Global Private Banking Awards 2018: Winners’ Profiles – Best Service Offerings

Best Global Private Bank;
Best Global Private Bank for Customer Service;
Citi Private Bank

Citi has won the coveted crown, so often snatched by Swiss rival UBS, for best global private bank, mainly due to its resilience and growth after the global financial crisis, when so many rivals floundered.

As well as the healthy balance sheet, key to Citi’s growth, including a phenomenal haul of $42bn in net new money in 2017, has been its incorporation of private banking into its division serving institutional clients. This means that at Citi it looks less like private bankers have brought in the investment banking arm to sell more capital markets products to the clients, but more like they have brought knowledgeable partners with them to help solve problems, tackle business growth challenges and offer advice. 

Consultants say Citi is one of the few banks to actually get this formula right, with the link between investment and private banking often looking more natural and less forced than the ‘one bank’ structure espoused by the Swiss giants.

In the ultra high net worth space, on which Citi concentrates, it is always at the table when potential customers are looking for banks to pitch for their business, with long-standing expertise not only in alternative investments and trading, but also a desire to help clients purchase property in hotspots such as New York, London, and European and Asian capitals, where it can be hard to move quickly and find value. 

Citi has got it right in recruitment, communicated effectively with wealthy clients through mechanisms such as its ‘theme machine’, which uses big data to identify long-term investment themes, but most of all managed to effectively combine the human and digital elements of the client offer. It was one of the first private banks to effectively digitalise, devoting both staff and financial resources to establishing “customer journeys” and “customer experiences”, noble pioneering sentiments, since reduced to derogative clichés in private banking circles, as they have been devalued by mass adoption.

The one chink in Citi’s armour, say observers, is its reluctance to mobilise the Citi brand across all client segments outside the US, thus hiving off the private bank from retail and high net worth outlets, and refusing to countenance any career mobility between the units, insisting that private bankers are a special breed, linked only to their investment banking cousins. While this elitism irks some, the policy seems to have succeeded so far. YB

Best Private Bank in Nigeria;
Best Private Bank for Customer Service (Africa)
Standard Bank Wealth and Investment

Many outside observers underestimate the cultural differences between different countries in Africa, but Standard Bank Wealth and Investment has clearly navigated these waters well, establishing successful businesses outside its home country of South Africa.

The wealth manager now has branches in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, as well as in London and the offshore centres of Jersey and Mauritius.

Nigeria in particular has become a glittering prize for private bankers because of its growing wealth – in 2013 it overtook Standard Bank’s home country to become the largest economy in Africa. Standard Bank Wealth and Investment’s growth in Nigeria over the past couple of years has been rapid. “The need for bespoke wealth planning is becoming more and more crucial in Nigeria as the market matures and incomes improve,” says the wealth manager. However, it also notes that the Nigerian market is complex, with “heightened risks”.

One complexity in Nigeria is that a significant proportion of the wealth is held by Muslim families, who often want to invest according to Islamic principles. The wealth manager offers a Sharia portfolio, which has two layers: a quantitative analysis of the permissibility of the investment, and a quantitative financial ratio analysis. “The development of Islamic banking solutions is on the rise in many countries in Africa, including South Africa, and we continue to expand our offerings in this space,” says the wealth manager.

The private banking industry in general is keen to develop services compatible with Islamic principles, but has been less united in embracing the concept that investment planning should start with customers’ emotional needs. Standard Bank Wealth and Investment has planted itself firmly in the camp of those private banks that believe emotional needs should be at the heart of the matter. It says: “We have shifted the focus to first ask the client: ‘What matters to you and your family?’ This approach to customer service seems popular with clients.

Although the majority of Standard Bank Wealth and Investment’s assets under management are in South Africa and Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana are seeing the fastest client growth. The wealth manager says this reflects interest from both local and overseas-based high net worth investors in the growth potential of the regions in which these two countries are located. DT

Best Private Bank in Asia;
Best private bank in Singapore;
Best private bank for Customer Service (Asia);
Best Private Bank for Innovation
DBS Bank

DBS Bank is fast rising from a national champion in Singapore, to more of a regional leader in pan-Asian wealth management, praised for its innovation in digital technology. It now manages $108bn in wealth across the Asian region.

Recent highlights include the roll-out of its iWealth “full suite digital wealth management platform”, the incorporation of portfolio and performance analysis tailored to individual preferences, 24-hour access to markets and latest research and new enhancements in online foreign exchange trading.

