As head of senior client partner for ASEAN at DBS Private Bank, Sheldon Tan’s daily work includes guiding clients through the financial planning process while raising potential concerns and solutions.

Tan believes integrity and competence in financial products are the two most critical factors in a world of increasingly sophisticated clients. Tan and his team map clients’ risk appetites and identify their risk accumulation objectives based on their circumstances. They then curate a portfolio of assets from a range of vehicles, including currencies and derivatives, while keeping risk management in mind.

He also makes sure to leverage DBS’s capabilities in equity and bond issuance to bring clients access to IPOs, debt and hybrid issuance, and private equity opportunities across the region.

Keeping in mind the continuation of wealth within families across the region, Tan offers clients strategies to facilitate the timely transfer of assets through detailed succession planning.

While Tan always starts his day at work by reading the bank’s research and enjoys soccer and golf in his spare time, family time is especially important to Tan. To de-stress, Tan enjoys listening to his kids’ day and spending time with them, as simple as ferrying his children to their enrichment classes. Tan’s wife is also a pillar of strength for the banker.

Other activities to balance work and life include night cycles around the Seletar aerospace park and enjoying standup comedy, such as the works of the late Robin Williams and local comic Kumar. Tan is also active in charity by serving as a board member of a charitable organisation.

Having been with DBS Private Bank since 2004, Tan has held positions ranging from country head of Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam, to senior client partner focusing on ultra high net worth clients. Before joining the Singapore lender, Tan worked at Citigroup Private Bank, Deutsche Bank, and ABN AMRO Private Bank in Singapore since he began his career in 1993.