INDEPENDENT WEALTH MANAGEMENT FORUM 2023

Rafael is the Head of Institutional Clients at Swissquote Singapore. He has more than 12 years of experience in private banking and crypto, working with multi-family offices, external asset managers, and fund managers in Asia and Europe. Most recently, he was the Head of Private Clients Asia for BlockFi, a crypto wealth management company. Prior to that, Rafael worked for UBS in Singapore as a senior client advisor, CIO of DZ Privatbank Singapore and for Berenberg Bank in the Investment Advisory and Fund Management. Rafael studied in Switzerland, Mainland China and Korea. He holds a Master of Arts in Banking and Finance from University of St.Gallen (HSG).

Evrard Bordier is chief executive officer of Bordier & Cie, Singapore. He has been managing partner of Bordier & Cie Group since 2011, and president of the board of Bordier Bank (TCI) since 2000. Prior to his current role in Singapore, he served as managing director of Bordier International in London for 10 years. Evrard has been in the financial industry for more than 20 years, during which he has garnered extensive international experience holding diverse positions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, Zurich, and London. Between 1997 and 2000, he served as chief of staff for the Financial Planning and Wealth Management Business Division of UBS in Zurich, overseeing all of its asset management business units across the world. Prior to that, he was a client adviser in the private banking department of Swiss Bank Corporation in Singapore where he covered the markets of Indonesia and Taiwan. He first moved to Asia in 1994 and joined Nomura International in Hong Kong as a broker. Evrard began his professional career as a lawyer at Lenz & Staehelin in Geneva, specialising in the banking and finance practice. Evrard is a direct descendant and fifth generation of the bank’s founding family. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Turks and Caicos Islands Bankers Association, the Financial Industry Association, and the Swiss Financial Planner Organisation.

Oliver is a banking professional with more than 25 years of experience as a senior banker and leader of high performing private banking teams. His guiding principle to success is his client centric approach and his deep understanding of cultural diversity. Oliver has been in Asia for most part of his career and his responsibilities and coverage span beyond Switzerland and London. He has also developed and expanded the private banking business of a banking institution in London and was responsible to setting up the private banking department of a newly created bank in Singapore beside managing his own clients. As a senior banker, Oliver has lead several successful team of private bankers with clients located in Europe, South East Asia, India, South America and segments such as the External Asset Managers and Global South Asian. Oliver holds a degree from the University of Lausanne Switzerland, an MBA from Cass Business School London and a specialisation from both the London Business School and Columbia Business School New York. Oliver is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Urs founded Expersoft Systems in 1993 and has been successfully leading the company ever since. His vision, entrepreneurship and knowledge of the financial services sector has driven Expersoft to become the provider of world-class software products that it is today.

Lucie Hulme, Managing Partner, is Chief Executive Officer and member of the Investment Committee. She was part of the founding team of TriLake Partners in 2011 and has more than 18 years of experience gained in the independent asset management and private banking industry. Prior to joining TriLake Partners, Lucie was a relationship manager at Société Générale Private Banking (Suisse) S.A. She also worked for the Middle Eastern desk at Crédit Agricole (Suisse) S.A and for an independent asset management firm based in Geneva, The Forum Finance Group (Suisse) S.A. Lucie is also President of the Association of Independent Wealth Managers in Singapore (AIWM) and has served on the Committee for the past 8 years. She has been appointed as Member of the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) Private Banking Industry Workgroup in 2019 and is also a Membership Committee Member for WMI Global-Asia Family Office Partners Circle.

Lucy Gao-Azak is the Chief Operating Officer at Crossinvest (Asia) and a member of its Board as well as the co-chair to the Investment Committee. Crossinvest is a wealth & asset manager with over 37 years of Swiss heritage and one of the first Independent Asset Managers in Singapore. Lucy has over 15 years of wealth management experience working in London and Singapore. Prior joining Crossinvest, Lucy was a Client Relationship Officer, Executive Director, at EFG Bank AG in Singapore for 6 years. She was the Desk Head overseeing EFG Bank’s Australian business and also covered international markets with a focus on Ultra High Net Worth individuals (UHNWIs) in Europe and Asia. She assisted private clients in investment management, credit structuring, and estate planning. Prior joining EFG Bank, she was a Relationship Manager, Vice President, and the Private Banking London representative for DBS Private Bank responsible for client acquisition and investment advisory for EMEA UHNWIs. Lucy also spent 6 years at Morgan Stanley in London, UK, as a Product Specialist within its private wealth management group, whereby she specialised in multi-asset class portfolio construction and specialist sales for the discretionary portfolio management business.‎ Lucy began her career as a quantitative analyst on fund/portfolio performance attribution within Morgan Stanley. Lucy holds a Master of Engineering, Economics and Management, from the University of Oxford after completing her Undergraduate studies at Balliol College, Oxford. She also holds the CISI Diploma in PCIAM (Private Client Investment Advice & Management) and the Investment Management Certificate (CFA Level 3). Her hobbies include painting, travelling, and she enjoys opera and the ballet.‎ She also has Australian racing horses currently at the Singapore Turf Club. Lucy is a British citizen and speaks English and Mandarin. Lucy has a 18-months old daughter and lives with her husband in Singapore.

