After more than 26,000 votes, Asian Private Banker‘s readers have made up their minds on the private banks and asset managers with the best red packets in the Year of the Horse. Here, APB presents the winners of this year’s private banking and asset management poll, along with the messages and meanings represented in the winning designs. Julius Baer once […]

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Galloping into the Year of the Fire Horse, the race continues among private banks and asset managers to see who can distribute the most spectacular red packets to clients. More than just traditional gifts for family and friends, these laisee, or hongbao, have morphed into cult collectables, often trading on secondary markets for prices that rival the currency inside. Horses […]

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This is a sponsored advertorial from Franklin Templeton. Market headwinds won’t hold back commercial real estate’s potential for yield and long-term growth. What opportunities lie ahead? How bad was it? How did we do? And what’s next? Michael Comparato, head of commercial real estate at Benefit Street Partners (“BSP”) (a Franklin Templeton company) discusses where things stand, the robust opportunity […]

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Franklin Templeton has hired a former Deutsche Bank veteran to drive its distribution business in Asia, Asian Private Banker has learnt. Based in Singapore, Joyce Ngan has joined the US asset management giant as a senior sales director, private wealth. Ngan has a rich experience in the fund industry, having spent nearly 20 years at Deutsche Bank. During her time […]

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DBS has partnered with Franklin Templeton and Ripple to offer accredited and institutional investors trading and lending solutions using a tokenised money market fund and stablecoin. Through the partnership, DBS Digital Exchange will list sgBENJI, the token of Franklin Templeton’s tokenised money market fund, alongside Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, according to a statement on Thursday. Eligible DBS clients can trade RLUSD […]

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While Franklin Templeton has been in Asia Pacific for over 35 years, Tariq Ahmad believes that it was the firm’s global strategic transformation, initiated just five years ago, that served as a real catalyst for change at the firm. Ahmad, himself, joined the firm slightly over four years ago, when a key challenge facing the industry at the time was […]

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Franklin Templeton has collaborated with Lexington Partners to launch a private equity secondaries fund targeting wealthy investors in Asia. The Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund (FLEX-I) comes to market with over US$875 million in assets under management from a diversified investor base internationally across APAC, EMEA, Canada and Latin America, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The new […]

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Outperforming rivals like ChatGPT at lower cost, China’s DeepSeek R1 challenged assumptions about not only the dominance of US tech firms in the booming artificial intelligence (AI) space – but also their equity valuations. That realisation has wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off the US stock market over the past week as investors priced in a future with lower […]

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With President-elect Donald Trump taking office on 20 January, private wealth investors in Asia are cautiously considering how the impact of the new administration will be felt in the region. Asset managers in Asia pointed particularly to the regions and asset classes most sensitive to changes in US policy direction as the areas investors need to pay the most attention […]

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Donald Trump is set to become the 47th US president after what looks like a resounding victory over Democrat rival Kamala Harris. Underscoring the powerful red wave that has swept across the US, the Republican party is also poised to win both chambers of Congress. With these crucial main levers of government power under Republican control, private bank and asset […]

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Franklin Templeton is aiming to strengthen its foothold in Japan’s wealth market by teaming up with the country’s biggest online securities brokerage allowing it to target a growing number of affluent and younger investors. The US asset manager, which has US$1.6 trillion in AUM, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings, according to a […]

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In June, while several private banks in Asia continued to hire new talent, Bank of Singapore stood out for pursuing an aggressive hiring strategy following the announcement of an ambitious hiring plan earlier this year. Conversely, the asset management hiring market remained relatively calm. Bank of Singapore’s hiring spree In 2023, Bank of Singapore’s relationship manager (RM) headcount in Asia […]

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Investors may be cautious of record equity valuations as the S&P 500 hits all-time highs, but unique and interesting opportunities still lurk beneath the surface across a range of sectors, says Franklin Income Investors’ CIO. CIO Ed Perks leads a portfolio management team which manages US$85 billion. Of this, the firm’s flagship multi-asset fund in the US, the Franklin Income […]

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Asset manager Franklin Templeton, which has close to US$1.5 trillion in AUM, has hired a former BNP Paribas Wealth Management banker to expand its private banking and family office networks in Asia. Based in Singapore, Gaurav Bathija joined the San Francisco-based firm as head of private banks and family offices at the end of last month. Bathija reports to Christian […]

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Franklin Templeton has rejigged its leadership in Japan with the appointment of a new president. The incumbent president will take on the role of vice president and head of wealth for Japan. Takashi Takamura has been appointed as the president and country head of Japan at Franklin Templeton Japan, effective 1 April 2024, the firm said in a statement on […]

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What is the hottest area of competition between private banks in Asia at Chinese New Year? DPM market penetration? Wallet share? The fastest growing net new money? You guessed it, custom red packets. These ornately-adorned envelopes, known as laisee in Cantonese or hongbao in Mandarin, are presented – often containing money – to friends, family members, colleagues and clients as […]

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When Franklin Templeton Investments acquired Legg Mason in the Summer of 2020, making it one of the world’s largest asset managers with a combined AUM of US$1.4 trillion across 20 investment brands, it soon ran into difficulties distributing alternatives in the US via wealth channels. However, Adam Spector, head of global distribution for Franklin Templeton, told Asian Private Banker that […]

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With the wealth management segment in Thailand seeing steady growth in recent years, Fidelity International (Fidelity) has inked a deal with Thailand’s third-largest bank to offer wealth management products to the bank’s local UHNW clients. Krungthai Bank is a leading bank in Thailand with total assets of approximately US$106 million. Under the agreement, Fidelity will serve as a product and […]

