Private Banks

HSBC Private Banking in Singapore launches Independent Asset Management Desk

HSBC Private Banking in Singapore has announced that it has launched a dedicated Independent Asset Management (IAM) desk catering to the needs of family offices and independent advisors managing wealth on the behalf of their clients.

Increasingly UHNW clients appoint IAMs to oversee their wealth assets who in turn partner with Private Banks in delivering wealth investment advisory and execution. The desk will work closely with the IAMs to ensure the bank delivers the best service to the firm’s clients, HSBC Private Banking reports in a press release.

The IAM industry is a rapidly growing sector in wealth management and growing client awareness and demand for independent advisory services will continue to spur the development of specialised IAM advisors. According to research by Asian Private Banker, they projected there are currently 160 IAMs in Hong Kong and Singapore, managing approximately US91.5 billion of AUM, which translates to 5.5% of market share.

Philip Kunz, Head of Global Private Banking, Southeast Asia, HSBC Private Banking, said: “A dedicated IAM desk enables us to expand the firm’s reach into this fast-growing segment. Clients increasingly have more options and by establishing this desk, we are supporting them in their wealth ambition with capabilities underpinned by the firm’s international footprint and full private banking suite of capabilities at scale.”

Capturing the massive opportunity from Asia’s fast-growing wealth creation and what is expected to be among the world’s biggest intergenerational wealth transfer events is core to HSBC Group’s strategic pivot to Asia. This is central to the firm’s ambition to become the No. 1 wealth manager in Asia.

In February 2020, the Group created a new global business, Wealth and Personal Banking (WPB) combining its strengths globally in retail banking and wealth management, asset management, insurance and private banking to become one of the world’s largest global wealth managers with over USD1.4 trillion in wealth balances, with half coming from Asia.