Bank of Singapore has launched an alternative investments digital platform dedicated to independent asset managers (IAMs) in collaboration with global fintech firm iCapital.

The new platform, FIM Alternatives Select, will offer close to 30 funds from asset managers such as KKR, The Carlyle Group and Apollo to the bank’s financial intermediary (FIM) partners, with more funds to be added in the future, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Vivienne Chia, Bank of Singapore

“Geopolitical tensions are expected to continue and create more volatile market conditions. Investors need to be nimble in accessing the whole spectrum of solutions available, including alternative investments which can potentially diversify investment risks,” commented Vivienne Chia, global head, investment solutions group at Bank of Singapore.

“With FIM Alternatives Select, we are making it easier for financial intermediaries to augment the strength of their client portfolios with alternative investment opportunities and achieve their wealth objectives,” Chia said.

“FIMs want to partner with UBS”: Markus Haeny on growing intermediary services in Asia

Intermediaries space

Bank of Singapore has been sharpening its focus on the IAM space in Asia. Earlier this year, it created a specialised unit to serve its financial intermediary partners headed by Annabelle Chow. The unit comprises relationship managers and investment specialists dedicated exclusively to this segment. Its headcount has grown by 30% since the start of the year, according to the bank.

Providing dedicated intermediary services has sometimes proven difficult for private banks in Asia, with peers such as HSBC and JP Morgan exiting dedicated FIM services in Asia. VP Bank in Hong Kong, which only offered intermediary services, also announced its decision to exit the market in August this year. The majority of the private banking intermediaries desks in Asia are now based in Singapore.

Bank of Singapore’s Leong Guan Lim recently told Asian Private Banker that a large number of IAMs are not at a scale where they can build their own technology. Therefore, the bank serves as not just an advisor, but also as a product and technology provider.

Kenny Ho, Carret Private Capital

The initiative also supports the bank’s ambition to grow its financial intermediaries, family office, and wealth advisory (FFWA) assets under management by 50% from 2024 to 2026, the bank said in the statement.

“Bank of Singapore is clearly setting itself apart from its competitors by developing a focused and differentiated strategy just for independent asset managers like us,” commented Kenny Ho, managing partner and founder of Carret Private Capital.

Alts push

In 2022, Bank of Singapore outsourced its US$2 billion private market feeder fund platform to iCapital. The bank also previously told APB that clients should look to double their alternatives exposure.

The new FIM Alternatives Select platform will offer the bank’s financial intermediary partners due diligence reports and tools provided by iCapital to evaluate and access a curated range of alternative investment opportunities.

Marco Bizzozero, iCapital

It also provides access to post-investment tools such as fund reports and performance updates for financial intermediaries to monitor their positions, according to the statement.

Marco Bizzozero, head of international at iCapital, said the extended collaboration with the bank “underscores the growing importance of alternative investments for wealth managers as they increasingly make alternatives a key component of a diversified client portfolio, enhancing financial outcomes for their clients.”

Bank of Singapore: Clients should double their alts exposure