With UBS reporting a 40% surge in discretionary assets last year and Standard Chartered almost doubling its book, the industry is aggressively rolling out self-directed and AI-enhanced platforms to democratise access to the CIO office, intensifying competition in the expanding discretionary space. Multiple leading institutions Asian Private Banker spoke to recently enjoyed robust growth in 2025, and in some cases, […]

The post Discretionary assets surge in 2025 as DPM race heats up in private banks appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer has taken its first step into digital assets, introducing a small allocation to Bitcoin within select discretionary portfolios. According to Bhaskar Laxminarayan, this is not a speculative bet, but a measured move aimed at preparing clients for a potential long-term shift in the global monetary system. “We are not telling clients to have 10% Bitcoin allocation in their […]

The post Bitcoin could dent gold demand in DPM: Julius Baer’s Bhaskar Laxminarayan appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The world is undergoing significant changes, from shifting demographics to the transition to clean energy. At the same time, China is under pressure to roll out fiscal stimulus to counter potential trade tensions from Trump’s aggressive policies. China’s actions could positively impact oil prices, and there’s a chance it may resume regular gold purchases. As we navigate this new normal, […]

The post HSBC GPB, Julius Baer, Deutsche Bank PB share CIO perspectives on Trump, trade and China appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Space, artificial intelligence, China, India, and US equities, and gold are the key focuses for private banking CIOs in Asia Pacific this coming quarter, who collectively oversee asset allocations worth more than US$4 trillion globally. While some CIOs recommend staying overweight in equities compared to bonds and cash, others are including emerging markets US Dollar bonds in portfolios as diversifiers. […]

The post Space, AI, China, and gold – US$4tn PB CIOs are betting big appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Markets are not pricing in a Donald Trump return to the White House, despite polling to the contrary, which could support a rally in both equity and bond markets, whereas a Joe Biden win would continue the ‘status quo’, Julius Baer’s Asia CIO told Asian Private Banker. Bhaskar Laxminarayan recommended boosting cyclical exposure and focusing on technology stocks, while also […]

The post Markets not pricing in rally if Trump wins election – Julius Baer CIO appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Bhaskar Laxminarayan anticipates a swifter adoption of discretionary investments in Asia, driven by insights from past cycles, diminishing information advantages, and wealth transfer to a delegation-inclined younger generation. However, there remains one essential obstacle that must be addressed to fully embrace this shift. In an interview with Asian Private Banker, the Asia CIO of Julius Baer emphasised that the “biggest deterrent […]

The post Self sabotage is a silent investment killer: Julius Baer Asia CIO appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Private banks hold a range of opinions on cryptocurrency, from those that think cryptocurrencies are the future, to those that dismiss them as uninvestable. Take for example, Julius Baer. In July, the Swiss pure play announced the expansion of its crypto services to Dubai. The bank will apply for a “digital assets licence variation” to supplement its existing regulatory permission […]

The post Private banks on cryptocurrency: the future or uninvestable? appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer is favouring a defensive strategy for equity investment in 2H23, but is positive on India, regarding the current administration a tailwind. And in China, the Swiss bank holds out hope for accommodative policies to support recovery. “There are so many reasons to be risk averse,” Bhaskar Laxminarayan, CIO and head investment management Asia Pacific at Julius Baer, said […]

The post Julius Baer is defensive on equities, but positive on India in 2H23 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Time deposits may be luring private wealth with rising rates, however, private bankers at Asian Private Banker’s DPM Leaders Conversation 2023 believe such positions lack longevity. In this environment, executives at UBS Global Wealth Management (UBS GWM), BNP Paribas Wealth Management (BNPP WM), Bank Julius Baer and Pictet Wealth Management (Pictet WM), outline their preferred non-cash solutions for DPM clients at […]

The post How to convince clients to get out of cash and into DPM appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

In view of the rising inflation, Julius Baer and HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) make selective sectors in Chinese stocks their top choices for 2022. “Equities are already beginning to show attractive returns in the longer term, given the fact that corporate balance sheets and earnings in general are in a very good condition,” Bhaskar Laxminarayan, CIO and head investment […]

The post Decade low valuations add to appeal of Hong Kong and China equities: Bank Julius Baer and HSBC AM appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

This week: Lombard Odier: The usual policy playbook in China is no longer working; Julius Baer: Defensive play will have the upper hand in 2022; Goldman Sachs turns bullish on China, projects accelerating ASEAN growth in 2022; Morgan Stanley cautious on China equity, prefers A-shares to offshore China Lombard Odier: The usual policy playbook in China is no longer working […]

The post CIO Weekly – The usual policy playbook in China is no longer working: Jean-Louis Nakamura of Lombard Odier appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

High-growth stocks are still reasonably valued while offering a moat from rising bond yields, according to Julius Baer. The comments come as the sector has seen investor rotation out to at-value cyclical sectors, in line with advisory by chief investment officers of private banks. High-growth stocks, particularly in the tech sector, continue to be reasonably valued with the sector being […]

The post FAANMG stocks still retain their bite: Julius Baer appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Despite the temporary bounce back in risk assets, the spectre of inflation continues to haunt investors, even as private bankers advise rotating into at-value sectors. Americans polled in The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s February 2021 Survey of Consumer Expectations, expected median year-ahead inflation to rise to 3.1% in February from 3.0% in January. The one-year-ahead measure is now […]