Whereas previous innovations have very much concentrated on digitisation of processes, the easing of trading and payments for clients, the creation of easy-to-use smartphone apps and the research and use of big data analysis in its servicing of customers, there is now a concerted effort to pioneer new investment strategies.

Environmental, social and governance criteria for investment portfolios are now firmly in the sights of Su Shan Tan, group head of wealth management and consumer banking at DBS. Ms Tan has previously focused on serving customers and offering them market-leading advice. Providing them with access to a socially-conscious investment agenda could be a valuable new string to the bank’s bow.

“We want to lead in the ESG and impact investing space,” says Ms Tan. “This year we have made great strides in educating our staff and clients that doing good can and should be good business. One does not exclude the other.”

The belief at her bank is that as more and more wealth in Asia transfers from one generation to the next, millennials will invest as much for good as for profits.

“They wish to invest in companies that do business in a responsible, sustainable and impactful manner. In addition, more and more indices are being benchmarked to be ESG compliant, hence we have seen more flows automatically channelling into ESG-compliant component stocks.”

The bank has launched a suite of products playing to this new thematic, including the Women’s Livelihood Bond, which has helped offer 385,000 women in southeast Asia access to credit, markets and affordable goods, and the ESG outperformance warrant and note, investing in the MSCI Asia ESG Leaders Index, while simultaneously shorting the MSCI Emerging Markets Asia Index.

DBS continues to add staff, with a focus on onshore markets and “domestication” of wealth, helped by its acquisition of ANZ’s wealth management franchise in Taiwan and Indonesia. India and China will also see key future initiatives for the bank, with Hong Kong’s increased connectivity to China through the Greater Bay Area project seen as a key stimulus for wealth creation. YB

Best Private Bank for Customer Service (Australasia)
Westpac NZ

Embracing the philosophy that satisfied staff leads to satisfied clients, Westpac has been focusing on retaining and growing its employees, and the efforts are now paying off, says Katie Christoffersen, head of Westpac Private Wealth Management (PWM).

At Westpac, the average tenure of staff is more than 12 years.

“Low turnover is critical as private banking is fundamentally a relationship business with clients remembering those life moments and our advisers’ role in those,” says Ms Christoffersen.

Promoting flexible working has enabled the bank to keep and develop its top people, she adds, with two-thirds of Westpac New Zealand staff now working flexibly. 

Westpac’s focus on encouraging gender equality and diversity has also “empowered staff”, with all employees completing an ‘unconscious bias training’ last year. At the bank, 50 per cent of PWM’s leadership team are women, versus less than 30 per cent in leadership roles in New Zealand businesses.

The bank’s average client tenure is more than 23 years, and bankers have often accompanied their clients throughout their financial journey from the beginning. 

As part of complying with domestic regulation and implementing recommendations of the Australian Bankers’ Association, last year the institution embedded a staff performance management system called Motivate. This is a ‘behaviours first’ framework rewarding staff for behaviours delivering a “customer-centric outcome”. 

“Our staff are asked about specific examples of customer-centric behaviours in their monthly check-ins, as well as their quarterly reviews. This ensures we encourage, celebrate, and reward great client outcomes as part of our staff’s performance management,” states Ms Christoffersen.

A successful initiative in 2017 was the collaboration between PWM and the corporate and institutional bank, which allowed assisting business owners’ transition from business ownership to personal wealth.

The roll out of an online financial planning tool, xPlan, has halved private bankers’ plan-writing time, giving advisers more time in front of the client. ET

Best Private Bank for Customer Service (Europe)
Best Brand Campaign in Private Banking
Lombard Odier

With more than $280bn in client assets, of which 50 per cent are in wealth management, Lombard Odier takes pride in its continued ability to offer bespoke products and services to clients, supported by a digital platform developed over the past 25 years and a comprehensive sustainable investment offering. This is legitimised by the bank’s heritage in this space, dating back to the 1840s, when managing partner Alexandre Lombard warned clients against southern US companies using slave labour.  

There are “no shortcuts” to delivering a truly bespoke service, says Duncan MacIntyre, UK CEO. “It means you have to maintain, as we do, a very low ratio of bankers to clients and it means you go the extra mile.” This may involve arranging loans over the Christmas weekend, contacting every single client when markets wobble as they did in February, or maintaining a rich and varied schedule of knowledge events, he adds.

As the next three years are likely to offer a contrast to the “calm economic waters” of the previous three, an attentive client service gains even more importance. “When the waters get choppy, that’s when our promise of genuinely bespoke private banking really comes into its own,” states Mr MacIntyre.

