BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s discretionary portfolio management unit in Asia has the unique distinction of effectively being a proxy in-house asset manager due to its near pure focus on single securities. In stark contrast with the vast majority of its competitors that rely on third-party funds to generate alpha, the difference allows the bank to conduct aftersales at a superior level, offers clients unparalleled levels of transparency into underlying assets, and paves the way for deeper risk management and content that is more timely and relevant.

But this is not without a trade-off. While competitors are able to leverage on the asset class expertise of the various global asset managers that they work with, BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s approach in Asia demands more from its local portfolio managers’ bottom-up capabilities. In 2018, the bank’s position as a dedicated single securities discretionary manager was put to the test more than ever as market volatility hit global markets.

Showing its proficiency, its Global Thematic equity and M&A equity mandates — which were launched in January 2017 and February 2016, respectively — ranked in the second and first quartile, respectively, in terms of performance at the end of Q3 last year. Meanwhile, the bank’s flagship Bond Opportunity USD mandate continues to generate robust returns in an adverse environment, ranking in the 97th percentile according to Morningstar data based on the five-year Sharpe ratio as of end of Q3 last year.

Performance aside, the bank keeps clients engaged with content delivered through a proprietary DPM App, launched in the fourth quarter of 2017. The app has since received strong positive feedback from users and the next version is set to include more content and functions such as NAV projections up to 20 years, the e-signing of account opening documents, and more detailed data analytics.

This all led to the bank experiencing an all-time high in net new DPM inflows in 2018, which has pushed its penetration rate above the industry average.

In a market populated by ‘me too’ DPM solutions, BNP Paribas Wealth Management was unafraid to expose its internal capabilities to scrutiny at the highest level, pitting itself not just against fellow discretionary managers, but global money managers.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker‘s Best Private Bank – Discretionary Portfolio Management for 2018.