The post Time to revisit real assets, growth stocks as inflation hedges appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Tech stocks, led by the US, have tumbled over the last few days — with top companies losing double digits in market value. And yet, most wealth and asset managers in the region believe the sell-off is just a ‘technical correction’. The drawdown in stocks has indicated nervousness from investors about both “the sharp run-up in tech stocks” and “the […]

The post Is a tech bubble coming? WMs and AMs don’t think so appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer’s discretionary mandate business in Asia has seen double-digit asset growth this year, as requests by the region’s high net worth individuals have grown in number and broadened in product range. Bhaskar Laxminarayan, chief investment officer and head investment management Asia Pacific at Bank Julius Baer, told Asian Private Banker that despite the significant market impact in March, the […]

The post Julius Baer sees double digit growth in DPM assets and launches two mandates appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Different from the lockdown period — when most economies were following a similar path — in countries that are trying to open up, there will be a significant divergence in terms of implementing stimulus policies, according to Julius Baer. “It was a homogeneous approach to shutting down countries across the world,” Julius Baer’s Asia CIO Bhaskar Laxminarayan said in a […]

The post Identify winners in this heterogeneous world: Julius Baer’s Bhaskar Laxminarayan appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Stick to base case asset allocations amid uncertain markets, capitalise on volatility, and don’t shun investing in China, advised Bhaskar Laxminarayan, Asia CIO and head of investment management of Julius Baer, in a media briefing on Wednesday. Sharing his insights on the impact of the novel coronavirus on Asian markets, Laxminarayan expects that “the volatility [brought on by COVID-19] is […]

The post Stick to the base case, capitalise on volatility, stay positive on China: JB’s Laxminarayan appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Over the past month, Julius Baer has raised over US$450 million from its Asian clients for a newly launched fixed maturity bond mandate, capturing the recent re-emergence of interest in target maturity funds. According to sources, the product — which uses an actively managed certificate (AMC) wrapper — was jointly launched by the bank’s discretionary team and structured products desk. […]

The post Julius Baer raises over US$450 million for FMP mandate appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer’s Asia DPM business continues to grow at a steady pace, with clients numbers increasing by 10% in 2018 — a year in which investors faced numerous spikes in market volatility. “We see [more] clients are participating in our DPM solutions as they increasingly realise the benefits of these solutions in their overall asset allocation,” Bhaskar Laxminarayan, CIO and […]

The post Julius Baer’s DPM business sees 10% uptick in client numbers in 2018 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Despite the widely expected cooling of China’s economic growth, Julius Baer believes the Mainland remains the major driver of the global luxury goods sector and that it shows no sign of slowing. Bhaskar Laxminarayan, CIO and head investment management, Asia at Julius Baer, said at a press conference today that although there might be some shift between onshore and offshore […]

The post “Too early to call a pause” on Chinese HNWIs’ luxury spending: Julius Baer appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

This week: Julius Baer’s Laxminarayan says market sentiment may outweigh fundamentals in Asian HY; UBS GWM thinks the recent equity selloff is just a bull market correction; Bank of Singapore has better hopes for Asian currencies as oil prices drop; DBS advises investors to adopt barbell approach to growth and income; and BNP Paribas WM talks oil prices. Julius Baer’s […]

The post CIO Weekly – November 2018 Week 3 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Chief investment offices could only manage a collective shrug after yesterday’s summit between US president Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un; the meeting produced its fair share of fanfare, but there was little in the way of detail. Markets, too, failed to react in any dramatic way, with the KOSPI closing the day flat and stocks, globally, […]

The post PB CIOs, markets shrug at Trump-Kim summit appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Should portfolios add risk in equities or bonds? The former asset class is the easy pick, according to Julius Baer, observing that nobody covering the latter, today, has ever worked through a bond bear market. Equities is an easy pick over bonds In its biannual house view, Julius Baer’s Asia chief investment officer, Bhaskar Laxminarayan, stated that everybody in the […]

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Julius Baer believes that markets are likely to undergo a gradual rotation from bonds to equities from this point on, due to the current low bond yields and better equity fundamentals. “Even though Asian investors have bought more and more fixed income since 2008 when the financial crisis occurred, we believe that we are reaching an inflection point from here […]

The post Julius Baer: Investor appetite for equities and bonds reaching “inflection point” appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer has launched a discretionary portfolio management (DPM) booking centre in Hong Kong as part of the pure play’s efforts to further develop its discretionary business in Asia. According to Bhaskar Laxminarayan, CIO and head of investment management for Asia at Julius Baer, the bank’s DPM unit in Hong Kong was launched in September. It is manned by two […]

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Millennials will soon enter their “prime earnings capacity and consumption age” and their distinct spending behaviour is set to change the investment environment, according to Julius Baer’s latest wealth report for Asia. “No working class has ever started their work life with such an abundance of wealth,” Bhaskar Laxminarayan, Asia CIO and regional head of investment management at Julius Baer, […]

The post Julius Baer: Millennial spending habits will change the investment landscape appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Julius Baer continues to hire aggressively in Asia, appointing a former Pictet Wealth Management CIO to a newly created role. Bhaskar Laxminarayan takes on Julius Baer’s CIO function for Asia, effective 1 September 2016. He also assumes the role of head of Asia investment management division. Laxminarayan is based in Singapore and reports to Yves Bonzon, head investment management and CIO. […]

The post Julius Baer hires ex-Pictet WM Asia CIO appeared first on Asian Private Banker.