Independent Wealth Management Forum 2018

We were delighted to host our 6th annual event in Singapore for the Independent Wealth Management Community, where more than 350 CEOs, COOs, and other senior practitioners attended – from a mix of local and international Private Banks, Retail Banks, Insurance Companies, Independent Firms & Family Offices, Asset Management Companies, and IFAs.

We appreciate the partnership of the Association of Independent Asset Managers, Singapore.  And thanks to our sponsors: CapBridge, Commerzbank, EFG Private Banking, Expersoft, Global Precious Metals, Henley & Partners, Ingenia Consultants, Ingenia, INTL FCStone, InvestaCrowd, J O Hambro Capital Management, Leonteq, Pershing, Pictet, Profidata, Sun Life Financial, Solas, Swissquote and VP Bank.

Below for your interest and reference are links to various content we captured from the day. Please click on the orange headlines – and do send any comments or feedback to [email protected].

Content Highlights 

Video Highlights
Video Highlights Summary PDF
Photos
Event summary
Panel discussions
Presentations & Wealth TALKS
Workshops
Videos

Post-event Report

You might also like to view the full Post-Event Report – which is a consolidated summary, including photos of speakers & delegates, the attendee profiles & some delegate feedback, polling results, and more. 

Event Summary 

Independent Wealth in Asia – Fortune to Favour the Astute….and the Brave 
The Hubbis Independent Wealth Management Forum in Singapore on March 8, 2018 proved to be fertile ground for a wide variety of advisory, cautionary and informative tales from leading experts in the wealth industry. Delegates left with the strong impression that independent firms in Asia have great rewards in store if they structure their businesses optimally.

Video Highlights

At the Forum we interviewed leading industry experts. 
Full Video Highlights
Video Highlights Summary PDF
I love wealth management

Their individual interviews can be accessed below: 

Rainer Michael Preiss Taurus Wealth Advisors
Anthonia Hui AL Wealth Partners
Jeffrey Fang CapBridge
Simon Lints Schroders Wealth Management
Damian Hitchen Swissquote
Anshu Kapoor Edelweiss Global Wealth Management
Julian Kwan InvestaCrowd InvestaCrowd
Steve Knabl Swiss-Asia Financial Services
Philipp Piaz Finaport
Tuck Meng Yee JRT Partners
Arnulfo de Pala TriLake Partners
Rohit Bhuta Crossinvest
Craig Swanger Revolver Capital
Martin Huxley INTL FCStone
Tariq Dennison GFM Asset Management

Panel Discussions 

We held 5 interactive panel discussions throughout the day – which involved senior industry practitioners who we invited to participate and share their thoughts. We have also incorporated into the summaries below the briefing notes which speakers sent to us in advance of the event. Plus, we have included the results of audience polling as well as questions we received from delegates. Click on each headline to view the PDFs.

How can we be Different?
Does the independent wealth industry need to be re-engineered and how can firms differentiate their offerings to compete well today while also evolving their skills and technology for tomorrow? The first panel of the Hubbis Independent Wealth Management Forum pondered these, and other, questions.

Panel Members
Anthonia Hui, Chief Executive Officer, AL Wealth Partners
Rohit Bhuta, Chief Executive Officer, Crossinvest
Urs Brutsch, Managing Partner & Founder, HP Wealth Management
Nadav Lehavy, Managing Director, SandAire
Evrard Bordier, Managing Partner, Bordier & Cie
Oliver Balmelli, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Co Head of Private Banking, EFG Bank
 

What Opportunity Can Be Found in the Growing Wealth of China and India?
India and China are both challenging and alluring markets of opportunity for the wealth industry. India is experiencing a billionaire boom, with demand far exceeding supply and infrastructure, while investment of well-earned wealth in China is still relatively in its infancy.

Panel Members
Mandeep Nalwa, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Taurus Wealth Advisors
James Wu, President / Partner, Triumph Capital International
Anshu Kapoor, Head - Private Wealth Management, Edelweiss Global Wealth Management
Tuck Meng Yee, Partner, JRT Partners

Do You [the IAM or EAM] Really Want to Grow Your Business? And How?
The third panel of the Hubbis Independent Wealth Management Forum of March 8 focused in on how independent firms can grow their businesses. Growth for growth’s sake is seldom a success, but resting on one’s laurels is also risky.

Panel Members
Steve Knabl, Chief Operating Officer & Managing Partner, Swiss-Asia Financial Services
Philipp Piaz, Partner, Finaport
Chiara Bartoletti, Chief Operating Officer, Oclaner Asset Management
Simon Lints, Chief Executive Officer - Singapore, Schroders Wealth Management

Focusing on Long-Term Value for Clients
When generating long-term investments for clients, risk management, added value and promoting unique opportunities can place smaller wealth management companies in good stead compared with larger banks. Panellists offered advice to help smaller firms build their client's bases and their revenues.