The bank’s ability to adapt, evolve, and innovate throughout its 222-year history and 40 financial crises, has inspired its striking brand campaign, with content and communication signals unusual for banking. “We have been able to look at the world’s evolutions, and rethink how we can respond to the advantage of our clients. The Rethink Everything campaign has simply built on this philosophy,” explains Fabio Mancone, Lombard Odier’s chief branding officer.

“The campaign’s goal is to intrigue, and lead the target audiences to think about key trends that may have an impact on their investments,” he adds, enthusing over the latest, “crucial chapter” of the campaign, fully centered on the ‘sustainability revolution’. “This underscores our belief that sustainable investing is a huge opportunity for our clients – perhaps the biggest in modern history,” says Mr Mancone. ET

Best Private Bank in Lebanon;
Best Private Bank for Customer Service (Middle East)
Audi Private Bank

Local player Audi Private Bank has won in the Lebanon category for the fifth year running.

The private banking arm, which has $4bn under management, including a large proportion on behalf of ultra-high net worth individuals, continues to innovate. For example, it is introducing a new discretionary mandate that will be invested according to sustainable and responsible investment criteria – responding to the increasing interest among private banking clients across the industry, as they see the financial return as well as ethical arguments for this. The bank says that there are suitable “socially motivated” investors for this product in Lebanon. 

It has also introduced a flexible equity product which aims to take advantage of market opportunities. It is an absolute return product designed to weather the market cycle by increasing and reducing cash positions.

As to what comes next: “We are continuously monitoring new investment trends with a focus on tech, biotech, AI and robotics sectors and look forward to benefit from such investment opportunities,” says the bank. 

In a country where personal trust matters a great deal, Audi Private Bank continues to strive to maintain the long tenure of its private bankers, which averages nine or 10 years.  DT

Best Private Bank for Customer Service (US);
Best Private Bank for Family Offices
Northern Trust

For Northern Trust, the combination of human endeavours and digital tools is the keystone of the bank’s wealth management strategy. “Human relationships will always be essential to our business and innovative technology has become integral to those relationships,” says Steven Fradkin, president of Northern Trust Wealth Management. “It’s the combination of both that allows us to drive a powerfully differentiated experience for our clients, and we are constantly seeking to evolve that experience.”

Central to the experience Northern hopes to provide is the Goals Powered Solutions platform, which combines algorithms with a mobile app, designed to make conversations between clients and advisers more effective through interactive visuals, which simplify complex investment decisions.

The main priorities of the wealthy families who make up the lion’s share of the Chicago-based bank’s clientele include: succession planning for both family and business; security and protection of both the individual and business against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, tax changes and transgenerational wealth transfer; control and governance, including best practices for aggregation of data and choosing service providers; and asset allocation, especially to new-style sustainable alternative strategies and impact investments, plus co-investment ideas with other families.

The belief at Northern Trust is that appropriate management of environmental, social and corporate governance factors can create long-term shareholder value. “We align our business with the fundamental principle of sustainability, meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” says David Fox, president of the bank’s global family and private investment offices group. 

Today, the incorporation of ESG factors into investment analysis is seen as a central plank of the group’s responsibility as an asset manager. Both banks and families are becoming much more innovative in the way they implement these principles, believes Mr Fox. He sees families moving beyond traditional foundations to concepts such as “opportunity zone investments” as well as increasing exposure to newer asset classes such as private equity and hedge funds.

The group is also challenging the previous belief in the industry that Northern Trust is an exclusive provider focused only on several wealthy enclaves of the US. Recent moves to build a European operation, based on principles and technology developed in the US, could have an impact on the European wealth management market in the longer term. YB

Best Private Bank in Brazil;
Best Private Bank for Customer Service (Latin America)
Itaú Private Bank

Latin America endured another challenging year in 2017, with Brazil mired in  recession and other countries across the region affected by economic and political turbulence. Despite the adverse environment, Itaú Private Bank maintained a leading position in the market, in terms of financial results and client approval.

“When Brazilian interest rates fell, customers began to look for more profitable and sophisticated alternatives, and we were prepared to present them with customised offers that were in line with their profiles and expectations,” says Luiz Severiano Ribeiro, head of Itaú Private Bank Brazil. He explains his team worked intensively to enhance their product offering by adding more sophisticated investment instruments, both onshore and offshore.