Mauricio believes that wealth management should always be about transparency and honesty. His 14 years of experience as a private banker, managing portfolios for high and ultra-high net worth individuals, has taught him that success in the industry means connecting to what is most meaningful, and empowering people to live to their fullest potential. Starting his career as an entrepreneur who founded three companies, Mauricio entered private banking in Hong Kong after a successful exit – he sought to learn how to manage his own created wealth. He served as a Managing Director and as Head of the International and Independent Portfolio Management Service Desk at EFG Bank Hong Kong; Director at Bank Julius Baer Hong Kong; and became partner at Multi-Family office Carret Private. After seeing that the industry largely did not serve client needs, Mauricio discovered his lifetime mission to bring transparency and honesty to wealth management. He earned his MBA (Finance) from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and has been a strong technologist, investing in Bitcoin since 2011. Mauricio strongly believes that crypto, blockchain and Web 3.0 will dictate the future and that clients should learn, educate themselves and (eventually) invest into this asset class. Through moiq capital he has been an enthusiast, speaker and in the forefront of the intersection of traditional Wealth Management and Digital Assets.

Andrew Hendry is Head of Distribution, Asia at Janus Henderson Investors. In this role, his primary focus is to maintain, grow and diversify the distribution business across Asia (excluding Japan and Australia). Prior to joining the firm, he was head of distribution Asia Pacific at Aberdeen Standard Investments from 2018. He was a managing director at Westoun Advisors from 2016 and head of Asia Pacific, managing director with M&G Investments from 2011. Andrew began his career at The Capital Group Companies in 1998, most recently as director of Global business development from 2002. Andrew received his MA degree in Economics and French from St Andrews University and an MBA from INSEAD. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has 24 years of financial industry experience

Joining Credit Suisse in 1998 as an analyst, Philipp Piaz commenced his comprehensive career in private banking and wealth management. During his time at Credit Suisse, Philipp held a number of senior roles, relocating from Zürich to Singapore in 2001 to undertake Thailand Private Client Business Development in his role as Vice President. In 2004, Philipp joined the senior management of Deutsche Bank AG, with whom he was affiliated for 5 years. In his role as Director, Philipp was responsible for the development of Deutsche Bank’s Thai Private Client Business. In 2009, he became Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Finaport, overseeing the expansion of the firm's Asian operations. Philipp is a founding member of the Association of Independent Asset Managers (AIAM) in Singapore, and was appointed President of the AIAM in 2018. Philipp undertook Elementary Studies of Economics and Law at University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Over 20 years experience in financial services and FinTech across the US, Europe and Asia with a track record in delivering on growth and turn around strategies in rapidly evolving ecosystems and market environments. Combining his experience of setting up, expanding and managing international businesses with innovative financial technologies, Julien was appointed CEO of GTN in Asia Pacific in August 2021 to lead the firm’s expansion in the region. GTN is a leading FinTech provider of innovative global trading and investment platform solutions. It combines access to global trading and investment across asset classes, digital wealth management solutions and comprehensive operations servicing for both sell-side agency clients and institutional buy-side clients. Prior to that, Julien co-founded Smartfolios in 2015 which was acquired by Finantix in February 2018, itself merged into InvestCloud in February 2021, a leading and innovative digital financial technology and artificial intelligence platform, used by hundreds of financial institutions and wealth managers worldwide. Julien was also Head of APAC and Senior MD at CME Group in 2011-2014, and before that CEO of Newedge in Japan 2006-2011, MD of Newedge in Singapore 2002-2006 and launched Boursorama (now known as Selftrade) in the UK in 2000 after starting his career with Groupe Societe General in Chicago, USA.

