Greetings,
A scattershot of news is floating around this week about Credit Suisse and the widely-anticipated launch of its digital advisory platform in Asia.
The flat-fee solution, which takes a hybrid approach to pricing, delivers advice directly to clients via an app, who then engage with the RM. For definitive insight on CS Invest in Asia, I humbly suggest that you check out our discussion with Francesco de Ferrari, which covers all the nuts and bolts of what he calls “a stepping stone from transactional to DPM”.
Speaking of which, Pierre Vrielinck, who replaced Mignonne Cheng as BNP Paribas WM’s APAC CEO earlier this year, is looking to bolster the private bank’s recurrent revenue streams by increasing discretionary and funds penetration rates above industry averages. Currently, funds penetration at BNP Paribas WM Asia is a little less than the industry average of 11%, while its DPM penetration rate is also slightly below the 8% average by our reckoning.
Another important trend in Asia is the growth in investors’ awareness of – and demand for – impact investment solutions (newswires reported earlier this week that neuroscientists have linked charitable behaviour with happiness). UBS, unquestionably a leader in the space (remember it raised US$417 million for the Oncology Impact Fund last year, 60% of which came from clients in Hong Kong and Singapore) has now brought in US$325 million for its Rise Fund, which invests in seven sectors and targets growing companies in both developed and developing markets. On Tuesday, Juerg Zeltner told APB that Asia-based clients accounted for around 40% of that total. Don’t expect this conversation to go away.
Your Top Eight for the week follows.
Cheers,
Sebastian Enberg
Editor
INDUSTRY | EXCLUSIVE 7 July 2017
Fee-based growth a priority for BNP Paribas WM’s Vrielinck, Lecomte
Pierre Vrielinck, BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s recently appointed CEO for APAC, has told Asian Private Banker that an important part of his mandate is to increase DPM and funds penetration in the region, as the private bank looks to shore up recurring revenue.
PHILANTHROPY | EXCLUSIVE 11 July 2017
UBS’ Zeltner says 40% of the US$325 million raised for impact fund came from clients in Asia
Around 40% of the US$325 million that UBS Wealth Management raised for an impact investing fund came from private banking clients based in Asia, Juerg Zeltner, president of UBS Wealth Management, tells Asian Private Banker.
ASSET MANAGERS | FUNDS | EXCLUSIVE 12 July 2017
AM Heat Map: Hard currency Asian bonds remain in favour despite USD weakness
Traffic data suggests that relative to local currency credit, demand for hard currency Asian bonds is trending upwards, despite the US dollar losing ground in the first half of 2017, according to APB Mandate’s latest Asset Management Heat Map.
FAMILY OFFICE/IAM | EXCLUSIVE 10 July 2017
Credit Suisse PB plans gradual build-out of family office services team in Asia
Credit Suisse Private Banking plans to grow its APAC family office services team over time by hiring specialists and grooming talent from within, according to team head Thomas Ang.
DPM | FUNDS | EXCLUSIVE 13 July 2017
Private banks consider unitising Indonesian clients’ DPM strategies to simplify offshore reporting
Private banks are considering using a unitised version of their discretionary mandate strategies as a means of overcoming the onerous reporting requirements of Indonesian HNWIs’ offshore assets, according to multiple sources.
INSURANCE | EXCLUSIVE 11 July 2017
Competition, IPO option means ANZ will fetch a “decent price” for wealth unit
ANZ is in a good position to fetch a “decent price” for its wealth unit, since the lender could list the business separately if the three shortlisted bidders fail to impress with their offers, according to Omkar Joshi, a Sydney-based portfolio manager at Regal Funds Management.
PEOPLE 12 July 2017
UBS’ Raju becomes sole head of global UHNW APAC, with Lo picking up chairman title
UBS Wealth Management’s Amy Lo and Ravi Raju will no longer share leadership duties for the bank’s global UHNW business in the region, with Raju taking over as the sole head of the upper segment in APAC, according to an internal memo penned by Edmund Koh, head of wealth management APAC, and Zurich-based Joe Stadler, head of global UHNW.
INDUSTRY | EXCLUSIVE 10 July 2017
BNP Paribas WM India tops AUM per RM table for 2016
Despite the overarching dominance of domestic players in India’s wealth management sector, foreign private banks hold the top five spots on Asian Private Banker’s AUM per RM League Table in India, with BNP Paribas Wealth Management leading the pack.