The bank’s recent growth has been mainly organic, helped by partnerships with Itaú Personnalité, the bank’s mass affluent business segment, and Itaú BBA, its corporate and investment banking division. The acquisition of Citibank’s Brazilian retail segment, approved in 2017, has significantly increased Itaú Personnalité’s client referrals in recent months. 

Investment in technology has been a key focus for the management team. “We continue to invest in technologies that enhance the customer experience by increasing the functionality of our applications, either by simplifying communications tools or by developing tools that improve our day-to-day efficiency, and thereby allow us to be more available for our customers,” he explains. 

Although demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments remains modest in Brazil, Mr Severiano expects this to grow as the market gains greater understanding about these products.

“To ensure that Itaú stays at the forefront of this trend, the bank has also implemented a cross-departmental process of ESG analysis which makes it possible to estimate the impact of social and sustainable initiatives on various elements of our portfolio,” he explains. “Today, 90 per cent of Itaú’s assets under management are covered by this ESG analysis.” PG

Best Private Bank for Growth Strategy;
Best Private Bank for Alternatives
LGT

Organic growth and acquisitions have continued to drive LGT’s growth, with assets under management soaring almost 40 per cent to reach $147bn in 2017.

“Our main objective is to grow organically, but we are able to take advantage of the ongoing market consolidation to make attractive acquisitions,” states Thomas Piske, CEO at LGT Private Banking. In addition to reviewing a wide range of economic and financial factors, as part of the due diligence process, an acquisition goes ahead only when the business and client structure are compatible, and there is good cultural fit, he says. 

The bank, owned and controlled by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, has a primary goal of continuing to strengthen its market position in the regions in which it operates, namely Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Last year, the purchase of ABN Amro’s private banking business in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, with $20bn in AuM, enabled the firm to boost its footprint in the Asian fast-growing market, where it has had an uninterrupted presence since 1986. “We started out as a small foreign bank over 30 years ago, and are now among the top five European banks in Asia,” says Mr Piske.

While size is important in order to take advantage of economies of scale and synergies, LGT has not set any growth target for the future, focusing rather on the quality of assets and revenues. Good client service and attractive products are key for continuing to grow sustainably, he explains.  

When it comes to products, the bank boasts a 20-year experience in alternatives, having started allocating to them in 1998, within the LGT Endowment Fund. LGT’s asset management arm, focusing on alternative investments and multi-asset solutions, experienced strong demand last year, including from private clients. 

“We have seen a rising demand for alternatives, and private equity and insurance-linked strategies have been particularly popular with private clients lately,” observes Mr Piske. Investors are advised to include alternatives in their portfolios because of their return-enhancement and diversification benefits, particularly in the current market environment. 

“Although our base case is for yet another benign investment year, investors should be prepared not only for more volatility, but also for changing patterns. With markets more vulnerable to dislocations, many traditional portfolios may struggle, and simple diversification may fail to protect.” ET

Best Private Bank for Sustainable and Impact Investing;
Best Private Bank for Entrepreneurs
UBS Global Wealth Management

Client demand for sustainable and impact investing is substantial and expanding, particularly among UBS’s ultra high net worth clients. According to 2017 survey, 28 per cent of the bank’s family office clients have already engaged in impact investing, with 40 per cent expecting to increase their allocation over time. In a separate survey, UBS Investor Watch, 93 per cent of high net worth clients who are already invested sustainably believe they are not giving up any performance in return for adhering to ESG criteria when investing.

The bank says it is very much committed to sustainable investment as a philosophy, seeking financial returns while also meeting social needs and making a positive impact on the environment and society, including engaging with young people through bodies such as UBS Optimus Foundation.

In this sphere, UBS is particularly proud of its Oncology Impact Fund, a private equity fund focused on breakthrough cancer therapies, which has generated high double digit returns for bank clients as well as contributing $2.5m to philanthropic causes, including improvement of healthcare access for children and their families in the developing world, as well as re-investments in cancer research.

The evaluation of different instruments for their sustainability benefits is far from universal to the investment process at UBS, but it is becoming more and more important in client dialogue and engagement, with the bank believing some investment types can help to align with investor values event if they do not directly create a positive impact on the world. There are also investment types where UBS does not see sustainable investing opportunities currently, but hopes to identify them in future, in the hedge funds realm for example. 

Personal engagement with entrepreneurial clients is also a key part of the bank’s future direction. UBS reports that clients often ask for introductions to other business owners within the bank’s network or seek their advice on specific issues. It is becoming more and more difficult to facilitate such connections in an ‘analogue’ format, which is not scalable across a large client base, so the bank is building a digital platform for this client segment.

