UBS Global Wealth Management (UBS GWM) has launched an exclusive manager fund programme in Asia, partnering with global institutional asset managers to offer bespoke strategies for its wealth clients.

Initially rolled out in Hong Kong and Singapore before expanding to Taiwan, the Exclusive Manager Access Fund Programme provides high net worth investors with institutional-level portfolio transparency, analytics, and access to high-performing strategies from managers with limited regional distribution.

Its initial manager cohort includes DoubleLine Capital, Wellington Management for fixed income strategies, Acadian Asset Management, and Tenbagger Capital for equity solutions.

“Through close collaboration across regions, we were able to develop a distinctive offering tailored to the unique needs of clients in APAC,” commented Solita Marcelli, global head of investment management at UBS GWM.

Exclusive access itself, however, is not the only part of the equation. Jansen Phee, APAC head of fund investment solutions at UBS GWM, told Asian Private Banker in an interview that the programme’s stronger value proposition rests on the bank’s underlying platform, which delivers an institutional experience to meet client expectations.

Supported by the bank’s asset servicing platform, the programme extends an elite service model — previously exclusive to UHNW clients — to all programme participants. According to Phee, this includes complete transparency into underlying holdings, high-touch post-sale support, and institutional-level portfolio performance analytics.

While product exclusivity alone might be copied by peer institutions over time, Phee believes the bank’s global connections and scale that bring institutional-level support to clients cannot be easily replicated. “With this combination, we would clearly differentiate ourselves from the competitors,” he told APB.

The Swiss bank’s fund business enjoyed a strong year in inflows, primarily propelled by North Asian investors capitalising on market volatility to increase their holdings in tech funds and multi-asset solutions, according to Phee.

“With this programme, we are going to redefine the investment funds landscape in terms of how the business is going to be, and we are going to set ourselves really ahead of the curve,” Phee said.

Active management headwinds, ETF pressure

The new initiative directly addresses a convergence of major fund-industry trends observed by the bank over recent years.

First, there has been a growing challenge for mass retail mutual funds to outperform their benchmarks. As a result, some investors are questioning active management fees and turning to lower-cost ETFs.

The ripple effect is twofold: crowded trades among the few outperforming managers and difficulty for clients trying to meet their long-term investment objectives, according to Phee.

“Increasingly, we are finding managers who are struggling to beat the index. We need to create a programme where we offer truly active managers that have delivered high-performing strategies to really cater to the needs of the U/HNW clients,” he said.

Phee added that it is increasingly hard for standard fund shelves at banks in the industry to maintain their competitive edge over time. With this programme, he believes UBS GWM is able to further differentiate its offerings. 

“We need to really define a key value proposition in the funds business so that clients want to come to us. Selling solutions that everyone else sells is not a very strong value proposition. It only ends up in a price war,” he said.

The new initiative also forms part of UBS’s efforts to meet the evolving needs of next-generation clients. “Younger clients are getting a lot more sophisticated. They have very strong views about investments. Take sustainable investing as an example: the younger generation were quick to embrace the trend because it resonated strongly with their personal values.”

“With the increasing levels of sophistication, they also want to get access to institutional-grade investments along with portfolio transparency and rigorous performance analysis that institutional clients typically get,” Phee said.

Co-created strategies

Some of the offerings within the programme are co-created by UBS with the managers and are exclusive to UBS in Asia, giving UBS GWM clients differentiated access to the strategy, while other strategies are primarily available only to institutional clients.

Phee explained that co-creation of this programme means adapting proven, high-performing institutional frameworks to meet specific private wealth needs.

For instance, the bank partnered with one of the managers running an institution-only fixed income strategy and re-engineered it with an enhanced income overlay — delivering the manager’s institutional track record tailored directly to the bank’s high net worth clients’ income requirements.

On the equity side, UBS GWM worked with Tenbagger Capital, a Chinese manager primarily catering to institutions and family offices, to co-create a bespoke Chinese equity strategy customised for its clients.

Phee noted that the bank will maintain a highly selective approach, targeting approximately 20 specially identified asset managers as the programme continues to expand. “I’m not going to have super niche strategies on this programme. If I do have themes on it, it’s going to be long-term themes like technology and healthcare,” he said.

“This programme is for clients to buy and hold because these managers have strong track records in delivering long-term performance,” Phee told APB.