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Franklin Templeton has named a new head for the Thailand market, as it seeks to to expand its footprint in the country, according to the firm. Benjarong Techamuanvivit has joined the firm in the newly-created role of head of Thailand business. She will report to Christian Bucaro, head of retail for Asia, at the US$1.4 trillion asset manager. Prior to […]

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Demographics and climate change are the two big trends to keep track of “because they’re coming to us like a big freight train and they’re going to crash us”. That is according to Ben Meng, Asia Pacific chairman of Franklin Templeton. Meng, who is also the executive sponsor of sustainability for the group, recommends that we either “get on the […]

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Capital Group has added a director for financial intermediaries for Singapore and Southeast Asia as the US asset manager expands its intermediary and distribution strategy for private bank clients in the region. Based in Singapore, Vanessa Huang reports to Suyin Tan, managing director, financial intermediaries for Singapore and Southeast Asia, who herself recently joined from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Huang […]

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Franklin Templeton has made a major hire to help build its asset management business in the world’s second largest economy, focusing on public investment solutions. Yu Qing has joined as head of China to provide overall leadership and strategic direction for the mainland China business of the US$1.4 trillion firm. Based initially in Beijing, Yu will also work from Franklin […]

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Over the past two years, Bank of China (HK) Private Banking (PB) has expanded its alternatives journey by distributing solutions from Lazard Asset Management, Ping An and Man Group to U/HNWIs clients. “Since private market investment is still dominated by institutional investors, it makes sense to educate U/HNWIs about alternatives — how to diversify in terms of markets and asset […]

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Investment strategies that pay out income have become a common sight on private banks’ product shelves across Asia in 1H2022, as surging inflation, slower economic growth and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dampen the performance of riskier assets. Below, big fund houses explain why income-focused products have soared in popularity as private banks seek out strategies to cater to clients in […]

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Adoption of sustainable investing globally is being held back by inconsistency across ESG-related data and a lack of incentives, according to Ben Meng, executive vice president and Asia-Pacific chairman of Franklin Templeton. Meng’s comments at the annual Asia Investor Forum of Franklin Templeton, themed “Exploring the Next Frontier of Investments”. Its panel session on sustainable investing on Friday came shortly […]

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Quantifeed has launched Mirai Value, a smartphone-based investment app, bringing the often HNW-exclusive discretionary investment experience to the retail clients of MUFG Bank, Japan’s largest bank. Mirai Value offers a straightforward investment journey, with five diversified portfolios of funds investing in stocks, bonds and REITs at a minimum initial investment of JPY 100,000 (US$918). Users can choose to set up […]

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Raffles Family Office has announced the appointment of the inaugural members of its newly launched Independent Advisory Board (IAB). The two members are Christina Lau from LeeKumKee Health Product Group’s Infinitus Property Investment and David Chang, advisor to Franklin Templeton. They are to offer Raffles FO external counsel on engagements involving highly complex family structures, help identify philanthropic opportunities for […]

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Asset manager M&G has hired a head of intermediary channels for its Hong Kong business. Joseph Wong has joined M&G as intermediary channels head, Hong Kong. In this newly created role, Wong will be responsible for leading the Hong Kong team in developing and maintaining relationships with key intermediary clients and prospects, particularly private banks and external asset managers. Reporting […]

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Franklin Templeton is teaming up with FINNOMENA, a Thailand-based digital WM platform for individual investors and financial advisors. The partnership will focus on providing broader segments of clients onshore with access to investment insights from Franklin Templeton Academy (FTA) — an education programme with a global investment curriculum — and on bringing investment solutions from FINNOMENA’s digital platform. FINNOMENA expects […]

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Quantifeed Thursday said it raised US$6 million in a series B+ round to allow it to continue growing in existing markets as well as tap new ones. The Hong Kong-based digital wealth management solutions provider said the round was led by asset manager Franklin Templeton. The fund raise will “accelerate Quantifeed’s expansion” into new markets such as the Greater Bay […]

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Asset manager Franklin Templeton has formed a strategic partnership with Razer Fintech to build a digital wealth management platform targeting youth and millennial users, according to a news release. Combining their respective strengths and capabilities, the two firms will collaborate on the design and development of a next-generation digital wealth management platform, tailored to Razer Fintech’s young users — a […]

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Legg Mason’s previous director of business development and head of sales for Singapore and Southeast Asia has taken up the role of retail distribution head at Franklin Templeton, after the latter completed its acquisition of the former, Asian Private Banker has learnt. Clement Lee has taken up the role of head of retail distribution at Franklin Templeton, with additional oversight […]

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Asset manager Franklin Templeton has made a number of changes in senior positions for its Asia Pacific region as it completes its acquisition of Legg Mason. Vivek Kudva has been named as new head of APAC, including India, reporting to the new head of global advisory services, Adam Spector. In his new role, Kudva, based in Mumbai, will be leading […]

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Global asset manager Franklin Templeton has announced the appointment of its head of alternatives sales, Asia, the firm said yesterday in a release. Richard Surrency, an industry veteran with over two decades of experience, joined from UK-based asset manager Algebris Investments, where he was most recently managing director for capital strategy. Surrency spent more than seven years at Albegris and […]

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Major US fund house Franklin Templeton has agreed to purchase rival American manager Legg Mason, and most of its affiliated brands, for US$4.5 billion in a bid to diversify its strategies, increase distribution capabilities, and expand its geographical footprint. The landmark deal, slated to close by 3Q20, is expected to bring the firms’ combined AUM to US$1.5 trillion and will […]

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ESG investing has been gaining momentum among both institutional and wholesale investors in APAC. But related investment adoption and understanding levels differ across the region, with Australia and New Zealand leading the pack, said asset manager Franklin Templeton. According to the asset manager’s latest ESG study, two-thirds (67%) of APAC respondents consider ESG an important component within the investment process, […]

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