Asian wealth

There is a lot of interest in Asian wealth, whether Indian, China or if spreading a net wide areas like the Middle East.

Conducting some research with Hong Kong, Japanese and Singapore based intermediaries, a strange anomoly has appeared. Not only is wealth in Hong Kong rising to sums as grand as $20 billion US but trust companies ,that once flourished, have all but been purchased by banks in the region. This is something that is in stark contact to Europe where trust companies are de coupling from banks to avoid conflict with regard to investment management of trust monies (banks insisting the funds stay with them, rather than going onto the open market for best returns).

In Europe, as we have seen with Close Trustees and Close WM, it is seen essential to survival and ongoing growth to de couple and present wealthy clients and intermediaries with the sound knowledge that open architecture in investing is the only route for the money being entrusted to them.

As with Europe though one trend is similar. Asia hasn't got a large pool of intermediaries (lawyers/attorneys and accountants) to seek for work. On past trips to Singapore, banks in the region were 'raping' any professional firm of all their staff to equip themselves with a compliment of client relationship managers, who are identified as the most successful route to securing new private client monies into the banks. How that model works when there are no intermediaries left in the market to pitch too, must surely be a puzzle indeed.

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