Winners rationale

Just as China’s HNW landscape has changed beyond recognition in the past decade, so too has CreditEase’s business model evolved to reflect current and emerging exigencies. Originally founded as a personal credit consulting company and a peer-to-peer lending platform, CreditEase has since become a force to be reckoned with in wealth management as well, providing Chinese HNWIs across the globe with a full spectrum proposition through a range of client servicing specialists and service channels.

Based in a market hitherto massively invested in shadow banking products, CreditEase Wealth Management championed diversification and the fundamentals of investing early on, providing clients with customised asset allocation plans that looked beyond fixed income and China. Buttressed by this conviction, CreditEase became a proponent of global fund of funds, using artificial intelligence to source best-in-class strategies and forming partnerships to provide clients access to top-of-the-line multi-manager solutions.

Signs of success were seen in 2018, with many clients embracing the philosophy by holding an increasing portion of international equities and alternatives within their portfolios. Indeed, more than a third of its HNW clients now hold equities while more than one in five hold private market fund of funds — impressive progress to say the least, considering the heavy fixed income concentration of years past.

To ensure the effective delivery of client experience, CreditEase utilises a team-based advisory model consisting of a relationship manager backed by the capabilities and experience of some 3,000 in-house professionals, covering a comprehensive range of specialisations from immigration and overseas real estate to succession planning and philanthropy. It has also capitalised the deep smartphone penetration of China to provide clients wealth management services through a mobile app, allowing investors to digitally open accounts, review portfolios, evaluate risks, and compliantly subscribe to private funds on its platform.

CreditEase’s business performance attests to the success of its pioneering approach. In 2018, it attracted RMB 14.6 billion in net new assets from the HNW segment, a healthy 14% year-on-year rise, while revenues grew by 7% over the same period — no mean feat, taking into account China’s regulatory shakeup and challenging market conditions.

CreditEase Wealth Management is Asian Private Banker’s Best Wealth Manager – HNW Services for 2018.