Compliance and Regulatory Challenges in private wealth management for 2021

Ralf has over 16 years of legal and compliance experience in the financial industry and holds a Master of Law from the University of Zurich. He kicked off his compliance career at Zürcher Kantonalbank and went on to perform various legal and compliance roles at Credit Suisse both in Switzerland and abroad.

Mr. Vincent Koo joined EFG Bank Singapore Branch as the Head of Compliance in August 2018. Prior to joining EFG Bank Singapore Branch, Vincent has over 25 years of working experience across various international institutions, covering audit and compliance roles, including Deloitte & Touche, Hang Seng Bank, UBS, Citibank, RBS Coutts, BNP Paribas Wealth Management and most recently Schroders Wealth Management Singapore.

Natalie leads Herbert Smith Freehills' financial services regulatory (FSR) practice in Singapore, covering Southeast Asia and Hong Kong (alongside the Hong Kong FSR partners). Having practised in four Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, Natalie has an in-depth understanding of the regulatory regimes and challenges that apply to firms operating in this region. Natalie's contentious experience includes advising on internal and regulatory investigations and enforcement relating to breaches of AML/CFT regulations, market misconduct, conflicts of interest, employee conduct issues, systems and controls breaches, cyber-related incidents, IPO sponsorship conduct, misleading disclosure and mis-selling. Natalie also has extensive experience advising financial institutions and fintech clients on a broad range of non-contentious regulatory and compliance matters, including AML/CFT compliance, financial services licensing, senior management accountability, culture and conduct, corporate governance, financial services M&A, cross-border marketing, suitability, virtual banking, digital token offers, payment services and the cross-border and local impact of regulatory change such as (L)IBOR discontinuation.

Rolf Haudenschild is heading Ingenia Consultants Pte. Ltd., a leading compliance and internal audit provider to external asset managers, fund management companies and fintech companies in Singapore. He regularly works with financial institutions for their licensing with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), produces compliance frameworks, manages compliance workflows for multiple financial institutions and advises on regulatory questions. Before establishing a compliance consultancy, Rolf worked with FINMA, the Swiss financial services regulator, and in legal and compliance at international and regional private banks. Rolf is a qualified attorney-at-law and holds an MLaw from the University of Berne, Switzerland, as well as an LLM in International Financial Law from King’s College London, United Kingdom. He is regularly speaking on compliance in conferences and conducting courses for industry associations and tertiary institutions.

Stephen Yee is Head of Compliance and Risk Management for Bank Julius Baer Singapore since 2016. He is responsible for all aspects of Compliance including Regulatory and AML/KYC Compliance. He took on the additional responsibilities for Risk Management in 2020. He has held various first and second line of defence control related roles throughout his career. Stephen is originally from Australia where he graduate from the University of Sydney with a Bachelors of Economics and Accounting

Neil Thomas is the Head of Asia Pacific region for SIX, working closely with our customers to support and anticipate their data and regulatory requirements. Neil is working to deliver global data propositions to several large international banks. Prior to arriving in Asia, Neil spent a decade heading global relationships with strategic customers from SIX, primarily based out of London. Neil joined SIX from Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv) where his role focused on the investment banking and management sectors for ten years. Neil is a certified member of FISD.

Ralf has over 16 years of legal and compliance experience in the financial industry and holds a Master of Law from the University of Zurich. He kicked off his compliance career at Zürcher Kantonalbank and went on to perform various legal and compliance roles at Credit Suisse both in Switzerland and abroad.

Natalie leads Herbert Smith Freehills' financial services regulatory (FSR) practice in Singapore, covering Southeast Asia and Hong Kong (alongside the Hong Kong FSR partners). Having practised in four Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, Natalie has an in-depth understanding of the regulatory regimes and challenges that apply to firms operating in this region. Natalie's contentious experience includes advising on internal and regulatory investigations and enforcement relating to breaches of AML/CFT regulations, market misconduct, conflicts of interest, employee conduct issues, systems and controls breaches, cyber-related incidents, IPO sponsorship conduct, misleading disclosure and mis-selling. Natalie also has extensive experience advising financial institutions and fintech clients on a broad range of non-contentious regulatory and compliance matters, including AML/CFT compliance, financial services licensing, senior management accountability, culture and conduct, corporate governance, financial services M&A, cross-border marketing, suitability, virtual banking, digital token offers, payment services and the cross-border and local impact of regulatory change such as (L)IBOR discontinuation.

Yvonne Lim is the Regional Head of Legal and Compliance for DBS’ Consumer Banking Group and Wealth Management business. She has over 18 years’ experience in legal, compliance and regulatory risk management functions, including 12 years in leading financial institutions. She has an in-depth understanding of the legal and regulatory issues pertaining to the consumer banking and wealth management business, with broad-ranging expert knowledge in corporate law, banking and securities regulations, payment services regulations and AML/CFT requirements in key financial markets. Yvonne started her career as a corporate lawyer with one of the leading firms in Singapore and read law at the National University of Singapore.

Michael is a prominent figure in the financial services industry in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of Hubbis, a renowned provider of intelligence and connectivity for the Asian wealth management industry. With a depth of experience and expertise, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry for over 30 years, becoming a leading industry presence in the events, professional development, and publishing space in the region. Hubbis is a multi-generational family-owned and managed business.

He has been actively involved in the Asia-Pacific region since 1993. And has lived in Asia since 1995, holding positions in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Singapore. 

For over 14-years, Hubbis has established itself as the gold standard media and events brand in wealth management thought leadership in Asia. Each year providing a very large body of cutting-edge editorial and sponsored content, organizing top-flight events.

During that time Hubbis has become the platform of choice for many high-profile C-suite leaders to communicate their vision of the Asian wealth management.

Before his involvement with Hubbis, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002, a financial services media company. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant success and was subsequently acquired by global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006. Michael continued to serve as the CEO of Pacific Prospect until October 2008.

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael garnered 5 years of experience in financial markets publishing. His career in this field began in 1993 when he joined Euromoney Publications as the publisher of the quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now owned by LSEG) and spearheaded the conception and launch of Finance Asia magazine. During his tenure as Managing Director of Finance Asia, he also initiated the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine, and the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, he founded FIA Limited, further expanding his contributions to the financial publishing industry.

Born in North Wales, Michael served as the head boy of St David's College Llandudno. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. Beyond his professional endeavours, Michael is a family-oriented individual and is happily married with three children: Reanna, Garett, and Tarryn.