| Date: 29/04/2009 | Type: Article | Language: English | Source: Todayonline.com | Experts say it could take a decade or even two to achieve
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Singapore needs some 10 to 20 years before it can reach the level of wealth managed by Switzerland, industry experts concluded yesterday at a conference.
“Let’s not forget, Switzerland has been in this business for 500 years; we’ve only been in this business for 15 years. It takes a while to catch up,” Mr Roman Scott, managing director of Calamander Group, said during a panel discussion at the Shorex Wealth Management Forum.
He thinks it’ll be 20 years before Singapore can compare with Switzerland, based on current growth rates of around 10 to 15 per cent. Fox Partnership chief executive Simeon Fowler had his finger on the next ten years. He estimated Switzerland has some US$1.7 trillion ($2.6 trillion) of assets under management while Singapore has about US$800 billion. Data from the central bank showed that funds managed in Singapore in 2007 reached nearly $1.2 trillion.
What’s hampering Singapore’s growth? One wealth advisor from the audience said whilst she was looking for service providers in the wealth management industries worldwide, she found that Singapore financial institutions had yet to amass the depth of knowledge and diversity found in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Panelists agreed that the island’s big and boutique banks were still searching for the right talent to manage Asian wealth.
Meanwhile, some expressed concern about the erosion of banking secrecy due to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) efforts to extract tax-related information from countries that sign on to the standard.
“There’s no such thing as private banking anymore,” said Mr Scott. “Expect the ability of governments to go after anything they want.”
Several countries like Singapore and Switzerland have agreed in principle to the standards. “In the past, more clients were depending a lot on secrecy and non-disclosure. Now they need to be more sophisticated and make plans,” said Portcullis TrustNet Group chairman David Chong. “The issue is how the individual could be protected against an intrusive tax authority going after them in a fishing expedition,” said Mr Jacques Leuba, member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. |
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| Date: 30/04/2009 | Type: Article | Language: English | Source: China Knowledge | China's wealth market is expected to continue to grow exponentially and surpass that of Japan, Asia-Pacific's largest wealth market, by 2015, said Didier Brizard, a representative of Tiaré Groupe, at the Shorex Wealth Management Forum Singapore 2009 on Tuesday.
Brizard spoke on the strength of the Chinese economy and the growth of Chinese wealth in his presentation on Family Offices (private, one-client investment management companies) in China. He attributed the growth in wealth to China's high savings rate, its success in the real estate and manufacturing sectors, and to the recent surge in IPOs. His data came in part from a study on Family Offices in Asia that was conducted by the University of St. Gallen, a leading Swiss institution, and commissioned by VP Bank Group, one of the largest banks in Liechtenstein.
Brizard predicts huge demand for wealth management services in China, despite the immature market, in part because 70% of China's wealth, most of which was created in the last 20 years, will be transferred to the next generation within the next decade. China will see a growing need to combat the proverbial "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves" problem of family wealth that does not last for three generations. As a result of improvements in the Chinese banking industry, a larger proportion of Chinese wealth may begin to be managed in mainland China rather than in Hong Kong or Singapore.
The Shorex Wealth Management Forum Singapore 2009 drew exhibitors and attendees from Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific. Since it mainly focuses on Asia, and since companies are tightening travel budgets to cut costs, it is not surprising that the conference seemed dominated by those who had shorter distances to travel. However, the turnout and level of interest was overall better than expected, said Wing-Yun Wong, managing director of First Capital Partners Ltd (FCP). FCP participated in the forum both last year and this year to promote Hong Kong as a world-class offshore jurisdiction, citing Hong Kong's favorable tax policies and excellent geographical location.
Other offshore jurisdictions represented at the Shorex forum include Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, whose CEO Martin Crawford said that places like China will probably become the biggest wealth management markets in the world.
The Shorex Wealth Management Forum, which is geared towards professional advisers, asset managers, private bankers, professional investors, financial service providers, and tax planners, is a conference and exhibition offering information on new services, products, and ideas in wealth management. The forum has been held in Geneva, Switzerland seven times and will be held there again in December this year. This is the first year it has been held in Asia. |
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| Date: 28/04/2009 | Type: Article | Language: English | Source: straitstimes.com | THE private wealth management industry may have to tackle three key areas as a different post-crisis financial landscape begins to unfold: rebuilding trust and confidence, having proper risk management and corporate governance and focusing on competence.
These points were raised by Monetary Authority of Singapore executive director Ng Nam Sin in his opening address at the Shorex Wealth Management Forum in the Suntec convention centre on Tuesday morning. He said: 'One potential driver of change is the shift in investor mindset.' Mr Ng added that investors are adopting a 'more holistic view' on their wealth protection needs, and are asking for 'even more transparency' on account management.
'These suggest the renewed emphasis on building trust, enhancing transparency and proper risk management and market conduct,' he said. Thus, financial bodies will have to review the way in which they deal with clients to 'provide real value and restore confidence'. For instance, they must ensure that investment advice dished out is 'fair, objective and in the best interest of clients'. Having pay structures that rely mainly on commissions or are biased towards recommending specific products is 'untenable', he said, adding: 'It will inevitably elicit a culture where the institution and its representatives are more concerned about their own revenue interests, as opposed to having clients' interests at heart.'
The industry must also progress to one with more emphasis on the safekeeping and handling of client funds, especially in the wake of the Madoff and Stanford frauds. Thus, financial institutions must have proper systems and processes to safeguard client's interests and keep abreast of new regulations. Senior management must recognise their role in 'setting the right tone at the top', instilling an 'ethics-based' corporate culture built on integrity, said Mr Ng.
Financial institutitions must also focus on 'continuous skill upgrading', added Mr Ng, as the need for a high level of competence has become 'more acute' given the industry's current challenges. |
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| Date: 25/11/2008 | Type: Article | Language: English | Source: shorexsingapore.com | | Shorex is launching its acclaimed Wealth Management Forum next year in Singapore, the region’s leading financial hub and wealth managers' most promising market. Asia’s sister event of the well established Shorex forum in Geneva, The Shorex Wealth Management Forum Singapore 2009 aims at becoming the leading wealth management exhibition and conference in Asia Pacific. The event will cater for the thousands of financial intermediaries and specialists in private and institutional asset management in Singapore and across the region including Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, the Emirates and the Emirates. |
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| Date: 28/10/2008 | Type: Article | Language: English | Source: offplanpropertyexchange.com | | A United Arab Emirates real estate company has headed to Russia in a bid to promote its portfolio of commercial and residential developments. |
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