There is no doubt that UBS is still innovating, despite the change of management at the helm of the wealth management operation. The question asked by most is whether the Swiss bank will now be subsumed by the US after the recent merger between the global and American wealth management operations. Will the inspired and successful Apac operation still allow independent ideas to flourish, or will it adopt a model more familiar to US banks, where New York-styled strategies are pushed through Hong Kong and Singapore? YB

Best Private Bank in Latin America;
Best Private Bank in the US;
Best Private Bank for UHNW Clients
JP Morgan Private Bank

JP Morgan enjoyed strong financial performance in 2017, with $39bn in net new money helping boost client assets to $526bn, the large majority sourced from North America and ultra high net worth individuals. 

Underlying these results is focus on client advice and a “comprehensive approach to managing clients’ wealth across both sides of their balance sheets,” explains Kelly Coffey, CEO, US Private Bank at JP Morgan.

The global private bank’s offering spans day-to-day banking needs, lending, investing, trust and estate planning, as well as philanthropy.

Under the umbrella of JP Morgan Chase, wealthy clients have access to asset management, investment banking and commercial banking capabilities, with the institution continuing to focus on strengthening the relationship across these businesses. 

“By helping clients across more areas of their financial lives we can build better, more integrated solutions that meet all of their wealth management needs,” adds Ms Coffey. 

Increasingly, managing clients’ wealth means helping them meet their goals. 

“Understanding our clients’ goals and intent for their wealth allows us to help them plan and invest for better outcomes, in line with how they think about their wealth, both in the short- and long-term,” she says.

A goals-based strategy also covers lifestyle and spending goals, wealth to leave to beneficiaries, wealth preservation across generations, and growth. 

When it comes to asset allocation, alternative investments occupy a top spot. “Clients have a need for alternative investments more than ever before,” says Adam Tejpaul, CEO, Latin America Private Bank, JP Morgan. In this space, the bank is pursuing areas of growth and innovation, to tap into parts of the global economy supported by long-term, secular trends, including technology and healthcare, he explains. It is also actively looking for opportunities to invest in assets generating yield, either from private debt of mid-market corporates, or real assets across different geographies. 

“Given the length of the current cycle, we are slowly starting to set aside some dry powder that we could deploy in areas that could face a more challenging period in the next few years, whether through managers focused on distress or deep value,” adds Mr Tejpaul.

While direct investments continue to appeal to clients, many prefer liquid alternative strategies, reports Ms Coffey, and the bank’s focus has been on hedge fund strategies able to produce uncorrelated return streams, particularly in periods of heightened volatility and rising interest rates. 

JP Morgan allocates the largest proportion of its investment budget to technology, to continue to build out its digital platform, and has rolled out an online trading platform, You Invest, enabling clients to invest by themselves.  

It has also “completely overhauled” its training and development framework, and recently launched an internal forum that helps advisers share best practices and materials.

In 2017, the US Private Bank began a five-year growth plan to add 1,000 new advisers across more than 20 new and existing locations. “We want to have a local, on-the-ground presence in all the markets where clients need our advice and services the most,” adds Ms Coffey. ET

Best Private Bank for Diversity
Deutsche Bank Wealth Management

Diversity and inclusion have far reaching benefits in business, having a positive impact on employee performance, growth and innovation. 

In line with increasing global awareness, private banks’ leaders are realising the importance of endorsing the values of understanding and appreciating differences of clients and staff within their institution.

Deutsche Bank stood out in this area thanks to the promotion of several initiatives, including the global roll-out of a mentoring programme for women, following the success of a pilot scheme in London last year. The bank also launched an executive training programme for mid-level women employees in the UK and is planning to extend it to other regions. Speakers at the Women 20 Summit about female leadership,  held in Berlin in 2017, which the bank sponsored, included Angela Merkel and Cristine Lagarde, as well as controversial Ivanka Trump. 

Employees take part in ‘unconscious bias’ training to promote a culture of inclusion and openness, both internally and with clients.

“Diverse minds lead to better decisions,” states Fabrizio Campelli, global head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management. “At the same time, though, what really makes a difference is making diversity an integral part of our management and decision making process. Like the rest of our industry, we still have work to do, but we’re making progress,” he acknowledges.  

The bank features 78 nationalities globally, most of its top relationship managers are women, says Mr Campelli, and women also represent 35 per cent of the supervisory board. Among other awards, the institution was named as one of the world’s best places to work for LGBTQ equality by Human Rights Campaign. ET

Best Private Bank in France
BNP Paribas Banque Privée France
Best Private Bank for millennials
BNP Paribas Wealth Management 

Vincent Lecomte, co-CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, managing €373bn ($427bn), including more than €100bn in assets from French domestic clients, is particularly proud of three recent innovations.

