Greetings,
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Of course, I’m referring to the Asian Private Banker Awards for Distinction.
For the uninitiated, the AFDs is the region’s pre-eminent awards programme for private banks and wealth managers, designed, run and adjudicated exclusively by Asian Private Banker’s bureau of journalists.
While I’ll be sending out an Awards-specific message in due course, allow me to share with you now a few key nuggets of info:
- The submission window opens today (15 September) and closes on 15 November 2017
- 41 categories across markets and services including a number of new categories in 2017
- Category criteria and submission guidelines can be downloaded here
- The fun part – AFD Gala Dinner on 8 February 2018
We’ve worked hard to put together what we believe to be a balanced, objective and suitably onerous programme that will test the best of you. Any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly.
Otherwise, all that remains to be said at this juncture is: study the criteria carefully, reflect on your strengths and pitch with purpose!
Your Top Eight follows.
Cheers,
Sebastian Enberg
Editor
INDUSTRY 11 September 2017
ANZ integration boosts DBS’ wealth management AUM in Hong Kong by 17%
DBS has completed the integration of ANZ’s retail and wealth business in Hong Kong – in the process onboarding 1,000 private banking clients and lifting its wealth management assets under management (AUM) in the city to HK$36.5 billion, according to Sebastian Paredes, CEO of DBS Bank Hong Kong.
TRUSTS | EXCLUSIVE 11 September 2017
Chinese clients warming to the concept of irrevocable trusts, says DBS’ wealth planning head in HK
An increasing number of Mainland Chinese clients “are accepting the concept of irrevocable trusts”, Don Lai, head of wealth planning of Private Banking at DBS Bank (Hong Kong), tells Asian Private Banker.
REGULATIONS | EXCLUSIVE 8 September 2017
Mis-selling precedent will have “limited” long-term implications
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal’s recent precedent-setting ruling in favour of investors in a mis-selling case against ING (now Bank of Singapore) will have a limited impact on product sales moving forward, given that Hong Kong implemented new suitability rules in June, lawyers say.
FINTECH | TECHNOLOGY | EXCLUSIVE 8 September 2017
Bond trading workflows still “very inefficient” at private banks, say external tech specialists
The documentation trail of bond trading between a private bank’s execution desk and the relationship manager is still manual and “very inefficient” for both the banker and the end-client, external tech vendors that specialise in the fixed income space tell Asian Private Banker.
APB MANDATE | ASSET MANAGERS | EXCLUSIVE 13 September 2017
Asia’s wealthy turning to hedge funds for diversification and yield
Wealthy Asian investors are looking to hedge funds for diversification, given that their portfolios are largely overweight equities, according to Arion Investment Management, a London-based hedge fund manager.
REGTECH | EXCLUSIVE 14 September 2017
Private banks grappling with data management issues as CRS looms
Data gaps and quality issues are among the many data management challenges that private banks are grappling with as they trawl through their internal systems in preparation for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regime, Abraham Teo, head of APAC regulatory policy at AxiomSL, tells Asian Private Banker.
FAMILY OFFICE/IAM | INDUSTRY | EXCLUSIVE 12 September 2017
UBP to launch IAM desk in Asia
Following in the footsteps of other pure plays in the region, Geneva-headquartered Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) plans to launch an independent asset management (IAM) desk in Asia, Ranjit Khanna, UBP’s head of private banking in South Asia, tells Asian Private Banker.
PEOPLE | EXCLUSIVE 13 September 2017
RBC WM’s Asia COO vacates role
RBC Wealth Management’s Asia COO has stepped into a new role within the bank’s asset management arm, Asian Private Banker has learnt.