Panel Members
Gary Tiernan, Head of Investments, Crossinvest
Arnulfo de Pala, Chief Investment Officer, TriLake Partners
Tariq Dennison, Investment Advisor, Retirement Portfolios, GFM Asset Management
Bryan Goh, Chief Investment Officer, Bordier & Cie
Rainer Michael Preiss, Executive Director, Client Investments, Taurus Wealth Advisors

What products Should be Promoted to HNW and UHNW clients in 2018? 
The independent wealth advisory community prides itself on having a bespoke approach to HNW clients. Do they feel that mainstream markets are living on borrowed time? Are they promoting alternative investments? A panel of experts discussed these matters…and more.

Panel Members
Lincoln Chow, Director, Head of Sales, Hong Kong & Singapore, Financial Institutions Marketing, Commerzbank
Nicolas Mathier, Managing Partner, Global Precious Metals
Blake J. Noah, Managing Director, Fine Art Asset Advisor
Xavier Burkhardt, Executive Director, Leonteq Securities
Craig Swanger, Chief Executive Officer, Revolver Capital
Julian Kwan, Chief Executive Officer, InvestaCrowd

Presentations 

Below are summaries of the Presentations and Wealth TALKS delivered at the event. These were 10-minute slots hosted either by senior industry practitioners who we invited to speak (Wealth TALKS), or by some of our event partners (Presentations). Also listed with each summary are links to the presentation slides (where these are made available by speakers). Click on each headline to view.

Residence and Citizenship Planning for Asian Families - an Overview
Daphne Chandra, Manager and Client Advisor in the Singapore office of Henley & Partners, explained some preferred overseas residence and citizenship options for Asian HNWIs.
View Slides 

CapBridge: The Private Syndicate Investment Platform
Jeffrey Fang, Chief Corporate Officer of CapBridge, sees great potential in helping institutional and accredited investors connect with mid-to-late stage growth companies in Asia.
View Slides

Follow the Flow: Investing According to Fund Flow Data
Franck Fayard, Director and Head of Product Engineering in Asia for Commerzbank, explained the value of fund flow data in global asset allocation.  

The compelling opportunity in physical gold for Asia’s HNWIs and advisers
Martin Huxley, Head of Precious Metals for Asia at INTL FCStone, is convinced that as wealth grows in Asia more money will flow into gold.
View Slides

Digital Delivery of Wealth Management – the Era of the Platform 
Swiss bank Swissquote serves its global client base of more than 350,000 customers entirely through digital interface. Damian Hitchen, CEO for the Middle East and Asia, explained.
View Slides

The Charitable Choice: Powering Better Wealth Planning Through Family Unity and Shared Goals
Mark Nelligan, managing director of Pershing Securities, explained the benefits of encouraging clients to become charitable philanthropists.

How to Put the Right Real Estate Investments in Front of Your Clients
Julian Kwan, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore based real estate investment platform InvestaCrowd, highlighted the appeal of the commercial real estate sector.
View Slides

Update from the Association Independent Asset Managers Singapore (AIAM) 
Steve Knabl, President of the Association of Independent Asset Managers Singapore explained AIAM’s progress and urged more IAMs to join the association.
View Slides

The Imminent Risk of Rising Yields and How Investors Can React 
Bernd Hartmann, Head of Investment Research & Chief Strategist at VP Bank Group, cautioned on the risk of rising yields.
View Slides 

The Growing Demand for Physical Gold amongst the HNW and UHNW Individuals in Asia
Martin Huxley, Head of Precious Metals for Asia at INTL FCStone,  presented a Workshop to highlight the appeals of gold, the mechanics of owning it and the opportunities for independent wealth advisers in Asia.
View slides

MiFID and its Relevance for Asia
Simon Abbott, Senior Regulatory Manager at Commerzbank, conducted a workshop to explain to Asia-based independent wealth managers the challenges and opportunities arising from MIFIR and MiFID II.
View Slides

Residence and Citizenship Planning for HNWIs
Nirbhay Handa, Manager for the subcontinent at Henley & Partners, along with Daphne Chandra, Indonesia Country Manager and Client Adviser presented a Workshop on the current pick of residence and planning options for Asian HNW individuals and families.
View Slides

Swissquote: Delivering Wealth Management for EAMs Via a Digital Platform
Damian Hitchen, CEO for the Middle East and Asia, presented a Workshop to introduce the Swissquote platform to independent wealth advisers.

Testimonials

“Hubbis panels balance diverse, and sometimes cutting-edge and controversial points of view across the financial industry.”

Tariq Dennison CFP, Investment Advisor, Retirement Portfolios, 

"I was impressed with the overwhelming response from the participants who joined this event. I will continue to join the Hubbis events as long as I am in the banking industry."

"Hubbis brought Asian Wealth Management to Singapore as a one stop hub"

"I enjoyed the atmosphere of casualness throughout discussions between panel members. The fact that the moderator knows all of the panels well, made it even more enjoyable."

Anonymous feedback from the event attendees