Dr Catalin Burlacu brings over 25 years of experience in investment management and product development to New Dimensions Capital as the Portfolio Manager for the firm’s proprietary strategies. He strives to improve investment frameworks and has recognized accomplishments in advanced portfolio construction and multi-asset investment solutions designed for both institutional and private clients. Most recently, he was Head of the Investment Solutions Group at UOB Asset Management, a regional asset management firm with over S$30B in assets under management, where he managed the origination and design of new investment products for multi-asset strategies targeting regional clients. He was instrumental to the group’s consistent AUM growth, delivering structured implementations for capital preservation, income enhancement with robust risk management methodology. Over the last two decades, Catalin has been instrumental in developing, deploying, and growing investment capabilities for Asian investment organizations of various governance and business size, such as Blackrock Japan Ltd, Millennium Capital Asia and Nexus Alpha Capital Management that he co-founded in 2008 to capitalize on the need for risk-controlled and total portfolio management strategies targeting pension funds and HNWI.

Carolyn is Managing Director of Bordier & Cie Singapore and a pioneer of Malaysia's Private Banking sphere with over 20 years of experience. She was former Head of Maybank Private Malaysia, Wealth Management. Prior to joining Maybank Private, Carolyn was attached to CIMB Private Banking since its launch in 2002, with the last position held being Head of Private Banking in Malaysia. During the tenure, Carolyn had built and led teams to drive client relations, as well as expanded the Private Banking business by establishing presence in four new states - Penang, Sarawak, Sabah and Johor. She had also served at unit trust and mutual fund companies namely CIMB Principal Asset Management in Malaysia, and Templeton Management Limited, one of Canada's largest mutual funds, where she managed sales for the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Carolyn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Hons) in Economics from the University of Toronto and has completed various Financial Planning courses.

Harmen Overdijk is Chief Investment Officer of Leo Wealth, a Hong Kong based asset management firm focused on fee-based asset management. Leo Wealth was created from the strategic merger of two existing independent asset managers, where the partners have decades of Asian and International wealth management experience. The firm’s philosophy is based on Evidence Based Investing. A disciplined approach that gains its insights about the markets and returns from academic research, structures portfolios along the dimensions of expected returns and adds value by integrating research, portfolio structure, and implementation. This investment approach makes extensive use of low cost investment instruments. Harmen is an expert portfolio manager with 20 years of investment management experience. Prior to Leo Wealth he held senior management and CIO roles for several successful asset management practices at EFG Asset Management, Fortis Bank and MeesPierson. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) holder and has an MSc in economics from Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

Jeffrey previously worked at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, UBS AG, Bank of Singapore, ANZ with senior roles in business risk management, business management, products, advisory, sales management and strategic planning. In BNP Paribas, Jeffrey demonstrated excellent leadership skills both in business acumen and ability to effectively develop and manage the global business risk management. From a regional business management perspective, he has also excelled in strategy thinking and develop global functional standards and operation framework. In UBS, Jeffrey was a director focused on all aspects of the business management within Investment Product and Services. He was nominated as the top business manager by absolute revenue amount the advisory services of UBS and was awarded with the CEO Asia Pacific Award in 2014 for the Best Partnership Awards of Banking Products APAC.. He has also orchestrated and pioneer the development of platform solutions for Banking Products APAC. In Bank of Singapore, Jeffrey was instrumental to develop and cascading the Greater China’s strategy/mission statement and implement appropriate rewards and recognition and coaching to align personal, business and platform with company goals, including growth of asset under management and collaboration with OCBC. In Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Jeffrey was involved in business management role in Commercial Banking for Hong Kong. He also spearheaded the collaboration with Trade Finance, Cash Management and Global Markets to proliferate the RMB products liberalization to realize the Bank’s Greater China Strategy.

Co-founder and Group CEO of Helicap David has a decade of experience across investment banks - Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Nomura. Leaving banking in 2016, he founded 33 Capital, an investment firm focused on FinTech and e-commerce startups in Southeast Asia, and became aware of how difficult it was for private investors to find quality alternative investment opportunities. Leveraging his wealth management and venture capital experience, he created a tech-enabled platform that would be the go-to resource for investors seeking private investment opportunities with attractive risk-return profiles. In 2019, he was named Top FinTech Leader by the Singapore FinTech Association and then Singapore Founder Finalist for the MAS FinTech Awards in 2020. He graduated from the National University of Singapore as a University Scholar and also spent a semester abroad at the University of Southern California. Additionally, he holds a certification in FinTech from MIT. During his free time, he enjoys sports, wine, and traveling with his family.

