Digital Wealth Asia 2017

We were delighted to host our annual Digital Wealth event in Singapore.  Over 300 CEOs, COOs, heads of technology / digital, and other senior practitioners attended – from a mix of Private Banks, Retail Banks, Insurance Companies, Independent Firms & Family Offices, Asset Management Companies, and IFAs.

Below for your interest and reference are links to various content we captured from the day. Please click on the orange headlines – and do send any comments or feedback to [email protected].

Content Highlights 

Video Highlights 
Photos
Event summary & poll results
Panel discussions
Presentations & Wealth TALKS
Video Q&As

Post-event Report

You might also like to view the full Post-Event Report – which is a consolidated summary, including photos of speakers & delegates, the attendee profiles & some delegate feedback, polling results, and more.

Event Summary 

Making digital core to wealth management success

The challenge that private banks and other wealth management institutions in Asia continue to face, is that while they know they need to embrace digital, many of them are still unclear about what to do and how to do it - according to speakers at the annual Hubbis Digital Wealth event in Singapore in June.

Panel Discussions 

We held 4 interactive panel discussions throughout the day – which involved 22 senior industry practitioners who we invited to participate and share their thoughts. We have also incorporated into the summaries below the briefing notes which speakers sent to us in advance of the event. Plus, we have included the results of audience polling as well as questions we received from delegates. Click on each headline to view the web versions of these – from which you can also access the PDFs.
 

Why digital matters to wealth management success
Knowing where and how to bring in digital initiatives to the organisation, and then encouraging all staff to embrace and harness them to derive the most value, is a lot easier said than done. Everything needs to start with the customer in mind.

Panel speakers
Nakul Kurup, Head of Digital Sales & Monetisation, OCBC Bank
Alvin Lim, Head of Digital, Singapore, HSBC
Lee Ng, Vice President, MetLife Innovation Asia, and Chief Operating Officer of Lumenlab, MetLife
Yashesh M. Kampani, General Manager, Banking and Financial Markets, ASEAN, IBM
Mark Wightman, Partner, Wealth & Asset Management Advisory, EY

Finding substance amid the digital hype
The end-game for digital tools for relationship managers (RMs) at private banks in Asia should be to increase sales / revenue – followed by spending more time with clients, and then lowering the admin burden. This requires investment in the right way, with front-line buy-in and also the metrics to keep digital goals on track.

Panel speakers
Urs Lichtenberger, Director, Client Platform, Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse
Evy Theunis, Head of Wealth, Regional eBusiness Department, Consumer Banking Group, DBS Bank
En Lai Yeoh, Head, Digital Strategy and Content, UBS Chief Digital Office, APAC, UBS Wealth Management
Smita Choudhary, Executive Director, Head, Digital and Business Transformation, Bank of Singapore
Urs Palmieri, Director, Financial Services Advisory, Performance Improvement Strategy, EY
Ryan Burdick, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Sales, Xignite

How to make more effective use of data
Banks have traditionally used data essentially to manage risk and grow revenues, but have not done much in driving greater intimacy. Yet in a world filled with ‘noise’, clients value insights that are relevant to them.

Panel speakers
Charlie O’Flaherty, Partner, Crossbridge Capital
Michiel van Selm, Director - Director Customer Impact & Growth, Financial Services Industry Practice, PwC
Alex Medana, Founding Partner & Chief Executive Officer, FinFabrik
Vineet K Vohra, CFA, Director & Practice Leader, Arete Financial Partners
Joe Rothermich, CFA, Director, Data Science, Thomson Reuters Labs, Thomson Reuters

Finding a tangible role for robos and AI
The extent to which robo-advisers and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining any real ground in Asian wealth management is under debate. But there is certainly evidence of a challenge to the traditional investment approach.

Panel speakers
Bhaskar Prabhakara, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, WeInvest
Alex Ypsilanti, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Quantifeed
Chandrima Das, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder, Bento
Artur Luhaaar, Chief Financial Officer & Co-Founder, Smartly
Duncan Klein, Head of Product Management, BondIT
Chia Wee Kee, Associate Partner, Synpulse

Presentations 

Below are summaries of the Presentations and Wealth TALKS delivered at the event. These were 10-minute slots hosted either by senior industry practitioners who we invited to speak (Wealth TALKS), or by some of our event partners (Presentations). Also listed with each summary are links to the presentation slides (where these are made available by speakers). Click on each headline to view the web versions of these – from which you can also access the 1-page PDFs.
 

