Q1: How did the business perform in 2025, and what drove its growth over the past year? How has the cost-income ratio trended this year, and what were the key factors influencing it? Looking ahead, what are your main priorities and strategic plans for 2026?

2025 has been another strong year for RBC Wealth Management in Asia. We continued to build momentum, underpinned by the recruitment of outstanding bankers across Hong Kong and Singapore. They complement our existing team and together are driving the growth of our business. We saw a significant increase in assets under management in 2025 and look forward to building on this next year.

Of course, we could not achieve this without the support of our dedicated functional and front office teams who work closely with advisors to deliver a seamless experience for our clients.

RBC differentiates itself in Asia as the only Canadian bank offering comprehensive, global wealth management services. We are uniquely positioned to support clients through our discovery-led approach and, as we grow our profile, it’s pleasing to see more people recognise the depth of our capabilities and experience in the region.

Q2: Looking at the investment outlook for 2026, which markets and asset classes are you prioritising for client portfolios to capture opportunities while managing risks? How are clients currently allocating their portfolios, and what trends are you seeing in DPM adoption and investment behaviour?

As we head towards 2026, the investment landscape looks similar to last year but with less buffer: resilient growth, with global GDP projected at around 3%, supported by fiscal and monetary policy.  

For client portfolios, we prioritise US equities and AI-driven tech sectors to capture upside, while layering in with alternatives and real assets for risk mitigation. AI winners may still see significant runway, with earnings growth forecasts of 15% for S&P 500 companies, fueled by AI infrastructure demand and CAPEX. Diversification into international equities and precious metals, in an environment of rising optimism despite ongoing uncertainty, may offer yields as volatility is expected to increase. Fixed income remains an important buffer for portfolios, with interest rates expected to go down as inflation risks temper.

Investors are shifting allocations dynamically as we are in our DPM. In the first half of 2025, we saw flows surge into alternatives and US equities, especially into tech plays. However, clients are now rethinking diversification with non-traditional exposures such as infrastructure, gaining traction to counter equity concentration risks. Despite the optimism, we believe caution prevails. We see a surge in clients favouring balanced multi-asset strategies over pure growth bets. 

The key risk for next year is liquidity drying up, as evidenced by the overnight repo market’s volatility, short-term rate spikes and the Fed’s injections, which highlight systemic strains. This underscores the need for dynamically managed, well-diversified multi-asset allocations.

In summary, 2026 favours opportunistic equity tilts with AI at the core, hedged by less correlated assets. Alarm bells are ringing, and dynamic allocations will be important in 2026.

Q3: With artificial intelligence increasingly shaping the wealth industry, how has the firm leveraged technology and AI to transform processes and enhance value for both clients and the back office? What key technology upgrades were introduced in 2025, and what are your digital priorities for 2026 and beyond?

We’re preparing for a future where AI will play a greater role in how we help communities thrive and clients prosper.

At our Investor Day earlier this year, RBC announced our bold ambition to achieve C$700 million to C$1 billion in enterprise value generated from AI-driven benefits by 2027, a reflection of our commitment to evolving and harnessing the power of AI to shape the future of banking for our clients and employees.

We have consistently been recognised as a global leader in AI, ranking #1 in Canada and third out of 50 global financial institutions in the 2025 Evident AI Index, marking the fourth consecutive year that we have been ranked among the top three in the Index.

In Asia, one of our key strengths is leveraging the best of RBC globally, and this includes new capabilities and opportunities that RBC is building with AI. For example, our employees have access to “RBC Assist”, our internal genAI employee tool, designed to improve workflows, reduce time-intensive manual tasks, and enhance employee decision-making to provide an exceptional client experience.

Q4: The private banking industry saw a plethora of leadership and structural changes in 2025. Looking into 2026, what are your key priorities for attracting and retaining talent across the front, middle, and back office? Are there plans for new hires in key markets?

A number of talented bankers joined us in 2025, and we look forward to welcoming new bankers next year. In addition to employing quality people, we’ve spent a great deal of time enhancing our capabilities to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to support them. This includes our client onboarding processes, product and operational capabilities to better equip our relationship managers to deliver a seamless client experience. 

One factor that makes RBC an attractive employer for high-performing talent is that we are a values-driven organisation. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity, and we place great emphasis on fostering a culture built on trust, dignity, and respect. 

Those who join us understand the importance of living our values, of continuing to earn the trust of our clients, and upholding our strong reputation for doing what’s right.