Having worked with Standard Chartered and Credit Suisse, Sadaf brings over 20 years of thoughtful and analytical experience. She assists family offices and enterprises in achieving their family and business goals. Some of her responsibilities include designing and implementing policies of family governance, education and training of family members for future roles, preparation of the next generation, and assisting in the transition of wealth, ownership and management from one generation to the next.

Chowdhary is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lighthouse Canton. He is responsible for driving the company’s vision and objectives as well as overall business directions. He oversees the Multi-Family Office, Asset Management and Bespoke Solutions businesses and creates synergy between the verticals. He was born in a small town named Shimla, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. He originally qualified with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering and then attained a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Symbiosis Centre for Management. Married with a son of almost 17 and a daughter of 10 years old, Chowdhary enjoys quiet times at home in Singapore, reading and watching cricket on TV. His music tastes are wide-ranging, with favourite bands names such as U2, Metallica and Dire Straits. On the business front, he had more than 20 years of experience prior to co-founding Lighthouse Canton in 2014. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse Private Bank, where he managed the Ultra High Net Worth portfolio for the bank. Prior to that, he spent more than six years at Citibank in India. “Citibank was a great start to my career,” he recalls, “as I learned much about many different aspects of banking. Credit Suisse was then a great move, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. In fact, before I founded this firm, I took them into my confidence in an open manner, and they were very supportive, for which I have great respect.” He also reports that on a personal level, the pandemic has helped in some respects to re-balance his work and life perspectives. “Some travel was simply not really necessary before,” he says, “and I say that as a generalisation, not only for me. And the extra time many people have found since the lockdowns has helped them connect more regularly to friends and family digitally, so whilst being remote, they have been able and willing to connect more regularly. Like others, I have been able to also focus more on exercise and health and welfare, all of which have been in very sharp focus since last year.” And his final comment is that the wealth industry even today remains true to its history and values, and with the immense opportunities ahead, is still a good place for younger and ambitious people to develop a career. “Regulation means this industry cannot move as fast as some other industries,” he observes. “For those willing to make the commitment to the continuous development of expertise and service, for those with the right attitudes and approaches, with the requisite people skills and empathy, there is great potential ahead.”

Laura Lui is a Partner and co-Chief Investment Officer of Premia Partners. Laura has over 12 years of experience in the financial industry with rich experience in index and quantitative investments and capital markets development. Prior to Premia Partners, Laura led the Index and Quantitative Investment team at ICBC Credit Suisse International and was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s index and quantitative investment business. Before that, Laura was the Head of ETF and Index Team at Mirae Asset Global Investments (HK). Earlier in her career, Laura has also gained extensive trading experience on Asian Equities, multi-asset derivatives and other listed products including as ETF liquidity providers and participating dealers from her previous roles with RBS and JPMorgan Chase Bank. Laura has an Honours BSc degree in Actuarial Science and Statistics from the University of Toronto, and a MS degree in Global Finance from New York University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

呂靄華 (Laura) 擁有豐富指數、量化投資及資本市場經驗。加入Premia Partners 之前， Laura 是工銀瑞信資產管理（國際）的指數及量化投資團隊負責人，以香港為基地創立公司中國境外的指數及量化投資業務，包括在香港及歐洲交易所掛牌的ETF產品。在此之前，Laura 曾是未來資產環球投資（香港）的ETF及指數部門主管，負責未來資產韓國以外ETF業務發展，包括與美國Horizon的ETF合作項目。Laura 早期於蘇格蘭皇家銀行及摩根大通任職ETF流通量提供者及交易員，因此對亞洲股票、多元資產衍生工具及其他上市產品以及買賣雙方資本市場交易運作有豐富深入的實戰經驗。 Laura 畢業於多倫多大學的精算科學及統計學學系，並於紐約大學及香港科技大學修畢環球金融碩士課程。

Philipp joined Expersoft in 2010 as Sales Manager, and subsequently the company management in 2012. In the role of Head of Sales he has spearheaded Expersoft’s sales growth in recent years. His background is technology and business; before he joined Expersoft he worked for 10 years with a global software vendor. Over the past 20 years he has been in the roles of developer, support manager, project manager, key account manager, and sales manager. He is currently CEO of Expersoft and also responsible for the Sales Department. Philipp is an ETH-graduated engineer in information systems and business administration.