UOB Private Bank has onboarded a healthcare long/short strategy in partnership with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Asian Private Banker can reveal.
Under the agreement, UOB Private Bank clients will gain access to Seligman Investments’ specialist healthcare long/short strategy, according to a news release shared first with APB. This follows an earlier launch of its technology long/short strategy through the same partnership.
Seligman Investments is Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ specialist technology and healthcare investment business and forms part of its global alts capabilities. The Silicon Valley-based firm manages US$48.2 billion and is led by CIO Paul Wick.
Commenting on the recent collaboration, Stewart Bennett, global head of alternatives at Columbia Threadneedle, said that healthcare is a complex and dispersed sector which continues to offer compelling long-term opportunities.
Flows into both the technology and healthcare strategies have exceeded US$1 billion since the start of the year, with the healthcare strategy marking its third-year anniversary recently, according to Jon Allen, head of APAC at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
The launch comes amid growing appetite for alternative investments from wealthy individuals and families in Asia. “Alternative investment strategies have been gaining popularity as a portfolio diversification tool that provides access to differentiated return opportunities,” commented Wong Meng Keet, head of managed products and alternative investments at UOB Private Bank, adding that the strategy adds range and depth to its product shelf.
Earlier in the year, at Asian Private Banker’s Alternatives Selection Nexus 2026, Wong commented that high net worth investors frequently harbour knowledge gaps and unrealistic expectations regarding alternative investments and manager risk, underscoring the need for deeper product understanding and a carefully curated investment shelf.
In July 2026, UOB Private Bank announced ambitious targets for asset, revenue and hiring growth in Hong Kong, aiming to increase its assets under management and wealth revenue in Hong Kong fivefold by 2030, and shared its plans to establish its first private banking booking centre in Hong Kong by 2028. The bank is also targeting to triple client advisor headcount, supported by continued investment in talent, advisory capabilities and technology.
Columbia Threadneedle, which has US$759 billion in AUM, previously partnered with DBS in October 2024 to offer the technology long/short equity strategy, seeking to maximise returns against the artificial intelligence boom.