3bn), making it the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Latin America at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022 for its size, performance, and international capabilities.

The Private Bank’s structure includes more than 800 professional specialists, strategically located in 14 global offices to serve its clients and 8,286 diverse families, whose operations and investments span the globe. Itaú PB can cater for them at ‘home’ in Latin America (LatAm) or anywhere else in the world.

Revenue increased by 14% from 2015 to 2021 when the last full year of results were produced. Net income grew by 21% for a compound annual growth rate of 19% over the last six years.

This year has been a volatile market, however, impacted by the on-going Covid-19 pandemic and how this has affected global supply chains and economies allied to the recent war in Ukraine, which has led to rising global interest rates, oil prices and so on – not to mention the separate socioeconomic crisis in Latin America. Volatile markets present risks and opportunities in 2022. But Itaú PB knows how to navigate around economic headwinds and still perform by:

Focusing on the customer via events, online content, surveys and so on;
Build long-term relationships via staff training;
Promote continuous evolution of services by providing appropriate IT and expertise;
& Adhere to ethical standards, which is increasingly important in an era where the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda and sustainability considerations define the future investment landscape.

Itaú PB’s model is to have a banker, who serves as the relationship leader, orchestrating the work of the advisor, the banking manager, and a team of specialists in areas like wealth planning, structured products, credit, and pension plans. This creates a clear and consolidated service team. The Itaú Family Office offers further specialist services. Over the last five years, the number of families has increased 44%.

The relationship with the Itaú Unibanco retail bank generates cross-segment client referrals, feeding clientele into the Group’s mass affluent, wealth management (WM) and ultimately PB business and establishing a clear value chain and journey for its customers. The model allows for joint operational efficiencies, where possible, data-sharing and opens countless cross-selling opportunities for the various financial segments across Latin America. The Itaú BBA wholesale business also contributes towards growth.

The foundation of Itaú PB’s business is solid, lasting relationships and an investment management model based on five pillars:
Wealth planning,
ESG,
Tailored solutions based on a structured investment process,
A one-stop shop with a flexible Open IT platform,
& Consistent results with a focus on long-term vision.

Itaú Private Bank was also HC: Highly Commended at the 32nd Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022 in the following category: Most Effective Investment Service Offering.