WITH Asia’s growing affluent population becoming increasingly international, Foo Tian Ong, Standard Chartered Private Bank’s Southeast Asia Regional Head and Singapore Location Head, believes that the private bank is in a sweet spot to meet the needs of today’s Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) clients.
Standard Chartered serves clients across the wealth continuum – from mass retail to affluent, High Net Worth (HNW) and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individuals. Being able to tap on the bank’s international wealth presence in 25 markets across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East allows the Private Bank to bring unique insights and capabilities to clients with growing cross-border needs.
Recognised for its strong growth trajectory and achievements over the last few years, the private bank was recently awarded the ‘Best Private Bank in Southeast Asia’ by the Asian Private Banker.
Foo, who possesses over two decades’ worth of experience in the private banking industry, observed two trends which will shape the industry – the growing affluence of Asians and digitalisation.
“With the growing affluence of Asians comes increased cross-border wealth and banking needs. We have seen a greater demand for overseas mortgages, access to offshore investments and wealth planning as HNW and UHNW clients are looking for sophisticated solutions to meet their individual needs,” he said.
International network advantage and universal banking capabilities
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“The strength of the bank’s international footprint and its universal banking capabilities have allowed it to fulfil both individual wealth and business needs across borders,” Foo said, adding that the bank also has wealth and legacy planning capabilities to fulfil clients’ intergenerational ambitions.
He gave the example of an Indian client who is residing in Singapore and managing a regional business.
His family is in India, but his children go to school in the United Kingdom (UK), resulting in a need to finance a UK property.
By engaging with a universal bank such as Standard Chartered, Foo said the client was able to manage the family’s private wealth in Singapore and overseas, service the children’s education and mortgage needs in the UK, and perform corporate banking transactions.
“Our interconnectedness with our corporate bank provides clients access to corporate banking capabilities, offering a one-bank solution for clients - from cash management
to supply chain financing, to capital raising and mergers and acquisitions advisory,” he said.
He added that the bank is also better placed to serve the diverse needs of clients through its physical presence and long heritage in these markets.
UHNW clients require special attention when it comes to their investment needs, which Standard Chartered Private Bank can fulfil across its network.
The bank’s team in Singapore, for instance, provides personalised advisory and bespoke investment solutions to help clients manage their wealth locally and overseas.
Through its proprietary SC Wealth Select advisory framework, clients’ short- and longer-term wealth needs can be mapped to a wide range of independent investment products and solutions that best meets their expectations. This includes access to leading third-party investment managers with diversification by asset class, geography and sector. In addition, clients can take advantage of discretionary portfolio management services.
In the area of private wealth, the bank gives clients access to alternative strategies in private equity, private credit and hedge funds.
Conversations on wealth and legacy planning are becoming common as well, said Foo.
“More and more HNW clients and their families are recognising the importance of protecting their wealth for future generations.
“For many family-owned businesses in Asia, this is the first time family wealth and legacy is being passed from one generation to the next,” he said.
Holistic wealth succession plans, detailed wills and structures, family governance solutions and even life insurance policies are just some of the needs that UHNW and HNW families are looking for professional assistance with, he added.
To advise these clients, he said private bankers need to have an understanding of demographic trends as well.
“More wealth will be in the hands of older clients, and with fewer children to whom they can transfer their wealth, areas such as philanthropy and the servicing model will become increasingly important priorities,” he said.
There is also merit in customising the servicing model for older clients. A senior experienced relationship manager (RM) who understands the life stage and priorities of an older client can bring great value to them through a greater level of trust, empathy and sensitivity in their advisory approach.
Importance of digitalisation
The trend of digitalisation has simplified certain processes and streamlined the way the bank serves its clients, Foo said.
In order to leverage digital benefits, he said private bankers have had to relearn, reskill and adopt a fresh mindset towards client engagement.
“I am hugely excited about the potential Artificial Intelligence can bring to enhance the solutions offered to clients and streamline the experience. With the efficiency derived
through further digitalisation, we can spend more of our time with clients, helping them tackle their increasingly complex business and personal needs, such as bespoke transactions and legacy planning,” he said.
A digital-first approach also enables RMs to be more intentional and tailored when they engage their clients, who will then benefit from solutions that are bespoke to meet their specific needs.
Still, Foo said that a balance needs to be struck between the provision of digital services and the human touch – especially for HNW and UNHW clients.
ESG investments a growing trend
Foo added that he is also seeing growing awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investors’ portfolio. The environmental segment, in particular, is drawing attention from clients.
Standard Chartered’s 2023 Sustainable Banking Report showed that 94 per cent of investors in Singapore are interested in climate themes, while eight in 10 investors want to increase capital flows towards furthering climate goals.
“Our solutions help clients better understand their portfolios from a sustainability perspective. This includes looking at ESG risks and how green their portfolios are, determining the proportion of their portfolios in controversial sectors, and aligning it to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
The bank has a range of solutions to help clients meet their sustainable investing goals. These include equities, bonds, mutual funds and structured solutions where ESG factors are embedded. The bank’s proprietary wealth management quantitative ranking tool also integrates ESG scores as it ranks companies.
To offer these products, the bank has partnered with industry data experts, such as Morningstar and Sustainalytics, to define its sustainable investing framework.
Investors can also rest assured that ESG-driven investing can produce returns, Foo added.
Research by Morningstar in 2020 found that a sample of sustainable funds outperformed that of non-ESG funds over one, three, five and 10-year time horizons.
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