His new co-construction platform, ‘le Cercle des Influenceurs’, allows the bank to onboard both employees and clients at each stage of programmes designed to create and test new products and services.

An initiative to “streamline and simplify customer journeys” involves deployment of electronics signature in all BNP’s private banking centres across France, with benefits including use of less paper, lowering operational risk and removing requirements for many back office operations. Lastly, he has initiated dedicated support teams for entrepreneurs and business owners.

These initiatives are built on the bank’s close co-operation between retail and private banking branches, with regional centres of expertise – in cities including Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille, catering to clients with more than €5m in assets – taking on a more important role. Most recently the bank opened a wealth management centre in Strasbourg, “where there is a clear need to support entrepreneurs in particular”.

Millennial clients, believes Mr Lecomte, have a greater need than their parents to be connected an empowered, placing a higher value on time, which is why the bank decided it needed to vastly improve the customer experience. 

This has been done through the creation of cross-department ‘pizza teams’, tasked within incubation units to design new products and services, involving clients in the process. This has meant creating new working practices, combining what Mr Lecomte refers to as “lean start-up mode, design thinking and agile mode”, aided by design specialists and fintech companies.

This client group is particularly interested in impact investing, which has led to the bank working with 30 international entrepreneurs under the guidance of the University of Cambridge, to identify business changes needed to increase sustainability.

“Over the past year, the concept of positive impact has moved up the agenda for entrepreneurs,” says Mr Lecomte, reporting a total of €12bn now invested in responsible investments by his clients, a tenfold growth over the past six years. “We see a strong appetite from entrepreneurs to align their investments with their values.” YB

Best Private Banking Boutique
Banque SYZ

Banque Syz, which manages SFr37bn ($37bn), split almost evenly between the asset management and private banking business lines, has found fame predominantly for its investment expertise, bringing institutional techniques to wealthy families.

Under the leadership of Eric Syz, a vocal, erudite and visionary banker, who has the ear of business clients that share his own entrepreneurial mindset, the boutique bank has just about shaken off its ‘enfant terrible’ status as it moves ever closer to the size of local competitors such as Pictet and Lombard Odier.

To reflect this growth, the bank has moved from its old headquarters on Geneva’s main shopping street of Rue du Rhone, across the lake to more spacious premises on the Quai des Bergues. Yet the eclectic, verging on eccentric, interior design of the new HQ, adorned by a collection of bold artworks, suggests Syz will not be doing everything according to the old school Geneva playbook. 

Mr Syz affirms that he wants to keep “upsetting the status quo” and remain a “disruptive force” in Geneva’s staid private banking community.

Despite the recent resignation of asset management head Katia Coudray, Mr Syz pledges a continuation of her work in developing multi-asset, specialist debt and quantitative client solutions. “This striving for innovation is now reflected in our DNA as a group,” says Mr Syz. 

“Our priority remains to keep clients at the forefront of product development and cutting-edge portfolio construction.”

Although he claims the group remains committed to the space it pioneered in 1996, of managing hedge funds and selecting leading managers, there has been a fall-back for demand in this sphere, as Swiss clients ran scared from the twin troubles of the global financial crisis and the Madoff funds debacle, although a potential revival in hedge funds is not being written off by any means. Instead, there is more emphasis on other alternatives products, embracing private equity and special situations. “Our client base is mainly composed of entrepreneurs, who understand the real economic benefits of private equity,” agrees Mr Syz. 

He is now trying to blend these different strategies into an “asset allocation that emphasises uncorrelated returns and is supported by investing in funds that demonstrate sustainable alpha-generation”. The bank has also started to provide add-ons for family offices and smaller private banks, including manager selection, monitoring, due diligence, reporting and transaction services. YB

Best Private Bank for Philanthropy Services
Coutts & Co

Since the financial crisis, there has been a surge in ‘major’ philanthropy, involving donations of £1m ($1.3m) or more, and an increasing focus on responsible and social investing, with more attention to tracking progress and impact, says Lenka Setkova, head of the Coutts Institute, drawing on the results of the firm’s 10-year anniversary Million Pound Donors Report. Specialist advice offered to philanthropists has also been growing. 

“Philanthropy is driven by people’s passions, interests, values or concerns. In many families it is not only an important expression of the meaning and purpose of wealth, but it can also be a wonderful way to convey family values and engage the next generation in exploring the positive impact they can make,” she explains. 

