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Regulatory reforms and solid economic fundamentals are driving a quiet transformation in Taiwan’s financial sector. The island’s push for more onshore wealth services is opening the door to high-quality advisory and investment offerings for local investors. Avaloq and NEC Taiwan explore this ongoing shift and its implications for Asia’s wealth management landscape.

Taiwan is renowned for its semiconductor industry, yet its financial sector has been gaining prominence without much fanfare. The island is strengthening its onshore wealth management capabilities, supported by a stable economy, a high-income population and a strong savings culture. These conditions provide the foundation for a sophisticated private wealth ecosystem that serves domestic clients and attracts investors who previously relied on offshore centres.

This direction was at the centre of a recent conference in Taipei hosted by Avaloq and NEC Taiwan under the theme “From Vision to Reality: Building a New Paradigm for Wealth Management and Private Banking in Taiwan.” Joined by representatives from DBS Bank, CTBC Bank and KPMG, the discussion focused on how Taiwan can build a stronger onshore proposition through regulatory clarity, modern operating models and the use of intelligent technology.

 A new market supported by strong fundamentals

At the Taipei conference, the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance outlined how the island’s economic fundamentals support the expansion of its private wealth sector. Taiwan’s GDP per capita is among the highest in Asia, and inflation remains stable. But households still hold a significant share of their assets in savings, which creates opportunities for more structured advisory and investment solutions.

These conditions are fuelling a race among local banks to strengthen their onshore wealth activities. Institutions are expanding services tailored to Taiwanese investors while maintaining offshore capabilities in parallel. The result is a more competitive landscape where firms are working to raise service quality, broaden product choice and build deeper relationships with clients who are increasingly open to keeping more of their assets onshore.

Regulatory reforms driving change

Taiwan’s regulators have introduced several measures that support the expansion of onshore wealth management. In 2024, the Financial Supervisory Commission launched the Wealth 2.0 framework, allowing banks to provide broader advisory services to high-net-worth clients. In 2025, new rules enabled the creation of simplified wealth branches focused on advisory rather than full banking operations.

These changes form part of a wider strategy to retain more assets within the domestic market. For years, Taiwanese investors sought specialised offshore wealth services. The new regulatory structure is designed to shift more of those activities back onshore by giving local institutions the ability to offer broader product sets, more tailored portfolio solutions and advisory services that previously required offshore channels.

Stephanie Chang, vice president, risk consulting, advisory services at KPMG, shared: “The push toward establishing an Asian Asset Management Centre is reshaping market dynamics. For high net worth clients, the focus has shifted from purely pursuing investment returns to building holistic structures that balance efficiency, governance, and succession, especially in an environment shaped by geopolitics and increasing tax transparency.”

Evolving investor expectations

Investors in Taiwan and across Asia expect fast, personalised advice. This requires relationship managers to spend more time with their clients and less time navigating administrative tasks. Institutions at the Taipei conference noted that many advisory teams still rely on manual processes and disconnected systems, which can limit their ability to scale high-quality services.

Across the region, advisors spend just over one-third of their time in direct client interaction, with the rest taken up by administrative tasks. This finding from Avaloq’s wealth insights research highlights the need for smarter workflows that reduce routine tasks and allow more time for client engagement.

Eliza Chang, head of North Asia and Japan at Avaloq, said: “As investor expectations for personalisation and real-time responses continue to rise, wealth management is moving rapidly toward more scalable advisory processes. Taiwan’s market maturity and openness make it one of the most promising wealth management hubs in the Asia Pacific region.”

Technology supporting advisory growth

A key topic at the Taipei conference was how AI and automated workflows can support the next phase of advisory growth. Demonstrations at the event showcased how AI-assisted tools can support research, client reviews and portfolio discussions, helping relationship managers prepare more efficiently for client meetings.

Avaloq’s wealth insights research shows that most investors in Asia are comfortable with relationship managers using AI to support advisory activities. Acceptance is strongest for tasks such as product recommendations and investment advice, with similar levels of openness toward AI analysing portfolio performance or answering portfolio questions.

As Taiwanese investors become more open to relationship managers using technology, firms are exploring how to integrate AI into their processes to ensure that the front office can keep pace with growing client books.

At the event, Akira Yoshimura, president of NEC Taiwan, noted: “NEC Taiwan has been a trusted technology partner to Taiwan’s financial institutions for decades. Together with Avaloq, we are helping Taiwan’s wealth management sector build scalable, high-quality advisory capabilities that can compete across the region.”

Taiwan’s role in the regional wealth landscape

The growth of Taiwan’s onshore wealth sector has implications beyond its domestic market. Asia is one of the world’s most dynamic wealth regions, and the rise of stronger onshore capabilities in Taiwan could become a disruptive factor for established offshore hubs. This trend should prompt institutions across the region to hone service quality and optimise operations for greater efficiency.

Looking ahead

Taiwan’s transformation is not defined by a single reform. It has been a years-long process driven by close collaboration among regulators, financial institutions and technology providers to create a stronger foundation for private wealth management. As the island continues to enhance its onshore capabilities, it has the potential to play a larger role in Asia’s wealth sector. 

To learn more about the expectations of investors and wealth professionals in Asia, read the latest Avaloq wealth insights report: Avaloq wealth insights 2025 – Reports – Insights – Avaloq.

This is a sponsored advertorial from Avaloq.