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - Getting down to digital business
Evy Theunis of DBS Bank explains how the institution is building on its customer focus as numbers grow on various platforms.
View slides

PRESENTATION SUMMARY - The future of investment advice
Mark Wightman of EY says that with longer life expectancy, investors need to decide which direction they take in line with the need for greater planning for financial well-being in later years.

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - Credit Suisse’s successful digital transformation
Urs Lichtenberger of Credit Suisse explains how the bank is evolving its offering and approach to delivery in the digital space
View slides

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - Enabling digital wealth options in Asia
Bhaskar Prabhakara and Aananth Solaiyappan of WeInvest say that an aversion to innovation have the potential to stifle wealth generation.
View slides

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - The role of robo-advisors in banks - will the RM stay?
Chandrima Das of Bento questions the extent of the impact that robo-advisory will likely have on Asian wealth management.
View slides

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - Natural capital, blockchain as the future of wealth management
Alan Laubsch of Swiss fintech firm Lykke looks at investing in the world’s most promising asset class and the impact on diversification and portfolio risk mitigation.
View slides

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - Moving towards hybrid advisory models in Asia
David Wilson of Capgemini says that while digital advice is here to stay, a hybrid model is the future.
View slides

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - The fourth digital revolution in wealth management: information
Michael Gerber of 360F says the industry should put clients at the forefront in the long road to artificial intelligence (AI).
View slides 

WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - How digital can bring institutional-level investing to everyone
Michele Ferrario of StashAway explains the role of technology in transforming investing by lowering costs, personalising advice and driving more scalable, user-friendly distribution.
View slides

PRESENTATION SUMMARY - Digital wealth: automation, deployment, engagement
John Robson of Quantifeed discusses how to fit a new technology initiative into the people, processes and systems of existing businesses.
View slides

PRESENTATION SUMMARY - Robo-advisory for a more efficient front-office
Mark Buesser of IMTF Group says robo-advisory is now finally finding more takers, especially when it leads to a more efficient front-office.
View slides 

PRESENTATION SUMMARY - Breaking down silos in financial services
Benjamin Turner of Liferay explains how to encourage cooperation internally within organisations, to implement solutions that break down technology silos.

PRESENTATION SUMMARY - Turning information into insights
Marko Milek of State Street explains how investors can best harness data as the next natural resource, to create actionable insights as the ultimate goal.
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PRESENTATION SUMMARY - 9 basic steps towards TRM compliance
Sami Benafia of Ingenia Consultants explains how to ensure compliance with technology Risk Management (TRM) guidelines.
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PRESENTATION SUMMARY - Differentiation in client communications
David Rhind of SS&C Technologies explains the importance of a flexible approach to data quality to drive tailored communications and enable users to control what they get and how.
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WEALTH TALK SUMMARY - A digital revolution for Asian family offices?
Shirley Crystal Chua of Golden Equator Capital believes there is a promised land of new investment opportunities for family offices who embrace a digital future.
View slides

Video Q&As

How Singapore Life will shake-up the local insurance industry 
Walter de Oude of Singapore Life explains how the approval of his firm’s licence will help shake-up the insurance space, starting with HNW individuals and then evolving the offering more widely.

Moving towards hybrid advisory models in Asia
David Wilson of Capgemini discusses the outlook and potential for the hybrid advisory model in Asia.

Improving the insurance experience for clients and distributors
James Tan of Tokio Marine Life Insurance talks about some of the new digital tools and technological advances the firm is spearheading, for the benefit of distributors and end-clients alike.

Creating a more compelling digital platform for investors
Artur Luhaäär of Smartly explains the benefits of digital advice and how he is building his platform to deliver a better product to investors.

Natural capital, blockchain as the future of wealth management  
Alan Laubsch of Lykke looks at investing in the world's most promising asset class and the impact on diversification and portfolio risk mitigation.

Testimonials

“Congratulations to Hubbis for putting together this Digital Wealth conference. Hearing from and networking with some of the most renowned speakers and trailblazers in the industry was a great use of my time and gave me a good indication of the transformational phase we live in.”
Jose Cerdan, Head of Client Propositions, Singapore, HSBC Global Asset Management

“Digital wealth management has not fully reached the banks on an operational level yet. The event Hubbis organised created awareness of the need and urgency to change the thinking of the industry today.”
Michael Gerber, Chief Executive Officer, 360F