At the 2024 Asian Private Banker Summit in Singapore, top leaders from UBP, HSBC, Bank of Singapore, and Apollo Global Management gathered to discuss their business performance this year, the strategies that have proven effective, and what holds promise for the future.

UBP reported a notable rise in transactional volumes and a shift toward private markets, while HSBC highlighted the success of its “Put Cash to Work” campaign to compete with cash returns. Bank of Singapore discussed plans to expand its capabilities and relationship managers (RMs) team, and Apollo emphasised opportunities stemming from de-banking trends.

UBP 

At UBP, the team continues to see good momentum across the region, both in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to Asia CEO Michael Blake. He said the core challenge over the last 18 months has been how to help clients navigate the rate cycle.

“So last year, for us, there was a big focus, of course, on cash management and fixed deposits. This year, there has been most definitely an increase in terms of risk appetite. So we’ve seen a steady pivot to private markets,” Blake said.

UBP has seen transactional volumes up by about 40-50% this year, and it has also seen clients start to take leverage back on. “We also continue to see good flows from a net new money perspective, around 5-10% of the asset base here in Asia. So, overall the shape of the business continues to grow very steadily, specifically in net new money,” he added.

Over the past five to seven years, approximately two-thirds of UBP’s inflows have originated from Greater China. However, this year, the inflow distribution has shifted to a more balanced 50/50 split due to the hiring efforts made in Singapore over the last 18 months. UBP is also seeing more new business from Indonesian clients.

HSBC Global Private Banking 

In recent years, HSBC has invested heavily in areas such as products, platforms, capabilities, and RMs, resulting in significant growth across key metrics like revenues, net new assets, and net new invested assets, shared Lavanya Chari.

“What pleases me particularly is the fact that this has been truly diversified and across the board. What I mean by that, is we’ve seen significant growth in fixed income and structured products,” the global head of investments and wealth solutions for private banking and wealth management explained.

“We’ve also had the best-ever first half of the year in alternatives, across different products, geographies, and client segments,” she said, adding that clients questioned “how the firm could compete with the 5% returns they were getting from cash.”

In response, HSBC pointed out a key comparison: while 5% was the current cash return, 14.1% was the potential return from their strategic asset allocation. This led to the launch of the Put Cash to Work campaign.

Chari highlighted regional differences, noting that in Europe, many clients prefer discretionary solutions. In contrast, Asian clients tend to be more hands-on, prioritising income and wanting the final say on investments.

In EMEA, particularly in Switzerland, there is a growing demand for ESG-based advisory solutions, leading to the recent launch of an ESG-integrated advisory platform to meet clients’ sustainability needs.

Bank of Singapore 

Jason Moo, CEO of Bank of Singapore, is focused on elevating the bank to the next level, with an ambitious three-year plan to enhance both the platform and infrastructure to improve management of the client lifecycle.

“So that we can open accounts faster and deliver ideas quicker to clients,” Moo said. “And with that, we can also improve the platform through our CIO, which is now restructuring into a standalone division reporting to me, where we’re trying to build ourselves into a global thought leader.”

The Singaporean private bank aims to strengthen its RM team across its three hubs, targeting 500 RMs by 2025. This approach focuses on giving Asian clients access to global investment opportunities, while also leveraging their deep understanding of the Asian market to attract global clients interested in the region.

“In the next five to ten years, I think Asian investment opportunities are going to go through the roof. So we want clients to come to us to tap into Asia-based investment opportunities,” he added.

Last year, Moo established a dedicated unit to enhance collaboration with the OCBC Group, and since its launch, there has been a promising increase in two-way referrals.

Apollo Global Management

Apollo has established partnerships with nine of the top ten banks in the region, making the business one of the strongest and most dynamic within their overall platform, said Matthew Michelini, partner and head of Asia Pacific.

“In the next five years, half of the new positions in Asia will focus on supporting the global wealth business,” Michelini said, noting that “there are big pools of capital that need different solutions, and historically, privates haven’t been the solution because there wasn’t enough product and what was available was too risky.”

He said de-banking in the US has occurred and will continue, creating opportunities, and Europe is next. Although the EU’s Draghi report highlights the need for spending, the banking system can not finance it all, he added.

“The banks are being forced to do really homogeneous type lending. So, the question for the asset management industry is going to see two major value drivers: one is how to package the product, engage with the end consumer, and educate them.”

The other is origination, as it is crucial because simply reselling market risk does not generate strong returns. Asset managers must either be large with structural advantages or specialise in niche areas, Michelini said.