With the support of the bank’s trust and charity investment teams, the Coutts Institute helps clients put their strategies and ambitions into practice, ensuring that their philanthropy is both effective and rewarding, she adds.

“Exploring motivations for philanthropy is an important starting point. We then help clients develop strategies to help them make best use of the resources they would like to bring to their philanthropy, which may include money, time, skills or networks.”

Through philanthropy forums and thought-leadership, the bank provides opportunities for clients and well-established charitable foundations to learn from and collaborate with others who share similar passions and interests. 

Coutts also runs bespoke philanthropy workshops with clients’ children and grandchildren, as philanthropy can be a key topic of discussion around wealth succession and family values.  

“The sooner families are encouraged to start considering wealth succession, the better. There are techniques parents can use with children as young as five to start conveying the family’s views on the meaning and purpose of wealth.” 

Trust and communication within the family about wealth, and preparing the next generation for the challenges and opportunities that wealth brings are the two key ingredients to ensuring that wealth succession is a success, says Ms Setkova. ET

Best Private Bank for Succession Planning
Société Générale Private Banking

One of the most recent achievements for French banking stalwart Société Générale, based in the glass and concrete financial enclave of La Défense in the northwest of Paris, has been the acquisition of UK firm Kleinwort Benson in 2016. This lead to its integration with SGPB Hambros to create a £14bn ($18.3bn) London-based wealth manager, SG Kleinwort Hambros, now integrated fully into SG Private Banking, which manages total assets of €117bn ($135bn).

According to private banking boss Jean-François Mazaud, much of the new thinking for the French bank comes from London rather than Paris. This has given SGPB a much greater strength in the softer side of wealth management, including succession planning, a key specialism of the London hub in St James’s Square.

The SG group is now left with expertise in both English and common law procedures, and the French-style civil law prescriptive approach to succession planning. Of the two, the former is more valuable to the bank’s international operations, especially after it pulled out of Asia, as London has essentially become SG’s window to the world and the key gateway and booking centre for its international clients.

SG is today positioning itself as a digitally-led institution, focused on business owners and entrepreneurs. Along with serving clients in the transition of assets to the millennial generation, the bank is incorporating ambitions regarding impact investing and philanthropy into the succession plans.

“Social and financial legacies are increasingly forming part of a single, family discussion and the manner of giving has changed considerably in the last ten-plus years,” says Paris-based Mr Mazaud.

“Simple, large donations are a thing of the past, with impact investing and participative philanthropy increasing, where clients wish to support causes with both money and their own skillset.”

He confirms that the French bank’s scaling down of its global ambitions, with the onus now on European markets closer to home, means SG can now concentrate on and develop its key areas of expertise. 

“Succession and wealth transition are an increasing concern for all wealthy families and we see it as a fundamental component of the broader wealth management offer,” he says. 

“In terms of context, one should consider that over the next 20 or so years, we will see the largest wealth transfer across generations in history.”

This next generation are concerned about Brexit and see themselves as suffering the main impacts of the UK government policies but their “agility and mobility” should make this less of an issue, he believes.

The main challenge for the bank is bridging the cultural divide between London and Paris. The French bosses have already scaled down ambitions to sell more investment banking products through London. They are however faced with an unwieldy brand, incorporating parts of the Hambros and Kleinwort Benson legacies, which don’t necessarily sit comfortably with the SG parent brand. YB

Best Private Bank for Islamic Services
Maybank

The largest bank in Malaysia by market capitalisation, Maybank strives for excellence in the Islamic private banking space through Maybank Islamic Berhad (MIB), the largest Islamic finance provider in Asia Pacific with $50bn in assets under management. 

“We offer a full suite of Islamic private wealth solutions encompassing the whole spectrum of wealth management from wealth creation, accumulation, protection and distribution on one platform,” says Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican bin Mohamad Wahiduddin Merican, CEO of MIB.

The ethical values embedded in these products and services make them appealing to all investors, regardless of race and religion, he claims. The bank offers Sharia-compliant investment funds from six different fund houses under its open architecture platform as well as sukuk [Islamic bonds].

Mr bin Mohamad Wahiduddin Merican sees huge potential for future product innovation and Sharia-research initiatives, which should in turn open up new markets. “We shall continue to improve on and expand our services within the Islamic financial services industry. In our mission to meet our customers’ discerning needs in and outside Malaysia, we will
continue to develop more Sharia-compliant investment instruments.”

