Thailand

Thai HNWIs are Re-Balancing their Investment Portfolios, says Lombard Odier and KBank

Seven in ten Thai high-net-worth-individuals have changed the characteristics of their investment portfolios a result of the Covid pandemic, according to research released by KBank and Lombard Odier.

Lombard Odier has surveyed the views of 150 HNWIs across Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan and released some of the data from the Thai sample, reported Citywire Asia in a news story, written by Lachlan Colquhoun.

Vincent Magnenat, Limited Partner and CEO, Asia, Lombard Odier, said: “The disruptions and impact of the pandemic are manifold, and have forced leading families and entrepreneurs in the region to rethink everything.”

The study found that Asian HNWIs think it is a time of opportunity, placing more interest in private equity and private debt as the current low interest rate environment is expected to continue for some time.

Real-estate advisory services had also become one of the fastest growing family wealth planning service offerings for Thai HNWIs, according to KBank.

Although they may have rebalanced their portfolios, 70% of Thai HNWIs have not changed their investment time horizons.

Other details of the survey released this week show that for 69% of Thai HNWIs, sustainability is the main factor in their choice of a private bank. This was the highest across any of the countries surveyed.

Almost nine in ten, or 87%, of Thai HNWIs, also said the availability of extra services such as treasury management, real estate opportunities and connections to entrepreneurs as factors in their choice of private bank.

Where 35% of Thai HNWIs have already put governance structures in place for their wealth, the Covid crisis has prompted another 45% without a structure to start planning for one.

KBank is one of Lombard Odier’s strategic partners in the Asian region, along with banks such as Union Bank of the Philippines.