Maybank’s Sharia Centre of Excellence, the first of its kind in the country, is a virtual centre which aims to be the leading reference point on Sharia knowledge and best practices focusing on research and education, talent development, thought leadership and community welfare. ES

Best Performing Private Bank (KPI quantitative analysis by Scorpio Partnership)
Kotak Wealth Management

Kotak Wealth Management is one of the oldest wealth managers in India, with more than 20 years of experience in the sector. Part of the Kotak Mahindra Bank group, the firm claims to manage the wealth of more than 40 per cent of India’s 100 richest families.

In recent years, the bank has altered its business model from a transaction-oriented approach to an advisory approach. The strength of its advisory proposition – based on the pillars of asset allocation, open architecture and alignment of interests – has helped to attract new clients and prospects. In parallel, a fixed advisory fee has allowed the bank to tackle increased allocation to lower margin asset classes.

“Very clearly, [open architecture] is one of the biggest strengths of Kotak. Having no conflict of interest is very, very critical and can only be achieved by having an open architecture philosophy,” says Jaideep Hansraj, CEO, wealth management and priority banking, at Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

Kotak provides family office services to ultra high net worth investors, focusing on building, preserving and transferring family wealth and legacy. It offers a strategic view on the client’s overall portfolio across multiple advisers, in addition to comprehensive financial solutions that go beyond investments. These include assistance with investment structuring, banking and credit, consolidated reporting, as well as philanthropy and concierge services. The bank’s Trusteeship Services division offers estate planning services helping clients with succession planning activities through the creation of private family trusts.

Wealth management customers’ digital experience was enhanced with the launch of ‘Kotak Smart Solutions’ mobile application for portfolio viewing and management. A comprehensive content repository and sharing platform that enables SMS and WhatsApp based information sharing in real time was also enabled.

“Wealth managers have to offer a complete range of services to clients. People, product, platform – all three are crucial in the wealth management business,” Mr Hansraj explains. Looking ahead, he believes one of the challenges facing the private banking sector in India is being able to continue to manage growth “at an unprecedented rate”, while not compromising on quality of advice. PG

Best Leader
Guy de Picciotto, CEO, Union Bancaire Privée

Guy de Picciotto is very much his own man. He had a huge influence on the direction of UBP, even when his late father Edgar, who founded the bank in 1969, was still alive. Yet the younger Mr de Picciotto, if we can still call him that, is still to some extent driven by his father’s memory and example. 

A desire to prove wrong the Geneva society gossips, who laughed at the newcomer bank to the lake’s shores, claiming it could never compete with the likes of Pictet and Lombard Odier, motivated his father. 

Mr de Picciotto the younger says he has no inferiority complex and this legacy does not bother him. Yet there is something very steely, calculating and driven about the way he is steadily building a small family-owned Geneva institution into a fully-fledged player in Asia, with growing assets and ambitions. The asset base after recent acquisitions, including the international division of Coutts, with UBP managing SFr128bn ($128bn), shows the bank is now competing with the big boys.

Two more acquisitions are expected to complete at the end of 2018, subject to regulatory approval. These are the buyup of Banque Carnegie Luxembourg, which significantly broadens UBP’s footprint in the Grand Duchy, and London-based investment manager ACPI Investments, which will very much reinforce the strategic London presence. Italy is also earmarked for further expansion and the bank will start to accelerate organic growth plans in “development regions” including the Middle East, Central Europe and Latin America.

But this is not a heartless expansion plan. Client care is key to the strategy. An appreciation of succession planning, in terms of assets, business and leadership makes Mr de Picciotto particularly suited to the top job. He re-invented the bank after a love affair with hedge funds went badly wrong in 2008 and reimbursed clients to the tune of $500m to cover a proportion of losses suffered by victims of jailed fraudster Bernie Madoff.

The bank’s assets almost halved in 2010 after the hedge fund bubble burst, but he has remodelled the operation to embrace more traditional investments. Like most Swiss banks, UBP was also required to settle with the US Department of Justice in 2016. 

Mr de Picciotto has taken all these significant setbacks on the chin and they appear to make him even more determined to grow the family bank from a Geneva sideshow into a global player to be reckoned with, but always kept under tight control. 

With Mr Picciotto having been at the helm for 20 years, the banking community is already asking about the next succession. He is supported in the bank by his brother and sister and the bank will definitely be kept in the family. Earlier this year, one of the boss’s nephews started working for UBP in Geneva, heralding the arrival of the third generation. YB